FAQ: Acceptable Vegetation and Expenses for Lawns to Legumes Demonstration Neighborhood Grant

Items in this document supersede the Grants Administration Manual. 

These items are for L2L Pilot Phase and L2L Phase 2 

What Plants Are Allowed For Grant Reimbursement?

Only Minnesota Native Plant Material (insecticide/neonicotinoid free plants) are allowed (few exceptions listed below). Non native plants such as Cultivar, Hybrid, Annual Plants are not eligible; however, they can be added into plantings at landowners expense.  When practical, projects must have at least three blooming native plant species during, spring, summer and fall, with higher diversity strongly encouraged. Use of milkweeds is encouraged to provide monarch habitat.

Seed and plant source requirements are summarized in BWSR’s Native Vegetation Establishment and Enhancement Guidelines (PDF). Additional details about species for pollinator plantings are included in the Lawns to Legumes Habitat Guide and BWSR’s Pollinator Toolbox. Non-native species that are allowed are Trifolium repens, Dutch White Clover; Thymus serpyllum, Creeping Thyme; Creeping Red Fescue, Chewings Fescue, Hard Fescue, Sheep Fescue). Non-native cultivar tree and shrub species that can be funded are Serviceberries or Hawthorn.

How To Tell A Native Plant & Cultivar Plant Apart By Looking At Their Name?

A. Native Plants

Native plants were documented hundred of years ago prior to European settlement. The Latin name is often italicized without ‘quotes’ or X in their name.

Example:
(Botanical Name, Common Name)
Agastache foeniculum, Anise Hyssop
Or
Aquilegia canadensis, Red Columbine
https://bwsr.state.mn.us/sites/default/files/2019-08/Native%20Plant%20Selection.pdf

B. Cultivar & Hybrid Plants

Cultivar plants are propagated to be a certain color, shape, size.  Cultivar plants tend to have ‘quotes’ or hybrid plants have an X in their name.

Example:
(Botanical Name, Common Name)
Agastache ‘Blue Fortune’, Blue Fortune Anise Hyssop
Or
Aquilegia x caeruela ‘Origami Red & White’, Origami Red & White Columbine

Non-native species can be planted within projects, but please note these are not eligible for reimbursement.

For bee lawns, certain non-native species are eligible for reimbursement. Those include: Trifolium repens, Dutch White Clover; Thymus serpyllum, Creeping Thyme; Creeping Red Fescue, Chewings Fescue, Hard Fescue, Sheep Fescue.

Where To Purchase MN Native Plants?

This website shows many nurseries in Minnesota that have plants that meet this criteria. The Minnesota DNR also has a list of native plant vendors (it is important to check with any vendor to ensure that their plants are neonicotinoid free).

Allowable Expenses

The primary purpose of activities funded through this program is to increase the populations of rusty patched bumble bees and other at-risk pollinators through planting residential lawns with native vegetation and pollinator-friendly forbs. Eligible activities include the following categories:

Administrative: Eligible activities include but are not limited to: development of project plans and specifications. Grant funds may be used for local grant management and reporting that are directly related to and necessary for implementing the program.

Eligible expenses: Eligible expenses include site preparation, planting and management costs including but not limited to, tilling, burning, sod removal, weed barriers, seeds, containerized plants, flowering trees, flowering shrubs, seeding, inter-seeding, weed removal, in accordance with the approved grant work plan.

• Non-herbicide methods of site preparation and management are preferred, see Xerces Society guide to “Organic Site Preparation Methods.”

Maintenance through grant period: It is important that plantings that are funded through this program are maintained. All landowners receiving funding will be asked to sign a BWSR provided landowner agreement that summarizes the expected lifespan of the project and provides information about project maintenance. Maintenance must focus both on maintaining the habitat value and aesthetics of projects.

In addition to what is listed in the Grants Administration Manual (https://bwsr.state.mn.us/allowable-and-unallowable-costs) and above, the following items are allowed:

1. L2L Pilot Phase Equipment: Hand Sod Kicker, Hand Shovels, Hand Rakes, Hand Trowels. (All equipment purchased shall be used as a shared landowner resource and remain with grantee.)
2. L2L Phase 2, Tools: Tool purchases (Hand sod kicker, hand shovels, hand rakes, hand trowels, watering tree gator.) must not exceed $600.00.  All tools purchased shall be used as a shared landowner resource and remain with grantee.
3. Materials: MN Native seeds or containerized plants, Double Shredded Hardwood Mulch, Leaf Compost, Edging, Materials for smothering vegetation such as temporary weed suppression fabric.

 

Ineligible Expenses

Environment and Natural Resources Trust Fund (ENRTF) funding cannot be used to pay for space and other associated overhead costs. Billing rates charged to these grants may include the employee’s base hourly rate plus benefits. Required match can be provided through other facilities and administration costs such as space, vehicle, computers, and other associated overhead costs. Lawns to Legumes Demonstration Neighborhood grants can only be used for the Lawns to Legumes Demonstration Neighborhood program and not for other Federal or State programs.

See the unallowable costs as defined in the Grant Administration Manual – Allowable and Unallowable Cost section.

Large labor expenses such as excavation or grading costs for large-scale best management practices such as raingardens, lakeshore buffers or boulevards. 

Match

A minimum non-state match equal to at least 25% is required, except in areas identified by the United States Fish and Wildlife Service as areas where there is a high potential for rusty patched bumble bees to be present, where only a 10% match is required. The linked map provides locations with high potential for rusty patched bumble bees to be present. The match must be cash or in-kind cash value of goods, materials, and services directly attributed to project accomplishments. In-kind time spent planting or maintaining plants based on board approved hourly rate or $25 per hour, which ever is less. Landowners can not be paid for their time through the grant, their time can only be counted as match. 

Grant Log

A grant log is required for match. Upload as an attachment in eLINK reporting.

• Example Grant Log 10% Match (updated 3/12/2020)
• Example Grant Log 25% Match (updated 3/12/2020)

Reimbursement Payment Requests

Payment requests may be submitted as frequently as once per quarter (by the dates listed below), or at a minimum must be submitted following the end of the calendar year to fulfill annual reporting requirements. All documents will be submitted in eLINK.

March 31

June 30

September 30

December 31

The grant agreement stipulates that quarterly reporting (with or without payment request) is due by the final date of each quarter. Please note that we will allow a 10 day grace period in quarterly reporting to balance complete reporting for each quarter with timely processing of payments (subject to approved reports). For example, reporting for the quarter ending March 31st must be submitted by April 10.

BWSR recognizes that due to lag time in local board approval of invoices, payment on expenditures from a previous quarter may need to be requested on a future report.

Grant Allowances - Demonstration Neighborhood vs. Individual Support

Landowners who are working under the Demonstration Neighborhood grant will not qualify for Lawns to Legumes Individual Support grant.  Residents are eligible for one or the other, but not both.