What can we do to increase our chance of receiving a grant?

1. We recommend that organizations put together a team or advisory committee to assess potential project sites in their area, prioritize those sites, and then concentrate on their priorities. By doing so, they will choose the best projects in their region, and these projects will be more likely to receive funding than marginal ones.
   
   

   Valuable team members will be individuals with a resource management background (biologists and ecologists; county conservationists; local park managers; University or U.W. Extension biologists, foresters, ecologists, landscape architects, etc.). They are usually familiar with local resources, have the skills needed to do site assessments of natural features, and can help with development of land management plans.

   You should also review the DNR's Land Legacy Report, which identifies places that are critical to meeting Wisconsin's future conservation and recreation needs. DNR staff will be pleased to meet with your group to discuss resource protection goals and priorities in your region.

2. Collaborate with others and tie your project to other resource protection efforts taking place in your area. These might include greenway or open space plans; river corridors; priority watershed plans; trail systems; national or state programs to preserve specific types of habitat or species of plants and animals, such as migrating waterfowl or Karner Blue butterflies.



3. Write a sound project narrative and land management plan.