Foa_Content_of_NOAA-NMFS-OHC-2026-33125 (2).pdf

NOTICE OF FUNDING OPPORTUNITY

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Table of Contents

NOTICE OF FUNDING OPPORTUNITY

Executive Summary Full Text of Announcement

I. Funding Opportunity Description II. Award Information III. Eligibility Information IV. Application and Submission Information V. Application Review Information VI. Award Administration Information VII. Agency Contacts VIII. Other Information

Executive Summary Federal Agency Name National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)

Funding Opportunity Title FY26 Ruth D. Gates Coral Reef Conservation Grants - Fishery Management

Announcement Type Competitive

Funding Opportunity Number

NOAA-NMFS-OHC-2026-33125

Assistance Listing Number(s) 11.482

Dates Applications must be postmarked, provided to a delivery service, or received by www.Grants.gov by 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time on Thursday, July 23, 2026.

Funding Opportunity Description

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The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Coral Reef Conservation Program provides financial assistance through the Ruth D. Gates Coral Reef Conservation Grants - Fishery Management competition for projects to sustainably manage coral reef fisheries, as authorized under the Coral Reef Conservation Act, 16 U.S.C. § 6410. Projects funded through this competition are for activities that: 1) Develop or update sustainable coral reef fisheries management plans; 2) Address science/information gaps that help advance sustainable management of coral reef fisheries stocks; 3) Advance ecosystem-based fisheries management by modernizing analysis of existing data and application of fisheries management tools. Proposals selected for funding through this solicitation will be implemented through one- to three-year grants or cooperative agreements. Approximately $1,000,000 is expected to be available for this competition in fiscal year (FY) 2027. The NOAA Coral Reef Conservation Program anticipates that awards will range from $50,000-$200,000 per year for a total of $150,000 to $600,000 over two or three years. NOAA will not accept proposals requesting less than $50,000 for one-year proposals or more than $750,000 total for multi-year proposals. Funds will be administered by the Office of Habitat Conservation in conjunction with the NOAA Coral Reef Conservation Program. Funding may be divided among the U.S. Pacific and Atlantic regions to maintain the geographic balance of the NOAA Coral Reef Conservation Program grant portfolio, as required by the Coral Reef Conservation Act.

NOAA anticipates an additional $750,000 to $1,000,000 may be available in the next two years (FY28 and FY29) to support selected awards. Awards are dependent upon the amount of federal appropriations made available to NOAA in the FY27 - FY29 budgets.

Please see the National Marine Fisheries Service website on the Grant Application Process. You will need to pay close attention to the submission checks section and the common error section. There are common errors that prevent successful application submission and receipt in eRA Commons. Grants.gov may allow you to apply, but eRA Commons will not accept the application if it includes these errors, and therefore NOAA will not receive it. When you apply to this competition you will receive notification of submission validation from Grants.gov and eRA Commons. Only validated applications are sent to NOAA to review. To ensure successful submission of an application, we strongly recommend that you submit a final and complete application at least two business days prior to the submission deadline.

In addition to the Grants.gov automated notification messages, once an electronic application is accepted in eRA Commons, you will receive an automated notification from eRA Commons that the completed application was received and that an application number will be assigned. If there are errors in the application, eRA Common will send an automated email notification(s) of any errors or warnings identified by eRA Commons. You must resolve all eRA Commons errors prior to the application due date for the application to be processed.

You should save and print the proof of submission messages from both Grants.gov and eRA Commons.

If you do not receive an acceptance message from both Grants.gov and eRA Commons, you should follow up with the eRA Helpdesk at 1-866-504-9552 and the agency contact listed in Section VII to confirm NOAA’s receipt of the complete submission. See Section IV(G) for detailed instructions on submission validation requirements.

