Application Guide

Instructions for Completing the MNRCP Letter of Intent Summary Form

Project Details

• Project Title: Create a name for the proposed project.
• Sponsoring Organization: List the sponsoring organization responsible for completing the proposed project.
• Coordinator First and Last Name: List the individual responsible for coordinating the proposed project.
• Project Description: Please provide a brief (400 words or less) description of the proposed project. Describe the current context on the proposed project site (e.g., degradation on site, adjacent land uses, etc.) and the changes that will result from proposed conservation activities. Give careful consideration to the MNRCP Review Criteria to ensure the project is consistent with the goals of the program. Also include a brief description of the project readiness (e.g., how soon can it begin, how long will it take to complete, etc.) and list any other active project partners (particularly if another entity will assume long-term management responsibility for the property).

Project Contact Information

• Please provide all the relevant contact information for the sponsoring organization and the individual responsible for coordinating the project.

Project Location

• Provide the town, county and street address of the property. If Map and Lot number are also available, please provide. Note that a map of the proposed project site is also required. Please submit a USGS Topographic Map, or equivalent, showing entire boundary of proposed project, legal access, and adjacency of other public and private conservation lands.

Estimated Project Cost

• Total Project Cost: Should include all projected costs for land acquisition, project design, construction, management, short-term monitoring and long-term stewardship. (Please do not include a dollar sign or any text.)
• MNRCP Fund Request: List requested grant from the Maine Natural Resource Conservation Program. (Please do not include a dollar sign or any text.)
• Other Funding Amount: List the total amount for any other known or likely funds that will be used to complete the project. (Please do not include a dollar sign or any text.)
• Other Funding Sources: List the sources for any other known or likely funds that will be used to complete the project. While matching funds are not required, project cost effectiveness will be evaluated during Full Proposal review.

Resources

• Please respond to each listed question to indicate whether the proposed project is in a habitat area of statewide significance, within or adjacent to other public or private conservation lands, or other natural resource priority areas. Included below are several online resources that may be useful in determining whether a project is located within or adjacent to a resource priority area, though they are not intended to be a complete listing.
• Beginning with Habitat Focus Areas (BwH):BwH provides information about important habitat features including riparian habitats, large habitat blocks, and high value plant and animal habitats including rare plant locations and rare or exemplary Natural Communities; Essential Habitat (designated for some endangered animals); Significant Wildlife Habitat (for deer, waterfowl and wading birds, nesting seabirds, shorebirds, and vernal pools); and Rare Animal Locations.
  • For more information about Beginning with Habitat Focus Areas, contact Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife (IFW) or go to: http://www.maine.gov/doc/nrimc/mnap/focusarea/index.htm
• State public lands: Lands owned by the State of Maine including areas such as IFW Wildlife Management Areas, and Maine Department of Conservation (DOC) Public Reserved Lands and parks (State Historic Sites are not included in the Maine Natural Resource Conservation Program).
  • For more information about IFW Wildlife Management Areas, contact IFW or go to: http://www.maine.gov/ifw/wildlife/land/department/wma.html
  • For more information about DOC Public Reserved Lands or Parks contact DOC or go to: http://www.maine.gov/doc/parks/programs/db_search/index.html
• Natural resources of significant value or rarity (e.g., habitats, species):
  • Maine Office of GIS has interactive online maps of Significant Wildlife Habitats (under DEP applications) and Maine Atlantic Salmon Habitat (under DMR applications) which can be accessed at: http://megis.maine.gov/maps/
  • Information about Essential Wildlife Habitats for Endangered or Threatened Species can be found at: http://www.maine.gov/ifw/wildlife/endangered/essential_habitat/index.html
  • A list of Species of Special Concern in Maine can be found at: http://www.maine.gov/ifw/wildlife/endangered/specialconcern.htm
  • A list of Species of Greatest Conservation Need can be found in Maine’s Comprehensive Wildlife Conservation Strategy September 2005; Chapter 3 – Distribution and Abundance of Wildlife, section 3.3 Species of Greatest Conservation Need: http://www.maine.gov/ifw/pdfs/reports_chapter3.pdf
  • Brook Trout information can be found on the Eastern Brook Trout Joint Venture website: http://easternbrooktrout.org/
  • The Maine Natural Areas Program can provide information on Wetland Natural Communities with rarity ranks of S1 – S3, and exemplary occurrences of S4 – S5 wetland community types:http://www.maine.gov/doc/nrimc/mnap/features/community.htm

Proposed Conservation

• Using the National Inventory of Wetlands (NWI) list of resource types, indicate the number of acres of each resource type that will be:
  • Restored: manipulation of a site to return natural/historic functions to a former or degraded resource, that may result in increased wetland function and/or acreage.
  • Enhanced: manipulation of an existing resource to heighten or improve specific functions, such as water quality or flood water retention.
  • Preserved: removal of a threat to, or prevention of the decline of a resource through appropriate legal and physical mechanisms such as land purchase or conservation easement.
• Note that preservation, restoration, enhancement or creation of upland habitats such as deer wintering areas, New England Cottontail habitat and other habitats not listed above is not appropriate compensation under MNRCP and may have the potential to impact MNRCP resources.
• Below are some websites that may help you to determine the resource type for your project:
  • National Inventory of Wetlands (NWI) website provides locations of some federally mapped wetlands: http://www.fws.gov/wetlands/Data/Mapper.html
  • The Maine Office of GIS has NWI GIS data that can be downloaded (http://www.maine.gov/megis/catalog/index.shtml), and DEP’s website has a Google Earth application for NWI wetlands under “Other Interactive Maps and Data”  (http://www.maine.gov/dep/gis/datamaps/index.htm). Please note that there are many wetlands that are not included on these maps and boundaries are frequently different in the field.
  • Significant Wildlife Habitat: Significant Wildlife Habitats covered under the Maine Natural Resource Conservation Program include: Significant Vernal Pools, Inland Waterfowl and Wading Bird Habitat, Tidal Waterfowl and Wading Bird Habitat, Shorebird Feeding & Staging Areas. For more information about Significant Wildlife Habitats Contact the Maine Department of Environmental Protection (DEP).
  • DEP provides links to locations of significant wildlife habitats via Google Earth. Google Earth must be installed on your computer to use these maps. The following link takes you to the list of bird habitats: http://www.maine.gov/dep/gis/datamaps/#NRPA_Bird Vernal pool data can be found just below the bird habitats.
  • If you have questions about resource types the DEP’s Natural Resources Protection Act page gives additional information and contacts. http://www.maine.gov/dep/blwq/docstand/nrpapage.htm