Federal Grants for Vegetation Management

Federal Grants to Help Fund Your Vegetation Management

Understanding How To Receive Funding for Integrated Vegetation Management From the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act

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State and local Department of Transportation (DOT) employees know it’s not just hard work that keeps our rights-of-way areas safe and clear of weeds. It takes money, too. The latest herbicide innovations from Envu make for strong investments in keeping invasive weeds, brush and grasses at bay. Now, thanks to a recent government infrastructure bill, there’s a new grant available that your DOT can apply for to receive funding for herbicide applications.

Here’s the 101 on the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act and how to apply for DOT funding.

What is the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act and How Does It Affect DOT?

After passing the House and Senate, President Biden signed this 1,039-page bill in November 2021. While there are obviously many sections and pieces to this bit of legislation, there is one part that is specifically relevant to land managers and employees of the DOT.

Under the bill, the Secretary of Transportation has created a grant program for entities to secure funding for activities that benefit pollinators on roadsides, railways and highway rights-of-way. This covers using integrated vegetation management programs to eliminate invasive plants and address weed issues, following pollinator-friendly practices.

The grant program also covers forest management activities like using herbicides in an integrated vegetation management program to prevent and minimize damage from wildfires. Learn more about best forestry management practices on our forestry topic page.

Ultimately, this section of the bill has earmarked $250 million for these purposes, with an award floor of $1 million and a ceiling of $25 million per applying entity.

What Exactly Is Considered an Invasive Plant?

According to the USDA, an invasive plant is “a plant that is both nonnative and able to establish on many sites, grow quickly, and spread to the point of disrupting plant communities or ecosystems.”¹ In North America this includes, at a minimum: cheatgrass, Ventenata dubia, medusahead, bulbous bluegrass, Japanese brome, rattail fescue, Japanese honeysuckle, phragmites, autumn olive, Bradford pear, wild parsnip, sericea lespedeza, spotted knapweed, garlic mustard and Palmer amaranth. However, this is not an exhaustive list of invasive species. The USDA and your local environmental organizations can help you learn and identify invasive species in your area.

How Do Grants Work?

Grants usually follow a path of three main phases: pre-award phase, award phase and post-award phase.

Pre-Award Phase

During the pre-award phase, grant opportunities are announced, entities may submit their applications, and award agencies begin reviewing those applications.

Award Phase

During the award phase, the application review process is completed and final award decisions are made by the award agency. Notices of Award are sent to the entities selected for funding, which then must be accepted and signed by those entities. Once signed, these are legally binding documents, and organizations are required to carry out the full terms and conditions of the grant.

Post-Award Phase

Lastly, during the post-award phase, reporting, auditing and closeouts (final financial and programmatic reports) are done. This phase is to ensure transparency in the grant awarding process and to help prevent fraud and abuse of government funds.

How To Apply for Funding for This Grant

Register to apply for grants at Grants.gov. Registering can take two to four weeks to complete, so the sooner you register, the better. To find this specific grant opportunity, search for the opportunity number DTOS59-22-RA-RAISE. This will bring you to the right page to begin your application.

Applications must be submitted by 5:00 p.m. EDT on April 14, 2022.

I Got Funding. Now What?

Congratulations! Now is the time to contact a Envu sales representative. They can help you execute an integrated vegetation management program that will fit your needs with herbicides that will satisfy your grant requirements.

For more information on applying for federal grants, please visit Grants.gov.

For more information on integrated vegetation management,
contact your Envu rep and view our product portfolio.

¹United States Department of Agriculture. (n.d.). Natural Resources Conservation Service. Native, Invasive, and Other Plant-Related Definitions | NRCS Connecticut. Retrieved February 17, 2022, from https://www.nrcs.usda.gov/wps/portal/nrcs/detail/ct/technical/ecoscience/invasive/?cid=nrcs142p2_011124#:~:text=Invasive%20Plant,disrupting%20plant%20communities%20or%20ecosystems.