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Natural and Working Lands Grant Offerings

Background

House Bill 3409 was signed into law by the Governor on July 27th, 2023. The Bill established a Natural and Working Lands (NWL) fund to provide financial incentives and technical support to help Tribes, landowners, land managers, and environmental justice communities adopt practices that support natural climate solutions. Incentivizing natural climate solutions is part of Oregon’s comprehensive strategy for reducing greenhouse gas emissions. Distributing these funds builds on OWEB’s longstanding commitment to watershed health, while also allowing for greater emphasis on community co-benefits such as air quality improvements from urban reforestation to job creation in under-resourced rural areas.

This offering builds on feedback gathered during a 3-month engagement process in the Fall of 2024, however, OWEB recognizes that there may need to be revisions to the program as subsequent funding becomes available and welcomes feedback provided to the project managers below. Determination of future grant cycles will be made following the close of the current offering.

Grant Offerings with NWL Funds

OWEB will administer the NWL funds through the following programs and it is important that interested applicants review the specific program guidance for the program they are interested in.

Restoration and Technical Assistance Grants

Plan and implement a wide range of natural climate solutions on Natural and Working Lands. 

Offered: No Future Offerings Planned
Opened: February 5, 2025 - Closed: April 1, 2025


Conservation Management Plan grants

Supports the development of Conservation Management Plans (CMPs) on agricultural land through the Oregon Agricultural Heritage Program. It will also fund payments-for-practice to provide per-acre payments for ecosystem services.

Offered: No Future Offerings Planned
Opened: February 3, 2025 - Closed: April 1, 2025


Eligibility

Restoration and Techinical Assistance Grants

Any Tribe, watershed council, soil and water conservation district, not-for-profit corporation, school, Oregon institution of higher education, independent not-for-profit institution of higher education, or political subdivision of this state that is not a state agency. A state agency or federal agency may partner with an eligible entity.​​​

Conservation Management Plan Grants

Any Tribe, watershed council, soil and water conservation district, or not-for-profit institution.

​​Projects with one or more of the following natural climate solutions are eligible for funding. For more information about each recommended practice and evidence for included activities please see page 57-89 of the Institute for Natural Resources’ report, Foundational Elements to Advance the Oregon Global Warming Commissions’ Natural and Working Lands Proposal.​ Practices that incorporate justice, equity, or Traditional Ecological Knowledge will have an added benefit in meeting the legislative intent of 3409.

Blue Carbon

  • Tidal wetland conservation and restoration
Rangelands

  • Prevent conversion of grasslands, shrublands, and savannas to juniper woodlands or invasive annual plant-dominated systems
  • Restore deep-rooted perennial grasses to areas impacted by invasive species (including prescribed or cultural burns*)
  • Restore functioning riparian areas
Forest Lands

  • Afforestation/Reforestation
  • Improved forest management to reduce wildfire risk, increase overall age of forest, etc. (including prescribed or cultural burns*)
  • Increase the proportion of harvested wood products used for durable building materials
Urban Lands

  • Maintain and expand forest vegetation cover
  • Improve fertilizer use in urban and suburban lands to reduce excess nitrogen releases​​​​
Agricultural Lands via Conservation Management Planning Grants

  • Increase riparian buffer areas beyond the edge of the field
  • Stormwater runoff control
  • Improve nutrient management and reduce nitrogen application
  • Increase woody plant coverage
  • Encourage no-till and reduced-till residue management
  • Implement edge-of-field herbaceous (non-woody) conservation practices
  • Improve grazing and pasture-based management, including rotational grazing
  • Cover crops
  • Prescribed or cultural burns*

​​*Prescribed or Cultural Burns:
​​OWEB welcomes applications that include prescribed fire as a way to reduce hazardous fuels and re-introduce periodic fire to fire-adapted landscapes, while reducing the risk of high-intensity wildfires and promoting climate resiliency. OWEB encourages interested applicants to identify burn leadership and to include information about burn timelines and desired ecological outcomes in the application stage whenever possible.  ​

Once funded, grantees conducting prescribed fire should follow all local guidance and regulations for air quality and burn management, including the best practices outlined in ODF’s Certified Burn Manager program.​ When a fire is taking place on ODF-protected land, OWEB encourages grantees to use a Certified Burn Manager and enroll in the Prescribed Fire Liability Program. This provides $1,000,000 per incident for claims for damages as well as suppression cost for burns that meet all eligibility requirements. This fund is available to Certified Burn Managers, ODF, Forest Protective Associations, Rangeland Protection Associations, and Cultural Fire Practitioners. ODF protected lands can be found here.​ 

Grant Cycles and Application Process

Grant applications will be reviewed by a review team comprising of external reviewers who are knowledgeable about natural climate solutions, equity, and funding opportunities throughout the state in accordance with priorities outlined in HB3409.  The review team will be educated on OWEB’s bias and conflict of interest policy.  ​​The Natural and Working Lands funds fall under the administrative rules of Open Solicitation​ or the Oregon Agricultural Heritage Program​, with the added​ lens of the legislative intent of HB3409.

