Section 3060.30 Illinois Habitat Fund Grant Program

Section 3060.30  Illinois Habitat Fund Grant Program

a)         Eligibility Requirements

1)         Eligible

recipients are limited to managers of land.

2)         Eligible

projects are limited to those seeking to preserve, protect, acquire or manage

habitat in Illinois.

b)         Application Procedures

1)         Grant

applications for funding assistance under this program shall be submitted to

the Department at One Natural Resources Way, Springfield, Illinois 62702-1271, Attention:  Office of Resource Conservation.  The application deadline will be

August 1.  Application forms and instructions are available through the

Department.  Applications received after the application deadline will be

returned to the applicant and not considered by the Department.

2)         Applications

shall contain all of the following required information:

A)        the

name and address of the applicant

B)        the

name of a contact person

C)        a

daytime telephone number and e-mail address (if available) for a contact person

D)        a

comprehensive project description with justification, including:

i)          wildlife

to benefit from the project

ii)         plan

for implementation

iii)        map

of project area

iv)        amount

of habitat to be established or managed, including species to be planted or

eliminated

v)         if

with cooperators, plat map showing each property to be developed and a copy of

a farm program contract for each committed cooperator involved in the project

or estimated acreage

to benefit from the project

ii)         plan

for implementation

iii)        map

of project area

iv)        amount

of habitat to be established or managed, including species to be planted or

eliminated

v)         if

with cooperators, plat map showing each property to be developed and a copy of

a farm program contract for each committed cooperator involved in the project

or estimated acreage.  (Committed cooperators will be given priority over

estimated acreage.)

E)        comprehensive

plan for the operation and maintenance of the project, including supervision,

estimated costs (including any and all fees) and storage location, if

applicable

F)         a comprehensive

funding/budget summary, including:

i)          actual

cash contributions other than the grant amount

ii)         documented

purchase price of equipment or commodities

G)        description

of plan for general public access or use (or lack thereof)

H)        signature

of the applicant or authorized individual for applicant

c)         Project Evaluation and

Procedures

1)         All

applications received on time and containing the information required by the

application packet will be reviewed by Department staff.  Incomplete

applications will be returned to the applicant for completion and resubmittal.

Submitting an incomplete application does not extend the application deadline

beyond the designated deadline date.  All complete, eligible and timely applications

will be forwarded to the Illinois Habitat Fund Advisory Committee.

2)

The Illinois Habitat Fund Advisory Committee shall

evaluate each application presented to it according to criteria such as: past

grant performance of the applicant, eligibility, feasibility, adverse impacts,

quality of the proposed habitat, priority of the Department, the applicant's

cost-share match and the applicant's plan for general public access to and/or

use of the proposed habitat development or equipment purchase

isory Committee shall

evaluate each application presented to it according to criteria such as: past

grant performance of the applicant, eligibility, feasibility, adverse impacts,

quality of the proposed habitat, priority of the Department, the applicant's

cost-share match and the applicant's plan for general public access to and/or

use of the proposed habitat development or equipment purchase.

The

Committee shall provide to the Director all eligible applications and a

prioritized list of recommended projects deemed to be consistent with the

purposes of the Illinois Habitat Fund.

3)         The

Director shall make the determination of what grants shall be awarded after

considering the recommendations of the Illinois Habitat Fund Advisory

Committee.  Applicants shall be notified of the Director's decision.