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About

About MNRCP

The Maine Natural Resource Conservation Program (MNRCP) awards competitive grants to projects that restore, enhance, and protect high priority aquatic resources throughout Maine. MNRCP is administered by The Nature Conservancy on behalf of the Maine Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. Since its launch in 2008, MNRCP has awarded over $33 million to non-profit groups, municipalities, and public agencies to help restore, enhance, or preserve wetlands and other important habitats at over 170 project sites across the state. For more information about the program, view the latest MNRCP Annual Report and MNRCP Status and Trends Report.

MNRCP was created to manage the allocation of funds collected through Maine’s In Lieu Fee Compensation Program. This voluntary program provides flexibility for regulators as well as for those seeking natural resource permits to choose a fee in lieu of more traditional permittee-responsible mitigation options. These so-called In Lieu Fees are collected by the Maine DEP and then transferred to the Natural Resource Conservation Fund administered by The Nature Conservancy.

Funds are awarded through an annual competitive grants process. Proposals are solicited each year and evaluated by a Review Committee, convened by the Maine DEP, and made up of public and nonprofit entities. Proposals are reviewed and scored using a defined set of Review Criteria, which was recently updated in May of 2024. Final award decisions are made in November or December of each year by the Interagency Review Team (Approval Committee) comprised of state and federal agencies. The Nature Conservancy administers the process but does not decide which proposals receive funding. View a list of the program's committee members.

NOTE: The 2024 funding round is now closed. The next funding round will open in the spring of 2025.
If you wish to receive the Request for Letters of Intent for future funding rounds and have not received mailings in the past, please contact maineresources@tnc.org.

Ready to apply? Read a step-by-step guide to the grants process and apply for funding.

Additional information about MNRCP is available on the US Army Corps of Engineer's Maine In-Lieu Fee Program website.

 
Woman surveys a vernal pool

Additional Resources

Who We Help

  • Conservation Groups

    Conservation Groups

    Land and water conservation groups are well suited to apply for grants from MNRCP to restore and protect aquatic resources in Maine. Land trusts are encouraged to look for opportunities to restore or enhance habitat on lands they already manage, as these projects can be funded through MNRCP. Land trusts can also apply for funding for fee or conservation easement acquisitions that will protect threatened wetland habitat. Acquisition projects that also include enhancement or restoration are particularly competitive.  Non-profits working to restore watershed health, or to re-establish connectivity for aquatic organisms, are eligible to apply as well.

    For a step-by-step guide to the application process, please follow this link.

    Examples of projects led by conservation groups that were awarded MNRCP grants:

    • Taylor Bait Ponds, Orono
    • Hansen Pond, Acton
    • Tiger Hill Forest, Casco
  • Environmental Consultants

    Environmental Consultants

    Environmental consultants provide essential expertise for the design and completion of many projects to restore and protect aquatic resources in Maine. MNRCP can provide funding for most of the work that environmental consultants do to support a project, including site selection, project design, construction oversight, long-term monitoring, and project management. Environmental consultants are encouraged to reach out to land trusts, municipalities, and state agencies to help identify potential project sites. While for-profit entities are not eligible to receive funding directly from MNRCP, consultants can partner with non-profit organizations or state or local government entities to submit proposals to MNRCP. 

    For a step-by-step guide to the application process, please follow this link.

    Examples of projects using environmental consultants that were awarded MNRCP grants:

    • Frost Gully Brook Dam Removals, Freeport
    • Walton's Mill Dam Removal, Farmington
  • Municipalities and Public Agencies

    Municipalities and Public Agencies

    Towns, cities, and state and federal agencies have an important role to play in restoring and protecting aquatic resources in Maine, and all are eligible to receive MNRCP funding. Grants can be awarded for restoration projects to remove roads from wetlands, upgrade culverts, or remove derelict dams. Grants can also be given for fee or conservation easement acquisitions that protect threatened wetland habitat identified in a town’s comprehensive plan, or as additions to an agency’s management areas. Knowing that some towns and agencies have limited staff or capacity, MNRCP can provide funding for consultants to manage a project from start to finish, including design, implementation, construction, and long-term monitoring.

    For a step-by-step guide to the application process, please follow this link.

    Examples of projects led by towns, cities and public agencies that were awarded MNRCP grants:

    • Pollard Flat, Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife, Masardis
    • Suckfish Brook II - McDermott Way, Town of Falmouth
    • Fixing Furbish salt marsh enhancement, US Fish and Wildlife Service, Wells
  • Tribes

    Tribes

    MNRCP is a funding source available to the Tribes in Maine to either purchase lands or to conduct wetland restoration projects. Tribes can apply for funding for acquisitions that will protect threatened wetland habitat and associated upland buffer. Acquisition projects that include wetland enhancement or restoration are particularly competitive. Tribes are also encouraged to look for opportunities to restore or enhance habitat on lands they already manage, as these projects can be funded through MNRCP.

    MNRCP can fund the work of environmental consultants and/or engineers working with the Tribes on wetland restoration or enhancement projects as well as funding long-term monitoring and stewardship of a project site. No matching funds are required by MNRCP, although proposals that include some matching funds may score and rank better.

    If you have questions about a potential project, please contact Bryan Emerson, Mitigation Program Manager, at bryan.emerson@tnc.org or 207-607-4821, to discuss whether or not the project may be a good fit for MNRCP.

    For a step-by-step guide to the application process, please follow this link.

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