NRCS Louisiana Partnership Opportunity
The Louisiana NRCS, an agency under the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), is seeking support from natural resource conservation partners to provide outreach promoting NRCS programs that enhance conservation delivery in Louisiana. Conservation partners are invited to apply for NRCS assistance with projects focused on one or more of the following key Outreach Conservation Objectives:
• Utilize Outreach efforts to increase awareness of soil health, sustainable agricultural practices and best forestry management conservation. Increase participation in NRCS programs and services by socially disadvantaged, historically underserved, limited resource, women, veterans and beginning farmers and ranchers in Louisiana through such methods as described below: o Conducting Conferences, Urban Ag Workshops, Joint USDA Outreach Meetings, Women in Ag Conferences, Farmers Cooperatives Workshops, Regional Summits, Conservation Demonstration Tours, Establishment of School and Community Gardens to function as a living classroom for targeted audiences, Engaging youth and community stakeholders in the implementation and maintenance of a walking trail and wetland park within a defined geographical area. Partners will have the ability to host meetings and events virtually utilizing methods such as Facebook Live, Zoom, YouTube, Video blogs, etc.
• Use of drones to capture aerial photos and videos of special NRCS projects to be used by outreach and public affairs to promote NRCS programs and objectives. o Work may include taking aerial photos/videos with unmanned aircraft systems (UASs). All UASs must be registered with the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and marked in accordance with 14 CFR Part 45. An FAA-issued certificate of authorization (COA) is required for all UAS operations within the National Airspace System (NAS). If the Contractor has a section-333 exemption, operates under part 107 rules, or other FAA authorization, those may be used instead of a COA. A complete COA package includes, but is not limited to, the operational plan, project aviation safety plan, risk assessment, airworthiness, airspace, pilot qualifications, frequencies, and communication plan. All COAs are Page 7 of 26 developed and submitted using the COA online system (https://ioeaaa.faa.gov). The Contractor will be responsible for obtaining the COA and all reporting and coordination with the FAA. UAS video/photos may be used in very remote locations to document conservation activities prior to, during, or after construction. Some sites may be accessible only by water with little to no land in the area, therefore the UAS must be capable of landing on the bow of a boat. Some sites may be very large and require multiple take/offs and landings to cover the entire area. Marine transportation will be provided by NRCS. Metadata for photos shall include latitude/longitude coordinates, indicate angle orientation (must be able to identify north direction), and include project name (provided by NRCS). Photos shall be a minimum of 10.0 megapixels and provided in *.jpeg format. Up to 100 photos may be taken at each location and with specific instructions to be identified in the field. Videos shall be a minimum of 30 fps/VGA, a minimum of 3 minutes in length, and provided in *.mp4 format. Up to 10 videos may be taken at each location and with specific instructions to be identified in the field. Proposed projects must be performed in Louisiana.
The application period is open from March 10, 2023 – May 10, 2023. The attached document contains guidance on how to apply. Please forward to anyone who may be interested. If you have any questions feel free to contact me.
Eugene Livingston Jr.
State Outreach Coordinator
USDA/NRCS – Louisiana
3737 Government Street
Alexandria, LA 71302
Office: 318-473-7674
Cell: 318-541-0037