Full Text of Announcement I. Funding Opportunity Description A. Program Objective Coral reefs are among the most complex and diverse ecosystems on earth. They support important fishing and tourism industries, protect coasts from wave and storm damage, build tropical islands, are a source of compounds for new drugs and treatments, and provide essential services like food security, livelihood, and culture, among other benefits. As shallow water, nearshore ecosystems, coral reefs are ecologically linked to adjacent watersheds and are highly vulnerable to human activity. Stresses in the coral reef environment include poor water quality from runoff and inadequate sewage treatment, sedimentation, fishing impacts, recreational overuse and misuse, and changing ocean conditions.

http://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/s3/2024-05/NOAA-Fisheries-New-Application-Process-508.pdf

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To address these and other threats, the NOAA Coral Reef Conservation Program, working with federal, state, and territorial partners, drafted a National Coral Reef Resilience Strategy that is based on sound science, innovative management approaches, effective enforcement, meaningful partnerships, and inclusive public participation. This draft strategy outlines efforts in four conservation goals that are designed to support healthy, resilient United States (U.S.) coral reef ecosystems capable of providing valuable services to current and future generations. The goals of this draft strategy are to improve water quality; restore or preserve resilient, genetically diverse, reproductively viable coral populations; maintain stable or increasing fisheries taxa to support sustainable fisheries and ecosystem services; and enhance coral reef ecosystem services that support resilience and well-being for coastal communities.

This grant competition directly contributes to the draft National Coral Reef Resilience Strategy's ‘sustainable fisheries' focus area and supports Executive Order 14276, “Restoring American Seafood Competitiveness.” Improving fisheries sustainability is about managing coral reef fisheries in a manner that not only maintains healthy populations and habitats but also preserves the ecosystem services upon which communities depend, including sustainable seafood. This focus area also recognizes the need for accurate and updated fisheries information to inform adaptive management approaches that direct and adjust management actions, including reducing regulatory burdens, as needed, per Executive Order 14276. There are two strategies under this focus area: building capacity for coral reef fisheries management and providing data essential for coral reef fisheries management.

This competition falls under the Ruth D. Gates Coral Reef Conservation Grants Program (16 U.S.C. § 6410), which supports projects for the conservation and restoration of coral reef ecosystems. This Grants Program, in alignment with the draft National Coral Reef Resilience Strategy, aims to improve coral reef conservation and restoration by supporting community-based planning, enhancing compliance with regulations, mapping habitats, and fostering innovation in research, monitoring, and management of coral reef ecosystems.

B. Program Priorities The primary focus of this funding announcement is to support activities that improve fisheries sustainability within the shallow (<30 m [<90 ft] depth) and associated mesophotic (30–150 m [90–500 ft] depth) coral reef ecosystems found within the U.S. waters. This includes U.S. coral jurisdictions (American Samoa, the Commonwealth of Northern Mariana Islands, Florida, Guam, Hawaii, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands) and the federal waters under the four regional fishery management councils with shallow coral in their jurisdiction (Caribbean, Gulf, South Atlantic, and Western Pacific). All applications must be consistent with the draft National Coral Reef Resilience Strategy.

Activities under this competition should support sustainable fisheries management, which is a dynamic process that requires constant and routine attention to new information to adjust management actions.

Proposed projects should directly address coral reef fisheries management needs, data gaps, and/or improve adaptive management tools and processes. This may also include activities that promote data sharing among the jurisdictional and federal management agencies where coral reef fisheries management overlaps. Successful applications under this competition will clearly indicate how the proposed work supports improved fisheries management.

Applicants that are not management agencies should work closely with the jurisdictional fishery management agencies and/or regional fishery management councils as project partners or collaborators, or ensure the application includes a letter of support from the management agency stating the proposed work will address a known gap or need.

The following program priorities not only support identified needs within the U.S. coral jurisdictions and fisheries management councils, but also support the need to streamline regulations, improve data collection, and solicit public input as identified in Executive Order 14276. Projects should address one or more of the shallow coral reef fisheries management objectives within the following categories:

• Develop or update sustainable coral reef fisheries management plans. This may include activities such as

NOAA NOFO Page 4 of 22 o Conducting analysis to feed into new or revised plans o Assisting with drafting or revising plans o Facilitating public input into plans via meetings or other public engagement activities and/or o Developing communication tools related to management plans

• Address science/information gaps that help advance sustainable management of coral reef fisheries stocks. Activities may include o Obtaining life history and ecological data related to key fishery taxa that are ecologically important for coral reef conditions and particularly vulnerable to overfishing o Conducting cooperative research with fishers, communities, or other stakeholders to obtain information on coral reef fishery species abundance, habitat utilization, or habitat-gear interactions o Develop, modernize, and/or implement monitoring data collection protocols that evaluate place-based management performance relative to real-time conditions

