FY18 Coral Reef Conservation Program, Domestic Coral Reef Conservation Grants | NOAA NOS OCM 2018 2005425

Opportunity Information: Apply for NOAA NOS OCM 2018 2005425

The FY18 Coral Reef Conservation Program, Domestic Coral Reef Conservation Grants opportunity is a NOAA funding solicitation under the Department of Commerce (CFDA 11.482; authority 16 USC 6401-6409) designed to support practical, on-the-ground coral reef conservation work in U.S. jurisdictions. The program provides financial assistance through grants or cooperative agreements, with the main goal of advancing priority coral reef management actions identified by NOAA's Coral Reef Conservation Program (CRCP) and consistent with the Coral Reef Conservation Act of 2000. The focus is on protecting and sustaining shallow-water coral reef ecosystems, including mesophotic reefs (deeper light-dependent reefs), by funding projects that directly address major threats and management needs.

Eligible applicants include a wide range of organizations that can carry out conservation projects, including institutions of higher education, nonprofit organizations, for-profit organizations, local government agencies (counties, municipalities, and cities as defined in 2 CFR 200.64), and Indian tribal government agencies. Projects are intended for specific U.S. coral reef geographies: 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. Proposals may also target the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands and the U.S. Pacific Remote Island Areas, but those locations are explicitly not treated as geographic priorities for this particular announcement, meaning applicants proposing work there should expect a tougher case to demonstrate alignment with stated priorities.

A key requirement is that every proposal must address at least one of four priority categories outlined in the Federal Funding Opportunity (FFO): (1) Fishing Impacts, which can include efforts to reduce overfishing or minimize damage from fishing gear; (2) Land-Based Sources of Pollution, such as sedimentation, nutrients, and contaminants reaching reefs from watersheds and coastal development; (3) Climate Change, which generally covers resilience-building, bleaching response, monitoring, adaptation-oriented management, and related actions; and (4) Local and Emerging Management Issues, a flexible category meant to capture region-specific or newly developing threats and management challenges that require timely attention. The solicitation makes clear that funded work should be tied to priority coral reef management activities, not purely academic research detached from management application.

Funding is contingent on FY 2018 Congressional appropriations, with NOAA indicating an anticipated total program range of roughly $800,000 to $1,000,000 for this competition. The award ceiling listed is $800,000, but NOAA also signals that typical project requests should be much smaller: applicants are expected to request between $30,000 and $80,000 in federal funds, with an average award size of about $50,000. NOAA anticipates making around 13 awards. To comply with the Coral Reef Conservation Act requirement to maintain geographic balance in the overall CRCP grants portfolio, NOAA plans to divide available funds between the U.S. Pacific and Atlantic regions rather than concentrate all awards in one area.

All selected projects must provide a 1:1 non-federal match, meaning the recipient must contribute non-federal cash or eligible in-kind support equal to the federal amount requested. Awards will be implemented either as standard grants or as cooperative agreements, the latter typically implying more substantial federal involvement during project implementation (for example, collaboration on technical approaches, coordination, or oversight). The opportunity was posted November 13, 2017, with an original application deadline of February 1, 2018, under Funding Opportunity Number NOAA NOS OCM 2018 2005425 and categorized as a discretionary, environment and natural resources-oriented funding program with science and technology and other research and development elements where they support management outcomes.

• The Department of Commerce in the environment, natural resources, science and technology and other research and development sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "FY18 Coral Reef Conservation Program, Domestic Coral Reef Conservation Grants" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 11.482.
• This funding opportunity was created on Nov 13, 2017.
• Applicants must submit their applications by Feb 01, 2018. (Agency may still review applications by suitable applicants for the remaining/unused allocated funding in 2026.)
• Each selected applicant is eligible to receive up to $800,000.00 in funding.
• The number of recipients for this funding is limited to 13 candidate(s).
• Eligible applicants include: Others (see text field entitled Additional Information on Eligibility for clarification).

Apply for NOAA NOS OCM 2018 2005425

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