FY 2019 Community-based Restoration Program Coastal and Marine Habitat Restoration Grants | NOAA NMFS HCPO 2019 2005889

Opportunity Information: Apply for NOAA NMFS HCPO 2019 2005889

The FY 2019 Community-based Restoration Program Coastal and Marine Habitat Restoration Grants opportunity is a NOAA National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) funding competition designed to support hands-on coastal and marine habitat restoration projects that take an ecosystem-based approach. The central purpose is to restore habitats in ways that measurably help species recover and populations increase for fish and other marine life under NOAA's stewardship. In practice, the program is looking for projects that can clearly connect specific habitat improvements to real biological benefits, especially for species that are struggling or legally protected.

Applications are primarily judged on how well the proposed restoration work supports three linked outcomes: (1) recovery of threatened and endangered species listed under the Endangered Species Act (ESA), including NMFS "Species in the Spotlight"; (2) sustaining or rebuilding federally managed fish stocks under the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act; and (3) contributing to the long-term sustainability of saltwater recreational fisheries. Strong proposals are expected to make a convincing case that habitat is a limiting factor for one or more target species and that the project is designed to address that limiting factor in a way that can be tracked and verified. The solicitation emphasizes that proposals should not just describe general conservation value; they should explain the cause-and-effect pathway from restoration actions to measurable improvements in habitat function and species response.

To be competitive, a project needs to do three things clearly and thoroughly. First, it should identify a habitat-based problem that is holding back recovery or sustainability of the species the project intends to benefit (for example, barriers to fish passage, degraded estuarine nursery habitat, loss of salt marsh or seagrass, impaired water quality or hydrology, or other site-specific constraints). Second, it should lay out the on-the-ground restoration actions that will be implemented to fix the problem, with enough detail that reviewers can see the work is feasible and appropriately scoped. Third, it should define expected outcomes and provide measurable indicators of success for the target species and the broader ecosystem. The funding can support restoration feasibility work and/or design, implementation of restoration actions, or a combination of these stages, which allows applicants to propose either a project that is ready to build or one that still needs targeted technical work to get to construction.

Awards are made as cooperative agreements, meaning NOAA expects to have substantial involvement during the project period (for example, coordination on technical approaches, monitoring expectations, or milestone tracking). The program will consider one-year awards as well as multi-year projects for up to three years total. For multi-year proposals, applicants are expected to provide a detailed outline of anticipated costs in years two and three as part of the initial submission, even though funding for later years is not guaranteed at the time of selection. Continued funding beyond the first year depends on future federal appropriations and the recipient meeting project milestones and demonstrating adequate progress.

The funding scale is oriented toward mid-sized to large restoration efforts. NOAA indicates typical federal awards will range from $300,000 to $1.5 million spread across one to three years, although the program sets a minimum federal request of $75,000 and will not accept requests above $3 million total over the full three-year period. For FY 2019, NOAA anticipated up to $6 million available under this funding opportunity and expected to make around 20 awards, though actual award numbers and amounts depend on what Congress appropriates across FY 2019 through FY 2021. The funds are administered by the Community-based Restoration Program within the NOAA Restoration Center, and the opportunity is listed as a discretionary program under CFDA 11.463.

Key administrative details include the opportunity number NOAA NMFS HCPO 2019 2005889, a posting/creation date of November 14, 2018, and an original application deadline of May 15, 2019. The agency is the Department of Commerce, and the funding activity category is Environment, Natural Resources, Science and Technology, and other Research and Development. Eligibility is broadly described as "Others" with clarification provided in the full notice, so applicants typically need to consult the official eligibility section to confirm whether their organization type and partnerships fit the program's requirements.

• The Department of Commerce in the environment, natural resources, science and technology and other research and development sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "FY 2019 Community-based Restoration Program Coastal and Marine Habitat Restoration Grants" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 11.463.
• This funding opportunity was created on Nov 14, 2018.
• Applicants must submit their applications by May 15, 2019. (Agency may still review applications by suitable applicants for the remaining/unused allocated funding in 2026.)
• Each selected applicant is eligible to receive up to $1,500,000.00 in funding.
• The number of recipients for this funding is limited to 20 candidate(s).
• Eligible applicants include: Others (see text field entitled Additional Information on Eligibility for clarification).

Apply for NOAA NMFS HCPO 2019 2005889

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