• Advance ecosystem-based fisheries management by modernizing analysis of existing data and application of fisheries management tools. Activities may include o Modeling the effects of coral cover (habitat) changes on coral reef fishery production o Development of decision-support tools (e.g., risk and vulnerability assessments, ecosystem and well-being indicators, and management strategy evaluation) Travel supported through this grant/cooperative agreement must be related to the implementation of activities described in the project narrative. Expenditures on large equipment, real property, capital expenditures, and/or infrastructure are not a priority for funding under this program.

C. Program Authority The Coral Reef Conservation Act, 16 U.S.C. § 6410.

II. Award Information A. Funding Availability Pursuant to 16 U.S.C. § 6410, and pending appropriations in fiscal year 2027, the NOAA Coral Reef Conservation Program expects to provide approximately $1,000,000 in funding for this competition. The NOAA Coral Reef Conservation Program anticipates that awards will range from $50,000-$200,000 per year for a total of $150,000 to $600,000 over two or three years. NOAA will not accept proposals requesting less than $50,000 for one-year proposals or more than $750,000 for multi-year proposals. The exact amount of funds that may be awarded will be determined in pre-award negotiations between the applicant and NOAA. Any funds provided to successful applicants for subsequent-year funding requests will be determined by progress towards stated milestones, availability of funding, and at the discretion of the NOAA Office of Habitat Conservation, the NOAA Coral Reef Conservation Program, and the NOAA Grants Management Division (GMD).

NOAA or the Department of Commerce are not responsible for direct costs of application preparation.

Publication of this announcement does not oblige NOAA to award any specific project or to obligate any available funds. There is no guarantee that sufficient funds will be available to make awards for all top-ranked applications. Federal funds have not yet been appropriated for this program, and there is no guarantee that sufficient funds will be available to make awards for all qualified projects. Publication of this notice does not oblige NOAA to award any specific project or to obligate any available funds.

B. Project/Award Period Applications should use an anticipated start date of January 1, 2027, or later. The period of performance for projects in this program should be 12, 24, or 36 months, based on a 1-year, 2-year, or 3-year project, respectively.

C. Type of Funding Instrument

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Successful applicants will enter into a grant or cooperative agreement with the NOAA Coral Reef Conservation Program. The instrument will depend on the level of federal involvement. Federal cooperative agreements, as described in 2 C.F.R. Sec. 200.1, are different from traditional grants in that they allow for 'substantial federal involvement' in the implementation of funded projects. Applications that propose substantial federal government involvement should suggest anticipated federal roles and responsibilities in their proposals. Proposed roles and responsibilities on the part of NOAA or other federal partners may include activities, such as assisting in the implementation of fieldwork and/or laboratory support and providing federal data that is not yet publicly available. Applicants are neither required nor prohibited from proposing substantial federal involvement in a project, and this will not result in a higher merit review score. If a project is selected for funding, NOAA may consider becoming substantially involved by proposing joint collaboration or participation, requiring performance specifications, approving stages of work before subsequent stages may proceed, reviewing substantive aspects of subawards or contracts, involvement in key personnel selection, monitoring to permit redirection of the work due to interrelationships with other projects, significant operational involvement in compliance, or highly prescriptive requirements limiting recipient discretion on the project scope or management processes, combined with operational involvement.

III. Eligibility Information A. Eligible Applicants Eligible applicants are regional fishery management councils established under the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act (16 U.S.C. 1801 et seq.), nongovernmental organizations or research institutions that have demonstrated expertise in coral reef conservation or restoration and/or scientific research; designated coral reef research centers, U.S. states, territories, or local governments with authority over coral reefs; and Native entities with interests in a coral reef ecosystem.

NOAA employees are not permitted to assist in the preparation of applications. NOAA Coral Reef Conservation Program staff are available to provide general information on programmatic goals and objectives, ongoing coral reef conservation programs/activities, and regional funding priorities. For proposals that involve collaboration with current NOAA projects or staff, NOAA employees may provide a limited statement verifying the nature and extent of the collaboration and confirming prior coordination activities. Letters of support from NOAA employees are not allowable and will not be included among the application materials considered by merit reviewers.

