NOAA Funding for General Coral Reef Conservation Grants
The NOAA Coral Reef Conservation Program announces the availability of funding for General Coral Reef Conservation Grants (GCRCGP) for FY08. Applications must be submitted by 11:59 PM EST, November 1, 2007. This program provides funding to institutions of higher education, non-profit organizations, commercial organizations, Freely Associated State government agencies, and local and Indian tribal governments to support coral reef conservation projects in the United States and the Freely Associated States in the Pacific, as authorized under the Coral Reef Conservation Act of 2000. Projects funded through the GCRCGP support on-the ground efforts that: (1) help preserve, sustain and restore the condition of coral reef ecosystems, (2) promote the wise management and sustainable use of coral reef resources, (3) increase public knowledge and awareness of coral reef ecosystems and issues regarding their conservation and (4) develop sound scientific information on the condition of coral reef ecosystems and the threats to such ecosystems.
Applicants can submit a grant application for work covering a period of 12-18 months at federal funding amounts ranging from $15,000 to a maximum of $50,000; applications must include a 1:1 match obtained from non federal sources. Applications must fall within at least one of the following 7 categories: (a) Monitoring and assessment of coral reefs or reef resources; (b) Socio-economic assessments and resource valuation; (c) Marine protected areas and associated management activities; (d) Coral reef fisheries management and enforcement; (e) Coral reef restoration; (f) Public education and outreach activities; and (g) Local action strategy projects. Research activities are eligible only if they: 1) directly contribute to improved management and demonstrate effective and prompt mechanisms to disseminate information to resource managers; or 2) are a listed priority project within a local action strategy.
The full funding announcement and federal forms can be found at grants.gov. Applications should be submitted via grants.gov and must be received no later than 11:59 PM EST on November 1, 2007. If grants.gov cannot be reasonably used, applications can be sent by mail, but they must postmarked by November 1, 2007, and they must include original signed copies of the federal forms. Send to: Andrew Bruckner, NOAA Coral Reef Conservation Program, NOAA Fisheries, Office of Habitat Conservation (F/HC), 1315 East West Highway, Silver Spring, MD 20910. ATTN: CRCGP Project Applications.
If you need further information please contact andy.bruckner@noaa.gov or Liz.fairey@noaa.gov
