Cooperative Weed Management RFP Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

Q: What is a Cooperative Weed Management Area?

A Cooperative Weed Management Area (CWMA) is a partnership that often involves federal, state, and local government agencies, tribal governments, residents, and various interested groups that manage noxious weeds or invasive plants in a defined area. Individual CWMAs can vary significantly in their priorities and how they are organized. Cooperative Invasive Species Management Areas (CISMAS) are very similar to CWMAs and are also funded through this program.
 

Q: What is the purpose of BWSR’s CWMA program?

To establish strong and sustainable weed management organizations across Minnesota for the collaborative and efficient control of invasive species and protection of conservation lands and natural areas.

Q: What are the key activities of Cooperative Weed Management Area?

Key activities of CWMAs include:

#1 Building Strong Partnerships

• Federal and state agencies and tribal governments

• Residents
• Local units of government
• Private organizations

#2 Sharing Resources between Partners

• Staff/labor

• Equipment

• Leveraged funds

• Access to lands, roads, gravel pits and/or key decision makers

#3 Effective Outreach/Communication

• Communication back and forth between agencies, residents, tribes, local units of government, and private organizations.

• Educate - ID, prevention, management - also grant writing and plan writing

• Technical transfer - news, tips

#4 Identifying and prioritizing emerging weed threats

• New and/or recently introduced species

• Those changing status

• Possible prioritization methods

• Species based

• Site based

• Based on planned actions
   

Q: Is there a 10% match requirement for every cost-share agreement?

“The CWMA grant requires a non-state match of at least 10% of the grant amount. Percent-based cost share rates used for contracts with landowners should be established in local policy and must not exceed 100%. Flat rates may be used as an alternative to actual costs documented by receipts and invoices if they are approved in the grant work plan and incorporated into a locally adopted policy.”

Q: Can the 10% local match come from the Local Government applying to BWSR?

A: Yes, the LGU can provide 10% match if the project partners cannot. The 10% match is for the overall grant request. Local in-kind cash value is eligible match.

Q: For grant projects that are approved and funded by the BWSR Board, when can work begin on those grant projects?

A: Work cannot begin on any BWSR grant project until the date when the grant is officially executed by BWSR. The project period starts when the grant agreement is “executed,” meaning all required signatures have been obtained. Work that occurs before this date is not eligible for reimbursement with grant funds, and cannot be used as match. Before grant execution occurs, a work plan must be completed by the grantee and approved by BWSR staff.

Q: What type of Agreements should be developed between CWMA partners?

A: CWMA partners are encouraged to sign agreements to formalize their CWMAs and define the roles of each partner. It is up to individual CWMAs to determine what type of agreement to use and what the agreements should contain. Examples of Cooperative Agreements, Memorandum of Understanding and

Hold Harmless Agreements can be found at the following websites: Midwest Invasive Plant Network

Q: When should Cost-share contracts be used for the program?

A: A cost-share contract must be used when conducting specific, long-term management activities at a property. In cases where spot treatment of multiple parcels, such as roadside ditches is conducted, or herbicide is provided to partners for treatment, a cost-share agreement is not required, as long as other agreements are established between the SWCD or CWMA partners and the activity is recorded as part of eLINK reporting.

Q: What information should be collected to document grant activities?

A: The use of a log is recommended for this program to keep track of activities and to track match. It is encouraged that CWMA partners keep track of hours worked, their hourly rate (this can be a standard billing rate) and if applicable, acres treated for specific activities (e.g. 7-8-09, 8 hours attending meeting at a rate of $35/hour; or 8-9-08, 6 acres of spotted knapweed sprayed with Plateau herbicide at $40 per acre). Activities can be logged over the term of the grant and then summarized in eLINK as part of interim and final grant reporting.

Q: What is expected for program reporting?

A: The eLINK page of BWSR’s website provide detailed guidance for completing program reporting in eLINK, BWSR’s grant management system. The  eLINK Reporting Requirements At A Glance guidance document indicates which components within the eLINK system should be completed. Interim and final program reporting will be completed in eLINK, similar to other cost-share programs, under the activities proposed in the application and built into the workplan. As part of the close-out, any CWMA agreements, publicity, brochures, maps, plans and other documents developed for the program should be attached in eLINK. 

Information about reporting deadlines and grant expiration dates.

Q: Who is responsible for grant reporting?

A: Grant recipients are responsible for timely and accurate grant reporting through eLINK. However, you may add Team Members from your partner organizations to assist with developing the application or workplan, or completing reporting.

Q: How does the payment schedule work for this grant?

A: Grant payments will be made as one payment after work plan approval and execution of the grant agreement provided the grant applicant is in compliance with all BWSR website and eLINK reporting requirements for previously awarded BWSR grants.

Q: The RFP states that prevailing wages apply. What are the grant applicant’s responsibilities for compliance?

A: Prevailing wage requirements apply to all state funds used for “projects” that meet the definition identified in M.S 177.42 Subd. 2. As the RFP states, your first source of information for questions about the application of prevailing wage rates should be directed to the Department of Labor and Industry at 651-284-5091 or email dli.prevwage@state.mn.us. However, the following information may help you better understand these requirements. The responsibilities of a grant recipient are to: (1) be aware of prevailing wage and ensure their project’s cost proposals address this requirement; (2) include prevailing wage information in their bid and contract documents; and (3) receive and maintain the payroll reports that contractors will furnish every two weeks. Prevailing wage does not apply to administrative activities of the grant recipient or construction activities directly conducted by a local government, i.e. if an SWCD uses its own staff to plant trees, prevailing wage would not apply, but if they contracted with Joe’s Planting Service it would.

Q: I wrote my responses to the questions in Word, but when I copied and pasted my answer into eLINK, it was truncated—or didn’t save.

A: Word and eLINK may interpret the character counts differently. Avoid using special formatting or characters, such as bulleted lists, bolded font, or symbols (such as “&”).

Q: The character limit for answering each application question in eLINK is 2000 characters. Does that include spaces?

A: Yes. A space is considered a character in eLINK.

Q: Can I make changes to a submitted application during the RFP open period?

A: Yes. You will need to change the submitted status to “in process”, make changes, and change the status back to “Submit”. The status change triggers generating the report, which is added to the

Attachments tab and seen by reviewers. Please note that failure to change “Submitted” status will not capture any changes for review team, and applications not in “Submitted” status at the time the RFP closes will not be considered for funding.