e Washington Office 1400 Independence Avenue, SWForest Se.-vi<e Washington, D.C. 20250

File Code: 3360 Date: JUL 1 9 2019 Route To:

Subject: Fiscal Year 2021 Project Selection Process for the Forest Legacy Program

To: Regional Foresters, IITF Director

REPLY DUE NOVEMBER 25, 2019

The fiscal year (FY) 2021 project selection process for the Forest Legacy Program (FLP) will be competitive, merit-based, and coordinated by the Washington Office (WO). The final project list will be submitted to the Office of Management and Budget, through the Department of Agriculture, for consideration in the President's Budget. The process to complete the final project selection will be as follows:

Step 1: Projects Submitted for Funding Consideration to R/1 Due: November 18, 2019

Each Region and the Institute (R/I) will work with State Lead Agencies to ensure that all proposed projects are entered into the Forest Legacy Information System (FLIS). The States can submit up to three projects, not to exceed a total of $10,000,000 (individual projects cannot exceed $7,000,000). The State Lead Agency is responsible for data entry and accuracy. The R/I is responsible for reviewing and validating the information for each project. All projects must meet the following criteria:

• Be reviewed, evaluated and selected by the State's Forest Stewardship Coordinating Committee and approved by the State Lead Agency (States may include priority ranking ifmore than one project is submitted, but it is not required);

• Be consistent with the FLP goals of the State Forest Action Plan (Statewide Assessment and Resource Strategy, including Assessments of Need);

• Be located within a designated Forest Legacy Area; and • Be within the funding limits described above.

The information provided for each project should include: • The project's priority rank, if indicated by the State; • List of supporting tracts in order of priority, if applicable; • Estimated project costs, which cannot exceed $7,000,000; • Estimated cost-share, which must be at least 25 percent of the total project cost; • Estimated costs of each tract rounded to the nearest $5,000; and • Project description in FLIS.

The R/I should provide the State Lead Agencies with the scoring guidance (Enclosure 1), and the States should use it when preparing the project description in FLIS. Enclosure 2 should also be provided. Enclosure 2 provides recommendations for improving project maps.

USDA ~ ~

America's Working Forests -Caring Every Day in Every Way Printed on Recycled Paper "'

2 Regional Foresters, IITF Director

State Lead Agencies should be advised that a total of24 projects were funded in FY 2019. The funding average was $2,317,000 and the funding range was $155,000 to $6,000,000. They should also be advised that the total amount of unspent project funds has been rising steadily each year anrl is currently at $17..S million (not inclusive of 7.019 fimcis). Tn response, there is additional guidance in this letter related to old funds and outstanding dollar amounts.

The enclosed scoring guidance has not been changed from what was sent last year.

Please remember that proposed projects located within the boundaries of Federal management units require letters of support from the Federal Official responsible for that management unit. If the project is a resubmittal or continuing phase, please coordinate with that Federal Official to ensure that the documentation of support is updated.

Step 2: Regional Project List to WO Due: November 25, 2019

Prior to developing the Regional project list, each State should be evaluated by the R/I regarding its fulfillment of the FLP core program requirements listed below:

1. Baseline reports for all closed conservation easement tracts; 2. Forest stewardship plan or multi-resource management plan for all closed conservation

easement tracts; 3. Annual monitoring conducted for all closed conservation easements tracts and is reflected

in FLIS; 4. Addressed significant conservation easement violations and/or has a conservation

easement violation plan; 5. Implemented a record keeping protocol for all FLP tracts; 6. Developed and implementing an action plan to address recommendation in State Program

Review; 7. Developed and implementing an action plan to address recommendations in a Quality

Assurance Inspection 8. State is up-to-date on grant reporting requirements.

In addition, the R/I should provide the amount of unspent funds, dates of grant awards and number of project tracts a State has outstanding. The panel will evaluate unspent funds as part of the development of the prioritized project list. If a State has substantial unspent funds, this will be evaluated along with other criteria, to determine a project's position on the prioritized list and may also be used to determine the amount of funding recommended by the National Project Selection Panel. In submitting projects for consideration, the R/I is indicating their determination that the State has sufficient capacity to successfully undertake these additional project grants and make progress if it receives grant awards.

The information requested in this section is necessary for the panel to have available during the project prioritization process. Please ensure that the information provided is accurate and complete. Please provide all the requested information.

3 Regional Foresters, IITF Director

For the majority of States, we expect that all requirements will be met. In the rare case that persistent deficiencies in a State's performance are identified and cannot be remedied, the State may either not submit projects for consideration, or, submit projects with the understanding that the R/I will inform the WO that these projects should not be reviewed and ranked by the National Review Panel. The projects will still be part of the National list, but will be added to the bottom, below the reviewed and ranked projects. It is expected that the R/I will work closely with the State during the year to address all deficiencies.

