[Coral-List] 2018 NOAA Coral Reef Conservation Domestic (US) Grant Program Funding Announcement

[Liz Fairey - NOAA Federal]

The NOAA Coral Reef Conservation Program (CRCP) announces
the Domestic (United States) Coral Reef Conservation Grants competition for
Fiscal Year 2018.


Who: This competitive program provides funding via grants or cooperative
agreements to institutions of higher education, non-profit organizations,
for-profit organizations, and local and Indian tribal government agencies
to support coral reef conservation projects in the United States, as
authorized under the Coral Reef Conservation Act of 2000 (16 U.S.C. §§
6401-6409).


Where: These awards are intended to support coral reef conservation
projects in shallow water coral reef ecosystems, including reefs at
mesophotic depths, in American Samoa, the Commonwealth of the Northern
Mariana Islands, Florida, Guam, Hawaii, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin
Islands, and coral-dominated banks in U.S. portions of the Gulf of Mexico.
Applicants may propose projects in the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands and
the U.S. Pacific Remote Islands, but the CRCP does not consider these
locations as priorities under this announcement.


Program Priorities: Priorities fall within four major categories: 1)
Fishing Impacts; 2) Land-Based Sources of Pollution; 3) Climate Change; and
4) Local and Emerging Management Issues (coral disease, invasive species,
Endangered Species Act listed corals, coral restoration, recreation use,
monitoring and evaluation, and marine debris). These categories are
described in more detail in the
full Federal Funding Opportunity announcement. Applications should address
CRCP’s national priorities or the jurisdictional priorities as detailed
within the four categories.


Funding Amount: Applicants may propose projects that include
a Federal funding request between $30,000 and $80,000; the CRCP expects
that the average Federal funding amount for successful projects will be
approximately $50,000. Applicants must provide a 1:1 match of
non-Federal funds or must submit a request to NOAA to waive the matching
requirement if the applicant can demonstrate 1) no reasonable means are
available through which an applicant can meet the matching requirement, and
2) the probable benefit of the project outweighs the public interest in
such matching requirement.


How: Applicants should apply through www.grants.gov; however, applicants
unable to use www.grants.gov may mail a complete application package
including the required Federal forms, which must be signed by hand and
dated. All applications should follow the specific application requirements
described in the funding announcement.


When: Applicants should submit complete applications via www.grants.gov by
11:59 PM Eastern Time on February 1, 2018. If submitted via mail,
applications must include an official postmark or a delivery service that
provides a tracking number and receipt, documenting that the application
was mailed prior to the February 1, 2018 deadline. Private metered
postmarks are not acceptable. In any event, mailed applications received
later than 10 business days following the closing date will not be
accepted.


Interested applicants may obtain the
full Federal Funding Opportunity announcement by visiting www.grants.gov,
clicking on the “Search Grants, tab” and searching
by funding opportunity number (NOAA-NOS-OCM-2018-2005425) or by CFDA number
(11.482).


If you need further information, please contact me (liz.fairey at noaa.gov).

-- 
Liz Fairey
NMFS Office of Habitat Conservation
NOAA Coral Reef Conservation Program
1315 East West Hwy
Silver Spring, MD 20910
301-427-8632