[Coral-List] Caribbean Restoration Funding Available - Request for Preproposals

[Paige Rothenberger]

<>Apologies for cross postings
The full Request for Preproposals has been published at:  
http://www.gulfmex.org  , or   
http://www.gulfmex.org/documents/carib/RFPreproposal.doc<>


Gulf of Mexico Community-based Restoration Partnership
Caribbean Expansion
Year I
Request for Preproposals
(Submittal Date:  Sept. 30, 2005)  <>

The Gulf of Mexico Community-based Restoration Partnership (GCRP) is 
expanding community-based restoration efforts into the U.S. Territories 
of the Caribbean region.  The GCRP invites preproposals for its first 
round of citizen-driven habitat restoration projects in the Caribbean.  
The partnership is seeking to fund on-the-ground activities to restore 
marine, estuarine, and riparian habitats to benefit living marine 
resources and to provide educational and social benefits by 
significantly involving the community.  U.S. Territories of the 
Caribbean are Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands - St. Thomas, St. 
John, and St. Croix.  <>

The GCRP is a multi-year, regional partnership between the National 
Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Community-based 
Restoration Program (CRP) and the United States Environmental Protection 
Agency (USEPA) Gulf of Mexico Program - Gulf Ecological Management Sites 
(GEMS) Program.  The purpose of this partnership is to strengthen the 
conservation efforts of the CRP and GEMS Program by supporting 
on-the-ground habitat restoration benefiting living marine resources and 
fostering local stewardship of ecologically significant areas.

Project Specifications:
Preproposals will be accepted for projects within the U.S. Territories 
of the Caribbean that involve restoration of coastal habitats.

<>These projects must:

·     Result in on-the-ground habitat restoration;

·     Provide significant, long-term benefit to "NOAA Trust Resources" 
(see following section);

·     Involve the local community through an educational or volunteer 
component tied to the restoration activities; 

·     Provide a 1:1 nonfederal match to the partnership cash 
contribution (see "Funding" section); and

·     Include a mechanism to monitor and evaluate the success/failure of 
the project (see "Minimum Monitoring/Evaluating Requirements Section).

Funding will be allocated for one year for all projects.  The preferred 
project duration is one year, beginning on January 1, 2006.  However, 
projects of shorter duration and projects taking up to 18 months for 
completion, but only requiring one year of funding, will also be considered.

Funding may be provided for studies, workshops, or other such work 
elements which directly support actual and measurable habitat 
improvement and/or public education about the project.  Recognizing that 
restoration is a multi-faceted effort, funding for projects involving 
limited pre-implementation activities, such as engineering and design 
and short-term baseline studies, will be considered.  However, funding 
for such activities will be limited to 15% of the total project cost.  
Projects that are solely engineering and design projects will be 
considered, but limited to a total of $25,000.  On-the-ground 
restoration projects will be given priority.  Deliverables for 
engineering and design projects are to include, but are not limited to, 
engineering designs/plans, reports summarizing the biologic and 
hydrologic data collected in the construction area, a draft of completed 
permit applications, and synthesized comments from those who review the 
engineering design. 

Preproposals emphasizing a single component, such as only outreach or 
program coordination are discouraged, as are applications that propose 
to expand an organization's day-to-day activities, or that primarily 
seek support for administration, salaries, overhead, and/or travel.

NOAA Trust Resources:
NOAA trust resources and the habitats that support them serve as the 
focus of this partnership.  Applicants must demonstrate that habitat 
restoration will result in a benefit to NOAA trust resources.  These 
include living marine resources and their habitats such as:

Commercial and recreational fishery resources (marine fish and shellfish 
and their habitats);

Anadromous species (fish, such as salmon and striped bass, that spawn in 
freshwater and then migrate to the sea);

Endangered and threatened marine species and their habitats;

Marine mammals, turtles, and their habitats;

Marshes, mangroves, seagrass beds, coral reefs, and other coastal 
habitats; and

Resources associated with National Marine Sanctuaries and National 
Estuarine Research Reserves.  

