Applications for the Noxious Weed Trust Fund Local Cooperative funding opportunity are due by January 6, 2025.

The Local Cooperative-New funding opportunity is for first year Local Cooperative projects that have a minimum of three cooperating, adjacent landowners.  Applicants must contact and work with an organization, such as a weed district, conservation district, extension office, or tribe to be the funding recipient for grant dollars.  Noxious Weed Trust Fund grants are a reimbursement type of grant. 

**This opportunity is not a sustainable funding source or a permanent cost-share program for landowners. It is designed to give Cooperative Weed Management Areas a boost in funding to create a big impact and get the weed infestations to a stage where they can be maintained without funding assistance. All grant applications should complement and enhance the Montana Weed Management Plan.  Additional information can be found in the Noxious Weed Trust Fund Grant Guidelines and on the Montana Department of Agriculture website.

The Noxious Weed Trust Fund grant program provides 50:50 cost-share for herbicides, commercial applicator, and re-seeding mixtures.  Purchasing chemicals through the state bid is highly recommended. If you are unable to do so, please explain why on the herbicide worksheet. Projects will be funded only if matching funds are available from the participating cooperators.  The maximum grant amount is limited to $75,000 per application. Administrative costs up to 3% of grant total, maximum of $1,000, are allowed for project coordinators that have not received a County/Reservation Noxious Weed Program Enhancement grant.

NEW LOCAL COOPERATIVE PROJECTS REQUIRE AN ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT (EA) The EA portion of the grant application directs the grant participants in making the appropriate choice of herbicides to use depending on the noxious weed species along with environmental characteristics, such as groundwater depth, surface water resources, soil type, non-target plant damage, along with threatened, endangered, and sensitive species.  It is important to start gathering EA information early to allow enough time to complete the environmental assessment forms that ask for a description and a mitigation statement.  For more information on the EA process scroll down to the Attachments section on this page and open or download the Environmental Assessment resource information file by clicking on the file name.

Participating landowners should have a committed dollar amount for the acres to be treated in the coming year, prior to grant submission.  This summarized information is used on the Herbicide Worksheet form.  Prior to submitting an application, project participants should have completed:

• weed mapping of target noxious weed infestations (GPS or hand drawn),
• one year of cooperative work within the weed management area, and
• identified a project coordinator.

The Trust Fund cannot fund:

• capital improvement projects or annual herbicide for cropland or CRP practices,
• equipment needs for the project participants,
• biological control agents for landowners due to the Trust Fund supporting school insectaries, and
• expenses to attend the grant hearings in Helena, MT.