Frequent Questions: Species Recovery Grants to Tribes

Complete guidance on applying to the Species Recovery Grants to Tribes funding opportunity is provided in the annual Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO). Please read the NOFO in its entirety to ensure your application meets all requirements.

Structuring Proposals

Can Tribes submit more than one proposal per year?

Yes. Tribes can submit multiple proposals per year, including multiple proposals for the same species. Separate proposals, however, should reflect distinct projects and work.

Can Tribes submit a single proposal that involves more than one eligible species?

Yes. However, to be competitive, work proposed for the multiple species in such a proposal should be logically connected (e.g., fish passage that will benefit two or more eligible species, bycatch reduction research that will benefit multiple eligible species). If the connection between different species is tenuous, we suggest you submit separate, species-specific proposals.

Allowable Costs and Budget Requirements

Can Species Recovery Grant monies be applied to projects that have obtained funds through another Federal source?

Yes. Species Recovery Grants may be used to fund distinct aspects of projects that have obtained grant funds from other Federal sources. The specific project objectives and respective funding from each federal program must be fully described in the proposal. If it is an ongoing project, previous phases of work that the proposed work is contingent upon must already be successfully completed or nearly completed.

Can Federal agencies receive funding from this program?

Federal agencies or institutions are not eligible to receive direct Federal assistance through this program. Federal agencies can receive funding as contractors under a grant if they have specific authority to do so. However, it is the policy of the Department of Commerce to encourage grantees to contract with private entities to the degree possible. In addition, Federal grant funding cannot pay Federal employee salaries and cannot pay for travel unless the travel is approved as part of the award agreement. Federal funding can be used to purchase supplies expected to be consumed by a cooperating Federal employee while executing work under the award.

Should funding be estimated to the nearest dollar?

Yes. Funding for the project should be estimated to the nearest dollar. Please do not include cents in any final budget numbers on your SF424, SF424A or Budget Table or documents will be returned for revision.

Are there samples of budgets and budget narratives that I can look at?

Yes. please see our example budget table (PDF, 2 pages) and Budget Narrative.

Eligibility

Can U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (U.S. FWS) listed species be included in proposals?

Project proposals may be submitted for species with which NOAA Fisheries shares joint jurisdiction with U.S. FWS (e.g., Atlantic salmon, Gulf sturgeon, sea turtles). Species under the sole jurisdiction of the U.S. FWS are not eligible.

Can additional project information be submitted to NOAA Fisheries after the closing date for submission of proposals?

No. With the exclusion of signed letters of support, all information that the applicant would like to have considered must be submitted by the application deadline. Any new or additional information submitted after the deadline will not be considered.

Do applicants need to either have or apply for an ESA scientific research permit before applying for a grant?

Yes. Applicants working on endangered species or threatened species for which protective regulations are in place MUST provide their ESA permit number or evidence that they have submitted an ESA permit application to NOAA Fisheries. More information on whether a permit is required and the permit application process is available on our website.

Data Management and Data Sharing

What is the Data Management Guidance for Species Recovery Grant proposal writers?

Data Management Plans should include descriptions of the types of environmental data and information expected to be created during the course of the project; methods for providing data access; the tentative date by which data will be shared; the standards to be used for data/metadata format and content; approximate total volume of data to be collected; and prior experience in making such data accessible. Data Management (or Sharing) Plans are a required element of Species Recovery Grant proposals and should reflect the recommendations as outlined below to the extent appropriate.

Data Accessibility. The NOAA Program recommends that public access to grant/contract-produced data be enabled through one or more of the following means: 

• Submission of data to NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI), which will provide public access and permanent archiving.
• Submission of data to an existing publicly accessible online data server described in Data Management Plan.
• Establishment of applicant’s own data hosting capability as described in Data Management Plan.
• Request permission not to make data publicly accessible. (Proposal must explain rationale for lack of public access, and if funded, approval from Responsible NOAA Official (listed below) must be received).

Technical recommendations. Use of open-standard data formats and methods is encouraged. The Species Recovery Grants to Tribes Program is not requiring any specific data format.  Data Management Plans are to describe their proposed approach.

Resources. Proposals are permitted to include the costs of data sharing or archiving in their budgets.

For questions regarding this guidance and for verifying accessibility of data produced by funding recipients, please contact:

Heather Austin,
Federal Program Officer
NOAA Fisheries, Office of Protected Resources
heather.austin@noaa.gov 
(301) 427-8422

What is the definition of "Environmental Data"?

Under the NOAA Data Sharing Policy, environmental data are defined as: recorded and derived observations and measurements of the physical, chemical, biological, geological, and geophysical properties and conditions of the oceans, atmosphere, space environment, sun, and solid earth, as well as correlative data, such as socio‐economic data, related documentation, and metadata. Digital audio or video recordings of environmental phenomena (such as animal sounds or undersea video) are included in this definition. Numerical model outputs are included in this definition, particularly if they are used to support the conclusion of a peer-reviewed publication. Data collected in a laboratory or other controlled environment, such as measurements of animals and chemical processes, are included in this definition.

What is meant by "data sharing?"

Data sharing means making data publicly visible and accessible in a timely manner at no cost (or not more than the cost of reproduction), except where limited by law, regulation, policy or by security requirements. NOAA facilities that archive data and make the data openly available should be considered for the disposition of the data.

What is considered "timely" data sharing?

"Timely" typically means no later than publication of a peer-reviewed article based on the data, or two years after the data are collected and verified, or two years after the original end date of the grant (not including any extensions or follow-on funding), whichever is soonest, unless a delay has been authorized by the NOAA funding program.

Who can I contact if I have more questions about NOAA’s Data Sharing Policy?

If you have additional questions about the NOAA Data Sharing Policy, please email questions to  Jeff de La Beaujardière (jeff.delabeaujardiere@noaa.gov). He will either answer it or forward to someone who can.

Who can I contact if I have more questions about how the NOAA Data Sharing Policy relates to my Species Recovery Grant?

Please contact your federal program officer, Heather Austin (Heather.Austin@noaa.gov).

Contact Us

For further information about this funding opportunity, please contact:

Heather Austin
NOAA Fisheries/Office of Protected Resources

You may also contact one of the following people in the NOAA Fisheries Regions for further guidance:

Ellen Keane
Greater Atlantic Regional Fisheries Office (Northeast/Mid-Atlantic)

Calusa Horn
Southeast Regional Office

Justin Greenman
West Coast Regional Office

Barbara Mahoney
Alaska Regional Office