OpportunityTitle: F24AS00005_Fiscal Year 2024 National Coastal Wetlands Conservation Grant Program
AdditionalInformationOnEligibility: Participation is limited to State agencies or entities designated as eligible by the Governor of a coastal State. The eligible agency is usually a State natural resource or fish and wildlife agency. If you are uncertain of your eligibility, please contact your WSFR Regional Office. For Regional Office contact information, see the National Coastal Wetlands Conservation Grant Program website or contact the national program coordinators listed in Section G. Federal Awarding Agency Contacts. Eligible coastal States are States bordering the Great Lakes (Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin); States bordering the Atlantic, Gulf (except Louisiana), and Pacific coasts. Louisiana is not an eligible coastal State for this Program as provided in the Coastal Wetlands Planning, Protection, and Restoration Act (16 U.S.C. 3955 (b)(1)). Here is the complete list of eligible States: Alabama, Alaska, American Samoa, California, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Guam, Hawai&#8217;i, Illinois, Indiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Puerto Rico, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Texas, the U.S. Virgin Islands, Virginia, Washington, and Wisconsin.
Description: The Final Rule establishing the requirements for participation in the NCWCG Program was published in the Federal Register on July 30, 2002 (67 Federal Register (FR) 49264). The Program regulations are in Title 50 of the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR), Part 84. Additional information about the NCWCG Program is available here. The NCWCG Program provides eligible State agencies with grants for projects that protect and restore valuable coastal wetland resources. Projects can include: Acquisition of a real property interest (e.g., conservation easement or fee title) in coastal lands or waters (coastal wetlands ecosystems) from willing sellers or partners for long&#8208;term conservation; Restoration, enhancement, or management of coastal wetlands ecosystems; or A combination of acquisition, restoration, enhancement, and management. All projects must ensure long&#8208;term conservation (at least 20 years) of coastal wetland resources. We score and rank applications based on criteria published in 50 CFR 84.32. See Section E. Application Review Information of this announcement for a summary of the ranking criteria. Projects to create wetlands where wetlands did not previously exist are ineligible for NCWCG Program funding (50 CFR 84.20(b)(3)). For each project site, we require evidence verifying the current or historic presence of a wetland. This may include information from the Service&#8217;s National Wetlands Inventory, earlier Geographic Information System data, or historic information. Projects to acquire and/or restore upper portions of watersheds where benefits to the coastal wetlands ecosystem are not significant and direct are also ineligible for NCWCG Program funding (50 CFR 84.20(b)(8)). A proposal must include sufficient information demonstrating that targeted lands or waters meet the definition of a coastal wetland ecosystem (50 CFR 84.11). Wildlife TRACS (Tracking and Reporting Actions for the Conservation of Species) is the tracking and reporting system used by WSFR to capture information about conservation and related actions funded by its grant programs. TRACS serves as the electronic repository system for all performance, accomplishment, and real property reporting related to those Federal awards. TRACS highlights program accountability by documenting program accomplishments and results. As outlined in this announcement, grant and project statement information and performance reporting data must be entered into TRACS as authorized under 2 CFR 200.102(c), 200.202, 200.301, and 200.329.
GrantorContactEmailDescription: paul_vanryzin@fws.gov
GrantorContactText: PAUL J VAN RYZIN&lt;br/&gt;paul_vanryzin@fws.gov
CloseDateExplanation: Grant application packages must be submitted in GrantSolutions.gov or Grants.gov no later than Friday, June 23, 2023, at 11:59 p.m. EDT. We recommend that you submit your application early enough to address any unforeseen technical complications. All letters of financial commitment are due with the application by the deadline. To ensure submission of your application by the deadline, we recommend you submit a copy of your entire application in PDF format to your WSFR Regional Office. We will not consider applications or letters received after the deadline.Early and frequent communication between your WSFR Regional Office and/or Coastal Program points of contact, your project partners, and your State&apos;s Federal Aid Coordinator can help you avoid potentially disqualifying errors in your application. We strongly encourage you to email a draft of your application to your WSFR Regional Office and/or Coastal Program contact at least four weeks prior to the due date (i.e., by May 26, 2023) for pre-deadline review. WSFR Regional Office and Coastal Program staff may review and provide input on applications at their discretion and as time permits. Feedback may include recommendations to improve the application, including identification of errors or omissions that could result in disqualification of your application. If you do not email your draft application to your WSFR Regional Office and/or Coastal Program point of contact at least four weeks prior to the due date, you should have no expectation that regional staff will be able to provide input or recommendations.