Grants

DCNR’s Bureau of Recreation and Conservation (BRC) assists local governments and recreation and conservation organizations with funding for projects related to parks, recreation, planning, and conservation. Applications for DCNR’s Community Conservation Partnerships Program grants are accepted once a year, typically during the spring. Grants also support regional and statewide partnerships that build capacity to better develop and manage resources.

The purpose of Conservation Outreach Grants or Agreements is to leverage NRCS and partner resources to assist historically underserved farmers and ranchers and assist farmers and ranchers to improve, restore or maintain natural resources that:

1. Improve soil health.
2. Improve water quality.
3. Provide habitat for local wildlife species of concern.
4. Improve the environmental and economic performance of working agricultural lands.
5. Assist communities and groups to build and strengthen local food projects that provide healthy food and economic opportunities.

CIG is a voluntary program to stimulate the development and adoption of innovative conservation approaches and technologies in conjunction with agricultural production. CIG projects are expected to lead to the transfer of conservation technologies, management systems, and innovative approaches to agricultural producers, into NRCS technical manuals and guides, or to the private sector. CIG generally funds pilot projects, field demonstrations, and innovative ways to transfer conservation methods from one geographic area or ag sector to another. In 2020, Pennsylvania NRCS is prioritizing proposals that improve the “technical toolbox” to address the following on-farm resource concerns: non-industrial private forestland, urban farming, and soil health.

The Conservation Stewardship Program is a voluntary conservation program that helps agricultural producers maintain and improve their existing conservation systems and adopt additional conservation activities to address priority resources concerns. Participants earn CSP payments for conservation performance ‐ the higher the performance, the higher the payment. Through CSP, participants take additional steps to improve the resource conditions on their land—including soil, air and habitat quality, water quality and quantity, and energy conservation.