WaterSMART Cooperative Watershed Management Program Phase I Grants for Fiscal Year 2018 | BOR DO 18 F005

Opportunity Information: Apply for BOR DO 18 F005

The WaterSMART Cooperative Watershed Management Program Phase I Grants for Fiscal Year 2018 was a discretionary grant opportunity offered by the U.S. Department of the Interior, Bureau of Reclamation. It fell under the Natural Resources funding activity category (CFDA 15.554) and was designed to support early-stage, cooperative watershed management efforts. Phase I funding typically focuses on helping watershed partners organize, build coordination, and take foundational steps that allow a watershed group to define shared priorities and move toward more effective, collaborative water and resource management.

The opportunity was open to two broad categories of applicants: New Watershed Groups and Existing Watershed Groups. For New Watershed Groups, eligible applicants included states, Indian tribes, local and special districts (such as irrigation districts and water districts), other local governmental entities, interstate organizations, and non-profit organizations. The intent here is to enable a wide range of watershed stakeholders and local institutions to form or sponsor collaborative structures that can plan and work together at the watershed scale rather than acting in isolation.

For Existing Watershed Groups, eligibility required two things. First, the applicant still had to fit within the same eligible entity types listed for New Watershed Groups (states, tribes, qualifying local or special districts, local governments, interstate organizations, and non-profits). Second, the applicant needed to demonstrate a real connection to an already-established watershed group by being either (1) an existing watershed group itself, described as a grassroots, non-regulatory legal entity that meets the program's definition of a watershed group, or (2) a participant in an existing watershed group. In practical terms, this means the funding could support not only a formal group acting as the applicant, but also an eligible stakeholder organization that is actively involved in a watershed collaborative and is applying on behalf of or in coordination with that group.

The announcement also spelled out several categories of entities that were not eligible. Ineligible applicants included federal governmental entities, institutes of higher education (with a notable exception for cooperative watershed management organizations that are sponsored by institutes of higher education), 501(c)(4) organizations, 501(c)(6) organizations, and individuals. This structure makes clear that the program was aimed at local and regional, community-based or governmental collaboration rather than federal agencies, purely academic applicants (unless tied to a qualifying watershed organization), certain types of tax-exempt advocacy or business-league organizations, or standalone private persons.

Key administrative details include the funding opportunity number (BOR DO 18 F005), an original application closing date of January 31, 2018, and a maximum award amount (award ceiling) of $100,000. The funding instrument type was a grant. While the source data references expected awards, the specific number of awards is not provided in the excerpt; what is clear is that individual awards were capped at $100,000, suggesting the program was oriented toward smaller, start-up or capacity-building efforts typical of a "Phase I" planning and organizing stage.

Overall, this grant opportunity was set up to help communities and watershed stakeholders create or strengthen cooperative watershed groups, emphasizing grassroots, non-regulatory collaboration and eligibility centered on public entities, tribes, interstate bodies, and non-profits, while excluding federal applicants, most higher education institutions, certain nonprofit classifications, and individuals.

• The Bureau of Reclamation in the natural resources sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "WaterSMART Cooperative Watershed Management Program Phase I Grants for Fiscal Year 2018" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 15.554.
• This funding opportunity was created on 2017-11-15.
• Applicants must submit their applications by 2018-01-31. (Agency may still review applications by suitable applicants for the remaining/unused allocated funding in 2026.)
• Each selected applicant is eligible to receive up to $100,000.00 in funding.
• Eligible applicants include: Others.

Apply for BOR DO 18 F005

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