B. Cost Share or Matching Requirement NOAA Coral Reef Conservation Program financial assistance awards are subject to statutory and regulatory matching fund policies. Federal funds for any coral conservation project under 16 U.S.C. § 6410(b) may not exceed 50 percent of the total cost of the award. Therefore, any coral conservation project under this grant competition requires a 1:1 contribution of non-federal matching funds.

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Cost sharing or matching is defined by 2 C.F.R. § 200.29 as “the portion of project costs not paid by federal funds (unless otherwise authorized by federal statute).” Any shared costs or matching funds and all contributions, including cash and third-party in-kind contributions of property and services, will be accepted as part of an applicant’s cost sharing or matching when the contributions meet the criteria listed in 2 C.F.R. § 200.306(b). That is, the contributions: (1) are verifiable from the non-federal entity's records; (2) are not included as contributions for any other federal award; (3) are necessary and reasonable for accomplishment of project or program objectives; (4) are allowable under Subpart E - Cost Principles of this part; (5) are not paid by the federal government under another federal award, except where the federal statute authorizing a program specifically provides that Federal funds made available for such a program can be applied to matching or cost sharing requirements of other Federal programs;

(6) are provided for in the approved budget when required by the federal awarding agency; and (7) conform to other provisions of this part, as applicable. Contributions can come from a variety of public and private sources and can include third party in-kind goods and services such as private boat use, lab space or equipment, and volunteer labor. In addition, applicants are permitted to combine contributions for allowable costs from multiple non-Federal partners to meet the 1:1 match requirement, consistent with the standards described in 2 C.F.R. § 200.306.

Applicants should specify the source(s) of match in the budget narrative and should provide or may be asked to provide letters of commitment to confirm stated match contributions. Applicants whose proposals are selected for funding will be bound by the percentage of cost sharing reflected in the award document signed by the NOAA Grants Officer. Applicants should be prepared to carefully document matching contributions for each project selected for funding. Valuation of proposed cost sharing is described in 2 C.F.R. § 200.306(d)-(k). Applicants may choose to designate part or all of their federally negotiated indirect costs as match. This may be convenient because the valuation of such costs has already been federally approved, and documentation is readily available. Refer to the “Indirect Costs” policies in Section IV.F. of this funding announcement.

The NOAA Administrator or designee may waive all or part of the matching requirement if the Administrator determines that the project meets two requirements identified in 16 U.S.C. § 6403(b)(2):

1. No reasonable means are available through which an applicant can meet the matching requirement, and

2. The probable benefit of such a project outweighs the public interest in such matching requirements.

In the case of a waiver request, the applicant should provide a detailed justification explaining the need for the waiver, including attempts to obtain sources of matching funds, how the benefit of the project outweighs the public interest in providing matching funds, and any other extenuating circumstances preventing the availability of matching funds. Match waiver requests including the appropriate justification should be submitted as part of the final application package. Please address all waiver requests to Jennifer Koss, Coral Reef Conservation Program Manager, NOAA National Ocean Service, 1305 East West Highway, 10th Floor, SSMC4, N/ORM, Silver Spring, MD 20910.

C. Other Criteria that Affect Eligibility Full applications submitted through Grants.gov must be submitted by the due date and time provided in Section IV.D. Late applications will not be considered for funding.

The following information describes ineligible project proposal types and activities:

• Activities that alleviate the liability associated with legally required mitigation for the adverse environmental impacts of an activity regulated or otherwise governed by local, state, or federal law are ineligible.

• Activities that constitute compensatory restoration for natural resource damages under federal, state, or local law are ineligible.

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• Activities that are required by a separate consent decree, court order, statute, or regulation are ineligible. Applicants planning to combine grant or matching funds with mitigation should review the Compensatory Mitigation for Losses of Aquatic Resources; Final Rule at 73 Fed. Reg. 19594 (April 10, 2008). NOAA plans to follow the approach adopted by some other Federal agencies on Page 19,636 that describes scenarios where mitigation credits may or may not be obtained in association with federal financial incentives.

