Find answers to frequent questions about the FY2020 Coastal and Marine Habitat Restoration Grants.
The deadline for pre-proposals is January 8, 2020. The pre-proposal process will help determine if proposed projects are well-suited for this specific funding competition and if a full application is warranted. The full application deadline, which will be in April 2020, will be sent to eligible applicants that were successful in the pre-proposal process.
The FY2020 funding opportunity contains a requirement for a pre-proposal. The pre-proposal process will reduce the applicant’s burden for this first step, and will streamline the proposal review. The pre-proposal process will help determine if proposed projects are well-suited for this specific funding competition and if a full application is warranted.
While there is no statutory match or cost-share requirement for this funding, NOAA typically leverages its federal funding with matching contributions and/or partnerships from a broad range of sources in the public and private sector to implement locally important coastal habitat restoration. To this end, applicants are encouraged to demonstrate a 1:1 non-federal match for NOAA funds requested to conduct the proposed project.
Eligible applicants are institutions of higher education; non-profit organizations; for-profit organizations; foreign public entities and foreign organizations; and state, territory, local, and Indian tribal governments. Applications from federal agencies or employees of federal agencies will not be considered. Federal agencies are strongly encouraged to work with states, tribes, non-governmental organizations, municipal and county governments, conservation corps organizations, and others that are eligible to apply.
Yes, we plan to hold an applicant webinar, which will be recorded and the information posted to the website. Information about the webinar will be posted on the NOAA Fisheries website once it is scheduled. In addition, each applicant is offered feedback about how to improve an application after the competitive process is complete.
NOAA will not accept proposals with a NOAA federal funding request of less than $75,000 or more than $3 million over a three-year award period.
Restoration includes activities that return degraded or altered marine, estuarine, coastal, and freshwater, migratory fish habitats to functioning conditions, and techniques that return NOAA trust species to their historic habitats.
October 1, 2020, is the earliest potential start date for awards.
Yes, a complete list is in Section III.C of the funding opportunity. Some examples include land acquisition, marine debris removal, and those that propose water quality improvement measures that rely primarily upon hard infrastructure.
Yes, all projects that propose to restore coastal habitat for estuarine and marine species, including forage fish or prey of species managed under the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act, listed under the Endangered Species Act, or identified as important recreational fishing species, are eligible for funding and will be considered through the proposal evaluation criteria (Section V.A. of the funding opportunity).
No, the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative (GLRI) will continue to fund habitat restoration projects in the Great Lakes at this time. The NOAA Restoration Center will continue to support current Great Lakes partnerships with GLRI funds in FY2020.
No. There is no limit on the number of proposals from any one applicant, geographic area, or region.
No, a letter from your state or territory governor is not required. However, letters of support from a diverse set of stakeholders may enhance the proposal’s score in the Outreach and Education criteria (Section V.A.5 of the funding opportunity).
The NOAA Selecting Official will select applications in rank order, unless there is justification to select out of rank order based upon standard selection factors outlined in the funding opportunity, including the availability of funding and balanced distribution of funds according to geography, type of partners, research/focus areas, and project types.
No, we do not anticipate issuing the next Notice of Funding Opportunity for coastal and marine habitat restoration projects in FY2021; however, we plan to issue another Notice of Funding Opportunity in FY2022, depending on funding appropriated by Congress for the program. In FY2021, funding appropriated to the Community-based Restoration Program will be used to complete the multi-year projects awarded in FY2019 and to further support the projects awarded under this FY2020 competition.
Two North Pacific right whales in Barnabas Trough, just south of Kodiak Island, Alaska.
Veteran intern Antonio Jones at an oyster farm in Drayton Harbor, Washington, checking traps for European Invasive Green Crab. Credit: Northwest Straits Commission
Sustainably grown, organic Alaskan kelp is harvested at the Seagrove Kelp Co. farm in Doyle Bay. Credit: NOAA Fisheries/Jordan Hollarsmith
