PART 1455—VOLUNTARY PUBLIC ACCESS AND HABITAT INCENTIVE PROGRAM Authority: 15 U.S.C. 714b and 714c; 16 U.S.C. 3839. Source: 75 FR 39140, July 8, 2010, unless otherwise noted. § 1455.1 Purpose and administration. (a) The purpose of this part is to specify requirements and definitions for the Voluntary Public Access and Habitat Incentive Program (VPA-HIP). (b) VPA-HIP provides, within funding limits, grants to State and tribal governments to encourage owners and operators of privately-held farm, ranch, and forest land to voluntarily make that land available for access by the public for wildlife-dependent recreation, including hunting and fishing under programs administered by State and tribal governments. VPA-HIP is not an entitlement program and no grant will be made unless the application is acceptable to the Commodity Credit Corporation (CCC). CCC may reject a application for any reason deemed sufficient by CCC. (c) The regulations in this part are administered under the general supervision and direction of the Chief, Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS). [75 FR 39140, July 8, 2010, as amended at 79 FR 44641, Aug. 1, 2014] § 1455.2 Definitions. (a) The definitions in part 718 of this chapter apply to this part and all documents issued in accordance with this part, except as otherwise provided in this section. (b) The following definitions apply to this part: Appropriate wildlife habitat Farm land Forest land Legal entity Privately-held land Ranch land State State government Tribal government Wildlife-dependent recreation [75 FR 39140, July 8, 2010, as amended at 80 FR 19009, Apr. 9, 2015] § 1455.10 Eligible grant applicants. (a) A State or Tribal government may apply for a VPA-HIP grant. (b) Any applications received by an individual or entity that is not a State or tribal government will not be considered. § 1455.11 Application procedure. (a) Announcement of Program Funding (APF). www.grants.gov (b) Single application. (c) Incomplete applications. (d) Providing data. (e) Required forms. (1) Application for Federal Assistance; (2) Budget Information—Non-Construction Programs; and (3) Assurances—Non-Construction Programs. (f) Application. (1) Title page; (2) Table of contents; (3) Executive summary, which includes; (i) Activities. (ii) Objectives, funding, performance, and other resources. (4) Eligibility certification that certifies that the applicant is a State or tribal government and the individual submitting the application is acting in a representative capacity on behalf of the State or tribal government; (5) Application narrative that must include, but is not limited to, the following: (i) Project title. (ii) Information sheet. (iii) Objectives of the project. (A) A description of how the VPA-HIP funding will be used to encourage public access to private farm, ranch, and forest land for hunting, fishing, and other recreational purposes; (B) A description of the methods that will be used to achieve the provisions of paragraph (f)(5)(iii)(A) of this section; (C) A description of how and to what extent the proposed program will meet with widespread acceptance among landowners; (D) A detailed description of how and to what extent the land enrolled will have appropriate wildlife habitat and how program funds may be used to improve those habitats; (E) A detailed description of how and to what extent public hunting and other recreational access will be increased on land enrolled under a USDA conservation program, or if conservation program land is not available, specify that there is no impact; (F) A detailed description of how any additional Federal, State, tribal government, or private resources will be used to carry out grant activities; and (G) A detailed description of how the public will be made aware of the location of the land enrolled. (iv) Work plan. (H) A description on how this will create a new program or enhance an existing program. (v) Performance evaluation criteria. (vii) Other similar efforts. (viii) Qualifications of personnel. [75 FR 39140, July 8, 2010, as amended at 79 FR 44641, Aug. 1, 2014] § 1455.20 Criteria for grant selection. (a) Incomplete or non-responsive applications will not be evaluated. Applicants may revise their applications and re-submit them prior to the published deadline if there is sufficient time to do so. (b) After all applications have been evaluated using the evaluation criteria and scored in accordance with the point allocation specified in the announcement for program funding, a list of all applications in ranked order, together with funding level recommendations, will be submitted to the Chief or designee. (c) Unless supplemented in a APF, applications for grants for VPA-HIP will be evaluated using the criteria listed in this section. The distribution of points to be awarded per criterion will be identified in the APF. (1) Benefits. (2) Project description and feasibility. (3) Widespread acceptance and maximizing participation of landowners. (4) Appropriate wildlife habitat. (5) Strengthening wildlife habitat for lands under a USDA conservation program. (6) Additional