IV. Application and Submission Information A. Address to Request Application Package Complete application packages, including required federal forms and instructions, can be found on www.Grants.gov. If a prospective applicant is having difficulty downloading the application forms from www.Grants.gov, contact www.Grants.gov Customer Support at 1- 800-518-4726 or support@Grants.gov.

Information about the recommended format for full applications is contained in Section IV.B.

B. Content and Form of Application The application process for this competition requires submission of a complete application on or before the submission date and time listed above. All application materials should use a legible 12-point font with 1-inch margins on all sides. For each application, the information provided in elements 1-4 (described below) may not exceed 50 pages total; the 50-page limit does not apply to required federal forms and other documentation (elements 5 - 11 below). Applications that exceed the 50-page limit will be shortened by removing pages before they are forwarded to merit reviewers. Pages excised from lengthy applications will not be reviewed, and any activities described therein will not be eligible for funding consideration. Applications that are incomplete, unclear, or contain numerous typographical errors may not be understood effectively by the reviewers, leading to lower evaluation scores; so, applicants are advised to review their application materials closely before they are submitted to the agency for consideration.

Applications submitted through www.Grants.gov should have no more than three attachments in addition to the federal forms: 1) Cover page and project narrative (elements 1-4 below), 2) Budget table and budget narrative (element 5), and 3) all additional information (elements 6-8) combined into one file.

Applications submitted as flattened Adobe Acrobat (PDF) documents. The total electronic file size of the proposal narrative and appendices combined shall not exceed 100 megabytes in storage space. Files that are larger than five megabytes may not be properly downloaded, uploaded, or received by the agency or the reviewers. Files that cannot be opened or downloaded will not be reviewed.

Each application should include the following information:

Element 1: Cover Sheet and Project Summary - A one-page cover sheet that includes:

• Short title of the proposed project.

• Applicant organization name, address, phone number.

• Principal investigators and their contact information.

• Geographic locations of the project and the site names.

• The amount of federal funds requested – total and by year if applicable.

• The amount of matching funds provided – total and by year, if applicable, along with the source of matching funds.

• The requested award start date and end date.

• A one or two paragraph project summary emphasizing the overall goal of application objectives and activities.

Element 2: Project Description (Proposal Narrative):

Provide sufficient background and contextual information for reviewers to independently assess the significance of the proposed project.

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a) Importance and Applicability. The applicant should provide a brief summary of relevant background information that justifies the need for the proposed project. This information should identify the management need, issue, or fisheries data gap the project intends to address; describe how the project is expected to support sustainable coral reef fishery management. Project objectives should be simple and understandable, as specific and quantitative as possible, and attainable within the proposed time-frame, the described budget, and the human resources available. Projects should be accomplishment-oriented and identify attainable goals, outcomes, and products. If the work is part of a larger project, applicants should provide information on the larger project and how the proposed work feeds into the larger project.

b) Project objectives: This section is the scientific or technical plan to be accomplished to meet the project objectives and should be written in sufficient detail to allow a review of the suitability of the proposed work and the likelihood of successful completion in the stated time frame. Please ensure your project narrative includes detailed descriptions of each activity, including the rationale for the activity, how it will be accomplished, specific milestones, and expected products. The narrative should include outreach and education information such as dissemination of the findings/results and/or data to resource managers, fishers, local communities, and other stakeholders, or other activities as appropriate.

If the work is one component of a larger project and proposed activities will continue after the end of the grant period, applicants should describe future activities and potential future funding sources (and other mechanisms) to continue the work.

The applications in-water tasks should note the use or take of Endangered Species Act listed corals or fish; anticipated impacts to other Endangered Species Act listed species or critical habitat (e.g., sea turtles and whales); any National Historic Preservation Act resources in the action area, as well as a commitment to quickly provide information needed by NOAA to analyze project impacts under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA, see Section IV.B.5 Supporting Documents, below).

c) Project Timeline: A description of specific activities and associated timelines necessary to meet them.