Prior to the due date, Forest Service WO and R/I FLP program staff will discuss deficiencies to ensure consistent treatment of States' projects. Using the information above, each R/I will submit to the WO a list of recommended projects and supporting information. The R/I will inform the WO if projects should not be reviewed and ranked because ofperformance deficiencies. Also, the R/I will identify any projects that must be funded in their entirety and cannot be phased.

Project briefs are expected to be an accurate representation of the property and the conditions upon which the projects are ranked. After project competition, any changes to the project size, configuration, or the estate presented for funding consideration can only be made with the approval of the Forest Service. States submitting projects should have an understanding of the quality of title when submitting a project for consideration. Encumbrances to title and agreements that impact a project should be reviewed to determine if a project is eligible to participate in the FLP.

Project briefs are designed to represent the property proposed for acquisition, not the attributes of a larger proposed project area, previously acquired phases or the general geographic area where a project is located. Attributes of a larger project may be discussed in the general description and in the Strategic section.

Projects with multiple landowners must show these as multiple tracts within a project table and in the project map.

Step 3: Project Briefs for National Review Panel December 9, 2019

The WO will compile all project briefs from FLIS for distribution to National Review Panel members with the goal of sending them to panel members by December 9, 2019. These documents will be the primary source of project information used by the National Review Panel to score and rank the projects. The package will include project briefing sheets, regional project lists, and scoring guidance (see enclosure). In addition, at the in-person meeting, the National Review Panel will receive project backlog information and average duration for a State to close projects, compiled after January 1, 2020.

Step 4: National FLP Review Panel Meeting January 8-9, 2020

The WO will convene a National Review Panel to facilitate the development of a National Project List. The panel will include three Forest Service WO representatives, three R/I Forest

4 Regional Foresters, IITF Director

Service representatives, and six State Lead Agency representatives. The panel will review and rank the projects based on the scoring guidance.

Tn arl<lition, the review pimd will pay particular attention to the amount of unspent funds each State has acquired in outstanding grants. The panel will especially scrutinize funding from FY 2016 and earlier as well as reviewing the amounts of all outstanding project dollars. The panel will also be concerned about the total amount of outstanding funds.

While States, R/1 and the National panel work to ensure funding is allocated to excellent projects in States where funding can be efficiently used, some States have considerable, unspent older project funds.

All States may submit projects for consideration. However, States with FY 2016 and older funding will not be placed highly on the prioritized project list and may be included at the bottom. Also, States with greater than $10 million in total of unspent funds, regardless of age, will likely have their projects placed below the most recently enacted amount.

Outstanding figures will be drawn from FLIS after January 1, 2020. The R/1 Program Manager will notify the National Program Manager of unprocessed deobligations or imminent project closings that reduce a State's outstanding figure. Regional submissions can also include a rationale for considering FY202 l projects when extraordinary circumstances exist for a State with FY 2016 or older funding or total funds above $10 million (This is not a request for an explanation of every instance of funds older than FY 2016. Rather, if the Region truly believes that there are extraordinary circumstances it is an opportunity to explain those circumstances). This information will be available during the panel discussion.

States should be prepared to make progress on projects in the same year as a project is funded. Upon receiving funding, States must show that they have initiated work on all seven elements of readiness in the first calendar year of project funding. Readiness as outlined in the project brief is a component of evaluating the likelihood of a project's success, but other factors can impact the success of a project; such as the number of funded, not-yet-closed projects and the age of project grants (as noted above). The initial grant period of an award will be two years, and, while it is possible to extend beyond that period if challenges are encountered and an extension is warranted, the expectation is the acquisition will be completed within the initial grant period. If there is not a reasonable expectation that a State can successfully undertake the project, a project may not be recommended for funding.

In the event that a significant change to a suhmitted project (i.e., project phasing, funding reduction, or selection out of State priority order) is being considered by the panel, an attempt will be made to consult with the affected State. It is recommended that State Forest Legacy Program Managers be available to answer questions and provide information during the timeframe of this meeting.

Whether a project is phased or the funding is reduced, it is expected that the State proceed toward closing on the portion of the project it can complete with the appropriated FLP funds .

5 Regional Foresters, IITF Director

They should not hold the money, and seek additional funding in a future fiscal year without pursuing the funded portion.

Step 5: Submit National FLP Project List to OMB/Congress J nnunry 17, 2020

The final Project List will be submitted to the State and Private Forestry (S&PF) Deputy Chief for approval. The S&PF Deputy Chief will work with the Director of Forest Service Strategic Planning, Budget and Accountability to provide information to 0MB and the House and Senate Appropriations committees in accordance with current law, policy and direction.

If you have any questions, please contact Scott Stewart, National Forest Legacy Program Manager, at (202) 205-1618.

~H~m:/Chief, State and Private Forestry

Enclosures (2) cc: Scott Stewart