Provide assistance to the national fish and wildlife foundation to implement its project to support the long island sound comprehensive conservation and management plan to protect and restore long…

The National Fish and Wildlife Foundation (NFWF) received a $16,866,667 Project Grant from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Region 1 under the Geographic Programs - Long Island Sound Program (CFDA 66.437) to implement the Long Island Sound Comprehensive Conservation and Management Plan. Through this multi-year cooperative agreement, NFWF will: develop and disseminate the Long Island Sound Futures Fund Request for Proposals; provide technical assistance to applicants and subrecipients; manage the grant evaluation and award process; deliver educational materials and events; engage partnerships; enhance community networks; administer subaward agreements; update a geospatial decision tool; and commission an external evaluation of the Futures Fund program. NFWF will issue subawards to state/local governments, non-profits, universities, and other entities to implement on-the-ground projects focused on water quality improvement, habitat restoration, community engagement, and conservation in the Long Island Sound watershed.

Description

The purpose of this agreement is to provide assistance to the national fish and wildlife foundation to implement its project to support the long island sound comprehensive conservation and management plan to protect and restore long island sound by: 1) develop the long island sound futures fund request for proposals and associated materials; 2) disseminate the long island sound futures fund request for proposals through multiple venues; 3) provide multiple forms of technical assistance to applicants and subrecipients including one-to-one outreach, webinars, shared learning and networking opportunities, geographically focused technical assistance, and guidance materials; 4) develop and manage grant evaluation; 5) deliver a virtual grant announcement event; 6) deliver and support multiple forms of education about the long island sound futures fund investments and impacts; 7) engage federal and nonfederal partnerships; 8) support development of an enhanced community-facing, community of practice networks; 9) administer subrecipient grant agreements and the recipient cooperative agreement from inception to closure; 10) manage and update a spatial decision tool which informs priorities for conservation investment for the long island sound futures fund in the long island sound watershed and related geography as part of the multi-year national fish and wildlife foundation northeast watersheds business plan; 11) commission evaluation of long island sound futures fund grant program by a third-party neutral expert team focused on long island sound futures fund closed grants 2015-2021; and 12) participate in activities to update the comprehensive conservation management plan.activities:specifically, under this cooperative agreement the recipient will: 1) develop the long island sound futures fund request for proposals and associated materials (narrative application, evaluation criteria, tips for preparing an application, and educational materials and tools including pollution calculators, budgets, long island sound study educational resources, quality assurance project plan materials and portal, etcetera); 2) disseminate the long island sound futures fund request for proposals through multiple venues. Disseminate an announcement to inform potential applicants about long island sound futures fund funding availability. Dissemination will include: a. National fish and wildlife foundation and the long island sound study posting the announcement on their respective web pages; B. Via an electronic listserv based in the mailchimp platform maintained by national fish and wildlife foundation. C. Conducting individual outreach within the long island sound futures fund geography to inform potential applicants or communities of practice about long island sound futures fund (for example, state based 319 programs, nonpoint source pollution groups); D. Via social media; E. Via the technical field liaison team with a particular focus in non-coastal connecticut and the upper basin states of the long island sound watershed (massachusetts, new hampshire, vermont); and via the sea grant extension professionals; 3) provide multiple forms of technical assistance to applicants and subrecipients including one-to-one outreach, webinars, shared learning and networking opportunities, geographically focused technical assistance, and guidance materials. Applicants: technical assistance is coordinated and delivered by national fish and wildlife foundation as follows through the upper basin field liaison team, long island sound study partners and new york and connecticut sea grant extension professionals and long island sound study staff from the new england interstate watershed pollution control commission. Technical assistance activities will involve one-to-one written and other forms of feedback about the general fit of project ideas to the conservation priorities of the long island sound futures fund and comprehensive conservation management plan updat