First and foremost an application will be evaluated, on the legislative intent of House Bill 3409 to prioritize natural climate solutions led by or supporting Tribes and environmental justice communities. Then, on the respective grant program's (Restoration and Technical Assistance or Conservation Management Plan) evaluation criteria, and OWEB's climate criteria.​​

​It is important to note that the review team that evaluates applications looks at the criteria holistically and an applicant will understandably be stronger in some criteria than others. The criteria are intentionally broad in definition and include factors that are important to meeting the legislative intent of HB2409. This is particularly true in the following criteria:

  • “Watershed benefits adequately quantified” speaks to ecosystem functions broadly, including the carbon sequestration storage and capacity of the soil.
  • “Past projects completed as proposed” and “Applicant has proven track record for managing projects” is regardless of whether projects were funded by OWEB. The Natural and Working Lands funds are explicitly intended to help remove barriers so that a diversity of landowners and land managers can engage in natural climate solutions.
  • “Clearly defined and appropriate methods described” and other criteria that speak to methods or data are inclusive of Traditional Ecological Knowledge if the applicant chooses to include ecological principles that are not based on Western science.

If a potential applicant has questions about evaluation criteria, please don’t hesitate to contact OWEB staff for further information.​​​​​​​​

The application timeline for Natural and Working Lands funds is as follows:

​​
NWL ​Restoration and Technical Assistance Grants
​OAHP Conservation Management Plan Grants
​Solicitation Announced
​February 5, 2025
​February 3, 2025
​Informational Webinar
​February 19, 2025
​February 12, 2025
​Application Due Date
​April 1, 2025
​April 1, 2025
​Technical Review Meeting
​Mid-May
​Mid-May
​Review Determination
​July 22-23, 2025
​July 22-23, 2025

OWEB strongly recommends that applicants submit their grant applications at least 24 hours before the application deadline. OWEB’s online grant applications include a verification step that will flag missing answers to application questions and budget/match discrepancies in the application. Verifying and submitting your grant application at least 24 hours in advance allows time for applicants to correct errors that are found during verification. All applications must be successfully submitted through OWEB’s online grant application system by 5 pm on Tuesday, April 1st, 2025. ​No exceptions will be made.

Applicants should carefully review all guidance materials on the Natural and Working Lands or Conservation Management Plan webpages and information (including iButtons) in the online grant applications. This review will help applicants confirm before submitting their application that all questions are answered completely, based on the guidelines included in the application, and all required uploads are provided.

Application templates​ can be downloaded for offline collaboration prior to submission.​

Application Requirements

The following materials are required as uploads for Natural and Working Lands funds:

  • Letters of Support: These letters should demonstrate meaningful engagement with local communities disproportionately impacted by climate change and should correspond to the question in the application. For a helpful resource about what this entails, please see the guidance questions on page 18-19 of the Oregon Climate Equity Blueprint.
  • Maps
  • Confirmation of Match Funding Form
  • Land Use Form​ (for Restoration applications only)

For applicants familiar with OWEB’s Restoration and Technical Assistance applications, the Natural and Working Lands version is very similar, with a couple of questions to gather more information about the social context and justice considerations:

  1. Describe the social context at your project site, including how current or projected climate impacts affect human communities and the potential for natural climate solutions to support social, economic, cultural, human health, or other co-benefits. If appropriate, describe the cultural significance of the project site or the history of land stewardship as it relates to the implementation of climate solutions.
    1. For this question, please discuss the human dimensions of the proposed site and the value of natural climate solutions in addressing social inequities or vulnerabilities. DLCD’s Draft Climate Change Vulnerability Analysis may be a helpful tool for summarizing specific regional vulnerabilities but is not intended to replace community engagement and the applicant’s on-the-ground knowledge.
  2. Describe the role of Tribes, environmental justice communities, or communities disproportionately impacted by climate change in leading or informing the design and implementation of this project.
    1. Please speak to the process for accessible and inclusive community engagement around the proposed project. This engagement should be reflected in the supplemental letters (described above). Again, for additional guidance about community engagement, see the guidance questions on page 18-19 of the State of Oregon Climate Equity Blueprint.

​1. Obtain a login (username and password).
If your organization already has an OGMS login, skip to step 2.
    An OGMS login is required to access the online grant application. Only one login per organization is allowed. If no login exists for an organization, please email Leilani Sullivan to request one. Include the following in your email:
    • ​​Organization name and address
    • Grantee Contact Information: name, title, email address, and phone number for the person who will receive all communication from OWEB and sign any grant agreements.
    • Payee Contact Information: name, email address, and phone number for the person who keeps records and submits payment requests and documentation.
    • FEIN (Federal Employer Identification Number). OWEB may enter into agreements only with legally established entities. OWEB will review potential applicants prior to creating an OGMS login.
    • Per federal guidance, all OWEB grantees must be registered at the System for Award Management (SAM) before receiving a grant agreement. Entities will received a non-proprietary identifier (called the Unique Entity Identifier (UEI​.) This identifier is assigned by SAM (sam.gov​​​ is a free service) and entities must update their registration annually.
2. Lo​​g in to the Online Application.
Guidance to help you fill out the application is always available in the top navigation bar of the online application. An ​application template is also available after you log in and choose "Create a New Application.
    To apply for Restoration and Technical Assistance grants, please be sure to select the “Natural and Working Lands” application.
    To apply for OAHP Conservation Easement Planning grants, please be sure to select the "Conservation Easement Planning" application. ​​

Additional Resources for Applicants

Contact

For questions about the Natural and Working Lands funds:
Please direct questions or comments about the NWL funds Restoration or Technical Assistance offerings to Alexa Schmidt, Water and Climate Coordinator, 971-718-4904.
Please direct questions or comments about OAHP grants to Taylor Larson, Agricultural Heritage Program Coordinator, 971-701-3248.