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.  (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.  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.

(Source:  Amended at 32 Ill. Reg. 19781, effective December 4, 2008)