Coral Reef Conservation Program

 

To provide matching grants of financial assistance in support of coral reef conservation programs and projects that preserve, sustain, and restore U.S. and international coral reef ecosystems.

Active 11.482 National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce B - Project Grants; Z - Salaries and Expenses Not applicable. Coral Reef Conservation Act of 2000, 16 U.S.C. 6401-6403
The Coral Reef Conservation Act (16 USC§6403) requires that the Coral Reef Conservation Program award at least $8M annually through competitive grant programs and further stipulates that at least 40% of funding must go to recipients in the Pacific and at least 40% must go to recipients in the Atlantic/Caribbean, with the residual going towards international awards and other program funding priorities. Institutions of higher education, non-profit organizations, commercial organizations, local and Indian tribal government agencies, foreign governments, relevant Regional Fishery Management Councils (i.e., Caribbean Fishery Management Council, the Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council, the South Atlantic Fishery Management Council, and the Western Pacific Regional Fishery Management Council), and State, Territorial and Commonwealth resource management agencies that were appointed by their respective Governors to serve as the primary point of contact agencies for coral reef conservation activities in each of the jurisdictions of American Samoa, Florida, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, Guam, Hawaii, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands. Eligible international applicants are institutions of higher education, non-profit organizations, non- U.S. government natural resource management agencies, foreign public entities and foreign organizations, and for-profit organizations. Organizations and individuals with professional expertise in managing and conserving coral reef ecosystems in the U.S. and internationally. Proposals with statements of work and estimated budgets. Costs will be determined in accordance with 2 CFR Part 200: Uniform Administrative Requirements, Cost Principles, and Audit Requirements for Federal Awards. Preapplication coordination is required. An environmental impact statement is required for this listing. An environmental impact assessment is required for this listing. This program is eligible for coverage under E.O. 12372, "Intergovernmental Review of Federal Programs." An applicant should consult the office or official designated as the single point of contact in his or her State for more information on the process the State requires to be followed in applying for assistance, if the State has selected the program for review. This program is eligible for coverage under E.O. 12372, "Intergovernmental Review of Federal Programs."An applicant should consult the office or official designated as the single point of contact in his or her State for more information on the process the State requires to be followed in applying for assistance, if the State has selected the program for review. 2 CFR 200, Uniform Administrative Requirements, Cost Principles, and Audit Requirements for Federal Awards applies to this program. Proposals should be submitted through Grants.Gov. Applicants will need to enter the Funding Opportunity and/or CFDA number to access the application package and instructions. Application packages will then be forwarded directly to the applicable federal program. Proposals are subject to the requirements of 15 CFR Parts 14 and 24, as applicable. Awards are made on the basis of proposals evaluations, technical reviews and administrative reviews, if applicable. Contact the headquarters or regional location, as appropriate for application deadlines Funding recommendations from the NOAA program office to the NOAA Grants Management Division are generally made: o 3 to 5 months after competitive applications are received o Within a month after formula and non-competitive applications are received Processing of awards by the NOAA Grants Management Division generally takes place within two months after recommendations are received from the NOAA program office. Successful applicants typically receive federal financial assistance awards offers 2 to 4 months after the NOAA program office submits award recommendations to the NOAA Grants Management Division. Not applicable. Renewal of multi-year awards to increase funding or extend the period of performance is at the total discretion of the Department. Proposals are subject to office evaluations, technical reviews, administrative reviews, and externals reviews, if applicable. Recommendations for funding to the selecting official take into consideration factors such as scientific/technical merit, applicability to the goals of NOAA CRCP and jurisdictional partners, direct benefit to coral reef resources and ecosystems, past performance of the recipient, cost-effectiveness, adequacy of the project implementation plan, and availability of matching funds, as described in annual Federal Funding Opportunity notices for each competition. Awards made under this program may be used to support programmatic and project expenses related to coral reef conservation activities conducted by U.S. States and Territories, Regional Fishery Management Councils with jurisdiction over coral reefs, and International partners in three key regions, and project costs associated with research studies and conservation activities undertaken by other eligible non-governmental partner organizations in the U.S. Performance Reports: Performance is monitored through review of performance progress reports. In accordance with the provisions of 2 CFR 200, Subpart F - Audit Requirements," nonfederal entities that expend financial assistance of $750,000 or more in Federal awards will have a single or a program- specific audit conducted for that year. Non-Federal entities that expend less than $750,000 a year in Federal awards are exempt from Federal audit requirements for that year, except as noted in 2 CFR 200.503. Records will be retained in accordance with 2 CFR Part 200 for all non-Federal entities. Statutory formula is not applicable to this assistance listing.