private, Federal, State, or tribal government resources. (7) Making available the location of enrolled land. (8) Performance evaluation criteria. (9) Administrative capabilities. (10) Delivery. (11) Work plan and budget. (12) Qualifications of those performing the tasks. [75 FR 39140, July 8, 2010, as amended at 79 FR 44641, Aug. 1, 2014; 84 FR 19703, May 6, 2019] § 1455.21 Additional responsibilities of grantee. (a) Before receiving grant funding, the grantee will be required to sign an agreement similar in form and substance to the form of agreement published within or as an appendix to the APF. The agreement will require the grantee to commit to do all of the following: (1) Take all practicable steps to develop continuing sources of financial support from other Federal, State, tribal government, or private resources; (2) Make arrangements for the monitoring and evaluation of the activities related to implementation of the public access program of the owners or operators that enroll farm, ranch, and forest land; and (3) Provide an accounting for the money received by the grantee under this subpart. (b) Grantees will be required to monitor funds or services as specified in paragraph (c) of this section, and must agree to that monitoring before grant funds are awarded. (c) The grantee must certify that the grant funds and services will not be used for ineligible purposes. Specifically, grant funds and services may not be used to: (1) Duplicate or replace current services; however, grant funds may be used to expand the level of effort or service beyond what is currently being provided; (2) Pay costs of preparing the application for funding under VPA-HIP; (3) Pay costs of the project incurred prior to the date of grant approval; (4) Fund political activities; (5) Pay any judgment or debt owed to the United States; (6) Pay for the design, repair, rehabilitation, acquisition, or construction of a building or facility (including a processing facility); (7) Purchase, rent or pay for the installation of fixed equipment, other than property identification signs; (8) Pay for the repair of privately owned vehicles; or (9) Pay for research and development not directly related to quantifying the performance of VPA-HIP lands enrolled with funding from VPA-HIP. (d) Grant agreements under this part will be for a term of up to 3 years. (e) Grantees that are States will have the grant amount reduced by 25 percent if opening dates for migratory bird hunting in the State are not consistent for residents and non-residents. This paragraph does not apply to grantees that are Tribal governments. (f) Failure of the grantee to execute a grant agreement in a timely fashion, as determined by the CCC, will be construed to be a withdrawal from VPA-HIP. § 1455.30 Reporting requirements. (a) Grantees must provide the following to NRCS: (1) A “Financial Status Report” listing expenditures according to agreed upon budget categories, on a periodic basis as specified in the grant document. (2) Annual performance reports that compare accomplishments to the objectives stated in the application, and that also: (i) Identify all tasks completed to date and provide documentation supporting the reported results; (ii) If the original schedule provided in the work plan is not being met, the report must discuss the problems or delays that may affect completion of the project; (iii) List objectives for the next reporting period; and (iv) Discuss compliance with any special conditions on the use of award funds. Reports are due as provided in paragraph (a)(1) of this section. (3) Final project performance reports, inclusive of supporting documentation. The final performance report is due within 90 days of the completion of the project. (b) All reports submitted to NRCS will be held in confidence to the extent permitted by law. (c) Grantees must comply with applicable registration and reporting requirements of the Federal Funding Accountability and Transparency Act of 2006 (Pub. L. 109-282, as amended) and 2 CFR parts 25 and 170. [75 FR 39140, July 8, 2010, as amended at 79 FR 44641, Aug. 1, 2014] § 1455.31 Miscellaneous. (a) Inspection. (b) Performance evaluation. (c) Suspend, terminate, or require refund. (1) That the grantee or subrecipient of grant funds has demonstrated insufficient progress in complying with the terms of the grant agreement; (2) The opening dates for migratory bird hunting in a State have been changed so as to be not consistent for residents and non-residents during the term of the grant; (3) There is reasonable evidence that shows joint funding has not been or will not be forthcoming on a timely basis; or (4) Such other cause as CCC identifies in writing to the grantee based on reasonable evidence (including but not limited to the use of Federal grant funds for ineligible purposes). (d) Advance or reimbursement. (e) Appeals. (f) Environmental review. (g) Civil rights. (h) Other regulations. (i) Audit. (j) Change in scope or objectives. (k) Exceptions. (l) Enforcement and refunds; liens and schemes or devices. [75 FR 39140, July 8, 2010, as amended at 79 FR 44641, Aug. 1, 2014]