FY19 Coral Reef Conservation Program, Domestic Coral Reef Conservation Grants

The NOAA Coral Reef Conservation Grant Program (CRCP), 16 USC §§ 6401-6409, provides matching grants of financial assistance through the Domestic Coral Reef Conservation Grant program to institutions of higher education, non-profit organizations, for-profit organizations, and local (as defined at 2 CFR § 200.64, which includes counties, municipalities, and cities) and Indian tribal government agencies. 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 the U.S. portions of the Gulf of Mexico. Projects may be proposed in the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands and the U.S. Pacific Remote Island Areas, but these locations are not considered geographic priorities under this announcement. Proposals submitted to this competition must address at least one of the following five categories: 1) Improve Fisheries Sustainability; 2) Reduce Land-Based Sources of Pollution; 3) Increasing Resilience to Climate Change; 4) Restore Viable Coral Populations; and 5) Local and Emerging Management Issues. Each category is described in more detail in the Federal Funding Opportunity announcement. Proposals selected for funding through this solicitation will be implemented through a grant or cooperative agreement and will require a 1:1 match of non-Federal funds.

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Institutions of higher education, non-profit organizations, for-profit organizations, and local (as defined at 2 C.F.R. § 200.64, which includes counties, municipalities, and cities) and Indian tribal government agencies are eligible to apply for funding under this funding category. U.S. federal agencies, state, territory, and commonwealth governments and Regional Fishery Management Councils are not eligible to apply under this funding announcement, as NOAA funds their coral reef work in separate programs.NOAA employees and contractors are not permitted to assist in the preparation of applications or write letters of support for any application. However, the CRCP staff is available to provide general information on programmatic goals and objectives, ongoing coral reef conservation programs/activities, and regional funding priorities. NOAA or other federal collaboration on applications submitted to this program may only include 1) providing federally collected data not yet publically available or 2) significant NOAA or Federal staff time to assist with in-water work or laboratory analysis. This does not include attending workshops, playing the role as liaison to connect applicant with other local resource managers, or reviewing documents and, in these cases, NOAA employees may not be listed as project collaborators in the application. If the applicant desires NOAA collaboration on the proposed project, NOAA staff, NOAA employees and contractors may provide a statement confirming the degree and nature of the collaboration. As noted in Section II.C above, NOAA may also propose to become substantially involved in a project selected for funding regardless of whether an applicant proposes substantial Federal involvement. For applications working in National Marine Sanctuaries or with protected species, NOAA employees may provide a statement acknowledging the utility of the proposed work to meet management priorities in the application. All letters of support from NOAA employees and contract staff will be removed from application materials prior to technical review.

For administrative or technical questions regarding this announcement, contact the competition manager: Liz Fairey. She can be reached by phone at 301-427- 8632, by fax at 301-713-1594, by email at Liz.Fairey@noaa.gov or by mail at: Liz Fairey, NOAA Fisheries Office of Habitat Conservation, 1315 East West Highway, SSMC3, 14224, Silver Spring, MD, 20910.