Matching is voluntary. Per the Coral Reef Conservation Act of 2000 (16 USC 6401 et seq; specifically §6403) Federal funds may not exceed 50% of the total cost of a project unless a waiver to this requirement is obtained by the applicant. Provision of a waiver is at the discretion of the CRCP Program Manager, who was delegated authority for this purpose by the NOAA Administrator. Matching funds contributed by the applicant may be comprised of cash, in-kind contributions and/or other non-cash support.

MOE requirements are not applicable to this assistance listing. Assistance is typically available to formula recipients for 12 to 18 months with a possible extension not to exceed a project period of 3 total years. Assistance is typically available to competitive recipients for 1 to 5 years. The maximum time that may be granted for recipients to expend and drawdown funds is 5 years. Extension requests will be considered by the federal program office only if the recipient has submitted all required performance reports. At least sixty days prior to the end of the award, recipients must discuss with their federal program officer expected reprogramming and extension requests. After preliminary negotiation on proposed projects and extensions, formal written reprogramming and extension requests must be submitted to the NOAA at least 30 days prior to end date. Recipients should make every effort to submit one extension request for all projects needing an extension (when possible, multiple extension requests should be avoided). With sufficient justification, the federal program office will recommend approval of an extension up to 1 year for the first extension request. First time or cumulative extension requests for more than six months but less than 12 months, will need more compelling justification as to why the project was not completed on time or could not be completed within the first six-month extension. Although the federal program office discourages extensions of more than 12 months, the federal program office will recommend approval in cases where the funds are already obligated. Renewal of an award to increase funding or extend the period of performance is at the total discretion of the Department. Funds are released as agreed to in the Standard Terms and Conditions document required for each grant; and special award conditions as applicable. Jennifer Koss, Program Manager, NOAA Coral Reef Conservation Program, 1305 East-West Hwy, SSMC4-N/ORM1, Silver Spring, MD 20910. (240) 533-0777. Kadija Baffoe-Harding
1305 East West Highway
SSMC 4 Room 13267
Silver Spring, MD 20910 US
Kadija.BaffoeHarding@noaa.gov
Phone: 2405330955 http://coralreef.noaa.gov 13-1450-0-1-306 (Salaries and Expenses) FY 22$6,763,486.00; FY 23 est $7,008,242.00; FY 24 est $7,008,242.00; FY 21$9,164,545.00; FY 20$11,488,947.00; FY 16$8,097,097.00; FY 17 est $7,264,862.00; FY 18 est $7,264,862.00; - Range is approximately $80,000 to $1,500,000 per award; average of $375,000. Allowable costs and financial assistance management will be determined in accordance with 2 CFR 200 for non-Federal entities. Further guidelines are outlined in the DOC Grants and Cooperative Agreement Policy Manual. The CRCP Grant Program Implementation Guidelines published in 2010 are also applicable to these awards. Fiscal Year 2017 Funded projects will support continued implementation of the Coral Reef Conservation Program’s Goals and Objectives and International Strategy outlined at: http://coralreef.noaa.gov/aboutcrcp/strategy/currentgoals and address established local coral reef management priorities identified in collaboration with state and territorial partners.
Fiscal Year 2016 Projects in FY15 will continue to support the Coral Reef Conservation Program’s Goals and Objectives and International Strategy as outlined at: http://coralreef.noaa.gov/aboutcrcp/strategy/currentgoals/. Funded projects are expected to focus on key threats to coral reef ecosystems and the specific local coral reef management priorities identified in collaboration with state and territorial partners. For information about these priorities, please see: http://coralreef.noaa.gov/aboutcrcp/strategy/reprioritization/managementpriorities/.