<>Funding:
Preproposals will be evaluated and selected by the GCRP Steering 
Committee, which consists of Gulf of Mexico Foundation staff, 
scientists/natural resource managers, and NOAA, USEPA, and US Fish and 
Wildlife Service technical staff.  Approximately $100,000 is available 
for funding habitat restoration projects in the Caribbean.  Project 
funding levels will typically fall within the range of $25,000-$50,000.  
All projects must provide a 1:1 match of the grant amount.  Matching 
funds cannot be federal dollars.  Matching funds can be cash and/or 
in-kind, including one or more of the following:

·     In-kind donations, such as of materials and earthmoving equipment;

·     Technical assistance for restoration site selection, design, and 
evaluation;

·     Land;

·     Workforce support or other in-kind services, especially those that 
promote citizens' hands-on involvement;

·     Local stewardship and monitoring to sustain and evaluate the 
success of the restoration over time.

  <>Additional federal funding or other contributions may be included in 
the project description to demonstrate that the project is part of a 
larger restoration effort.  However, such federal contributions may not 
serve as matching contribution to the GCRP funds.

Minimum Monitoring/Evaluating Requirements:
Projects funded by the GCRP are required to evaluate the success of the 
habitat restoration efforts.  The purpose of the monitoring is to detect 
early signs that the restoration is or is not on track, to gauge how 
well a restoration site is functioning, and to evaluate the ecological 
health of specific coastal habitats both before and after completion. 

NOAA has established standard monitoring protocols to guide the 
evaluation of habitat restoration projects.  A manual, "Science-Based 
Restoration Monitoring of Coastal Habitats," was developed in accordance 
with the Estuary Restoration Act of 2000, Title I of the Estuaries and 
Clean Waters Act of 2000.  This guidance manual provides technical 
assistance, outlines necessary steps and provides tools for the 
development and implementation of sound scientific monitoring of coastal 
restoration projects.  Appendix A outlines the framework for preparing 
an effective monitoring plan.  Please note that this monitoring plan is 
not required for the preproposal submission, but will be required for 
all GCRP applicants invited to submit full proposals.

<>Preproposal Requirements:
Preproposals must be received by close of business 30 September 2005 and 
should not exceed two (2) pages in length.  Preproposals must include 
all of the information requested and be formatted as shown in Attachment 
A.  Projects that meet the minimum partnership requirements will be 
invited to submit full proposals (approximate submittal date: November 
15, 2005) that will more fully describe the activities to be 
accomplished and will include a specific timeline, a monitoring plan, 
and a detailed budget.  Applicants invited to submit full proposals will 
be required to obtain a letter of support from an appropriate 
governmental agency.  Final projects will be selected for funding 
following review by the GCRP Steering Committee. <>

Preproposal Submission:
Applicants must mail one hard copy AND one electronic copy (MS Word 
compatible with photos as low resolution .jpg files, via e-mail or CD) 
to:<>Gulf of Mexico Foundation
Attention: Caribbean CRP
PMB 51, 5403 Everhart Rd.
Corpus Christi, Texas, USA 78411
e-mail: info at gulfmex.org 
<http://www.gulfmex.org/../../../../Local%20Settings/Local%20Settings/Temporary%20Internet%20Files/YEAR%20V/info@gulfmex.org> 


For assistance, please contact:
Quenton Dokken, PhD., Executive Director, Gulf of Mexico Foundation or
<>Kendal Keyes, Project Coordinator, Gulf of Mexico Foundation at (361) 
882-3939 or info at gulfmex.org 
<http://www.gulfmex.org/../../../../Local%20Settings/Local%20Settings/Temporary%20Internet%20Files/YEAR%20V/info@gulfmex.org>

Additional information sources:
Gulf of Mexico Foundation: http://www.gulfmex.org <http://www.gulfmex.org/>
NOAA Restoration Center Community-based Restoration Program:
<>http://www.nmfs.noaa.gov/habitat/restoration/projects_programs/crp/index.html
USEPA Gulf of Mexico Program Gulf Ecological Management Sites Program:
http://www.epa.gov/gmpo/gem2.html



Paige Rothenberger
Marine Resource Ecologist
VI Dept. of Planning and Natural Resources
Division of Coastal Zone Management
45 Mars Hill
Frederiksted, VI 00840
(340) 773-1082