Once the ACUB plan has been approved, the installation will then move on to establishing a cooperative agreement with an eligible entity who will serve as the ACUB partner and work with local landowners to buffer the installation and establish conservation easements. ACUB cooperative agreements are awarded on a competitive basis, through posting of opportunities on Grants.gov. Lead points of contact at the individual installations will work with selected partners on a regular basis to prioritize ACUB efforts, organize payments, and coordinate various reporting requirements.
Funding for installation ACUB programs and their cooperative agreements is subject to availability and determined on an annual schedule. Installation staff and their program partners will collaborate to submit yearly proposals to the Readiness and Environmental Protection Integration (REPI) Program. In addition, Army service funds may be allocated to programs on an as-needed basis. For most ACUB cooperative agreements, there is a partner cost-sharing requirement of 20%, which can be met through leveraging non-military federal funding (i.e grants from U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture, U.S. Forest Service etc.), cash contributions, or in-kind services.