LAND STEWARD GRANTS

Small grant funding to assist private landowners with conservation projects

The Upper Willamette Soil & Water Conservation District is offering grants to support projects implemented by land stewards (including landowners and tenants) that create public conservation benefits on private lands. Criteria for this grant are:

  • Project activities should take not more than 18 months to implement.
  • Applicants must demonstrate a 10% match of either cash or in-kind.
  • Projects must occur in a rural area within the District geographic boundaries of central and eastern Lane County.
  • Projects must create environmental conservation benefits that align with District priorities.
  •  Project funding is available for voluntary projects only, and cannot be used for legally / regulatorily required activities.

Funding requests should align with one or more of the following District priorities for this funding opportunity:

  • Protect & enhance water quality
  • Improve water conservation
  • Promote soil health & nutrient management
  • Improve fish & wildlife habitat

The application is a two-step process:

  1. The first step is to submit a brief letter of inquiry summarizing the project site characteristics, natural resource concerns, and the proposed project/s. The deadline to submit a letter of inquiry is 11:59 PM on November 19th, 2025.
  2. Applicants that are invited to submit a full proposal will complete a second step of developing a budget and describing in greater detail the project that is proposed.

Full guidelines and application forms for the Land Steward grants are available here.

The application guidelines will include all the information needed to apply. Please note that all applicants must create an account in our online grant management system, Foundant, in order to submit an application. To get started, please visit our Online Portal and click “Create New Account.”

Pre-application information session. There will be an online information session on Friday, October 31st from 12-1 PM on Zoom. District staff will review the guidelines and application process, and answer any questions that prospective applicants may have.

The information session is optional; it is not required to attend in order to apply for the grant.

To register for the information session, complete this brief form: https://forms.gle/wJDjD7wefyNgnnBu9

Apoyo de traducción para las personas hispanohablantes

Nos comprometemos a trabajar con las personas solicitantes que sean hispanohablantes y que deseen preparar su solicitud en su lengua materna. Si necesita ayuda para preparar una propuesta en español, envíenos un correo electrónico a [email protected] y nos pondremos en contacto con usted para crear un plan de preparación de su propuesta con ayuda de traducción.”