Great Lakes Restoration Initiative: Community Forest and Open Space Conservation Program
Applications close Dec 8, 2026
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- Agency
- Liam M Krause Grantor
- Opportunity number
- USDA-FS-2026-GLRI-CFP
- Posted
- Jul 22, 2026
- Closes
- Dec 8, 2026
- Award ceiling
- $1,000,000
- Estimated program funding
- $3,500,000
- Cost sharing required
- true
About this opportunity
Federally recognized Indian Tribes, local government entities, and nonprofit organizations that are qualified to acquire and manage land may apply for up to $1,000,000 for the fee simple acquisition of private forest land in portions of the Lake Superior Basin of Michigan and Wisconsin. Projects submitted for funding consideration must be forested properties at least five acres in size that are threatened by conversion to non-forest uses and that provide community benefits including economic, environmental, educational, and recreational benefits. An additional focus of this opportunity is to protect, enhance and increase resilience of habitats necessary for sustaining native aquatic and terrestrial species important to the Lake Superior ecosystem. Competitive proposals will be those that demonstrate exceptional public benefits, meaningful community engagement, and strategic contributions to terrestrial habitat connectivity within the defined Terrestrial Habitat Connectivity Pilot Area.
For additional information and requirements, please refer to the Notice of Funding Opportunity document linked in both the "Related Documents" tab and the "Instructions" link located in the "Package" tab.
Who can apply
How to apply
- 1Register your organization
Applications are submitted by your institution, not individuals. Make sure your organization has an active SAM.gov registration (with a UEI) and a Grants.gov account with an Authorized Organization Representative.
- 2Read the full notice
Open the official notice for the complete eligibility rules, review criteria, page limits, and required forms. Applications close Dec 8, 2026.
- 3Download the application package
From the Grants.gov opportunity page, download the package (or apply via your agency's system where required) and prepare each component.
- 4Build and submit
Prepare the budget and narrative, route for institutional sign-off, and submit before the deadline: GrantsManager can track every step for you.
Agency contact: Liam M Krause Grantor · liam.krause@usda.gov
Details are pulled from Grants.gov and can change, always confirm against the official notice. GrantsManager isn't affiliated with these agencies.
Resources for applying
All USDA / NIFA grants and resources- Proposal submission checklist
A pre-submission checklist for research proposals: solicitation review, internal routing, budget, compliance, and sponsor-system steps to hit the deadline cleanly.
- Direct vs. indirect costs
The difference between direct and indirect costs on research grants, with examples of each, the gray areas like administrative salaries, and how indirect costs are calculated from your F&A rate.
- Reading your Notice of Award
The parts of a Notice of Award that determine what you can spend, when, and what needs prior approval, plus the terms that cause disallowed costs if missed.
- Grant Budget Template
A five-year research grant budget in Excel that calculates fringe, the NIH salary cap, the MTDC base, and F&A automatically.
- Budget Justification Template
A free budget justification (budget narrative) template for research grants, organized by the federal R&R budget categories, with example language for personnel, fringe, equipment, travel, other direct costs, subawards, and F&A.
- Grant Letter of Intent Template
A free grant letter of intent (LOI) template with two versions: the short NIH letter of intent requested in many funding opportunities, and a foundation LOI that pitches the project before a full proposal.
- Letter of Support Template for Grant Applications
A free letter of support template for NIH and other research grant applications, with collaborator and consultant versions, what NIH asks letters to include, and how NIH's move to letters of collaboration affects them.
- F&A & MTDC calculator
Build the Modified Total Direct Cost base, apply your F&A rate, and see total direct costs, indirect costs, and the full award total, with the usual MTDC exclusions handled.
- Grant burn rate
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- Grants.gov
Federal grant applications and forms for NIH, USDA, and many others.
- USDA NIFA
USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture programs and grants.
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