Describe the timelines in increments (e.g., month 1, month 2, etc. or 1st quarter, 2nd quarter, etc.), rather than by specific dates.

d) Project Management/Personnel and Partner Justification and Roles: Describe how the project will be organized and managed. Provide an overview of the qualifications of the principal investigator(s) through a summary of professional backgrounds, which may be supplemented by short biographies, curricula vitae, or resumes in Element 6 below, Supporting Documents. The principal investigator may or may not be the applicant. However, if the applicant is not the principal investigator, there should be an explanation of the relationship between the applicant and the principal investigator (e.g., the applicant may be responsible for managing the grant funds and the principal investigator will be responsible for completing the work). Please also include information about the specific responsibilities of other personnel funded through the proposal, including the technical and administrative points of contact as appropriate.

For projects that are done collaboratively or in support of fishery management agencies or regional fishery management council needs, the project narrative should indicate the key agency or council contacts and their roles in supporting the proposed work. For proposals that would like to have NOAA substantially involved in them, the narrative should include any NOAA contact(s) and a description of NOAA's involvement.

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e) Table or List of Products/Outputs and Outcomes for the project: Please provide a table to summarize the specific products/outputs and outcomes that will be produced for each activity under the award. All products resulting from federally funded awards should be provided to NOAA within 120 days of the end of the award period and should be of publishable quality. All products will need to comply with Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (see Section VI.C., Reporting, below). NOAA may make award products available to the public, so recipients are encouraged to omit sensitive information (i.e., budget or salary information) from products submitted to NOAA. All products should explicitly acknowledge the support of the NOAA Coral Reef Conservation Program. For each product entry, please provide a description of the product, the type or format of the product (e.g., journal publication, white paper, public service announcement, presentation, newsletter, metadata record, and/or annual monitoring summary), and the expected date(s) when the product will be submitted to NOAA. NOAA will use this information to ensure that products are submitted to the agency in a timely manner and made available to the public whenever possible.

Element 3. Budget table and narrative for the project

Reviewers will evaluate project costs by reviewing your budget justification. The budget justification narrative must include a detailed breakdown by category of applicable costs (i.e., object class) separated into federal and non-federal shares as they relate to specific aspects of the award, with a detailed narrative justification for both the federal and non-federal (if applicable) shares. The object classes should match those found in the SF-424A. If funding will be used to complete part of a larger project, a budget overview for the entire project to demonstrate how the NOAA request relates to the overall project budget and outcomes should be provided. If a task has been submitted for funding consideration elsewhere, the amount requested or secured from other sources, and whether the funds requested/secured are federal or non-federal should be included. If the proposed task includes a monitoring component, the applicant should provide an estimate of all monitoring-related costs within the proposed budget.

The NOAA Habitat Conservation and Grants Management Division staff will review budget information in recommended applications to determine if costs are allowable, allocable, reasonable, and realistic. The narrative budget justification should be sufficiently detailed to enable a clear understanding of the cost breakdown and calculations used to derive the line-item subtotals in each object class of the SF-424A budget form. An SF-424A for each year of requested funding will be required prior to an award offer, but not as part of the initial application.

Please follow this additional budget development guidance.

Applicants should include detailed budget information regarding all known cost-based contracts and sub-awards and indicate the basis for the cost and price estimates for contracts in the narrative. Applicants should describe activities to occur or products or services to be obtained and indicate the applicability or necessity of each to the project. Each sub-award should be included on the SF-424A. Detailed budget information includes:

• Name of identified qualified sub recipient or contractor, affiliation, contact information, and method of selection. For “to be determined,” describe plans for selection.

• Period of Performance. The dates for the performance period. If it involves a number of tasks, including the performance period for each task.

• Scope of Work. List and describe the specific activities or tasks to be performed.

• Criteria for Measuring Accountability: An itemized line-item breakdown as well as the total contract/award amount. If applicable, include any indirect costs paid under the cost-based contract/award and the indirect cost rate used.

• Itemized Budget. Use the categories used in the program budget for sub-recipients or cost-based contractors. If applicable, include any direct cost paid under the sub-award or contract and the indirect cost rate used.

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All sub awards and contracts must be made consistent with the requirements of 2 CFR 200.331-200.333 for sub awards, and 200.317-200.327 for procurements.

For any equipment, a description of the item and associated costs or price is required, including a description of how it will be used in the project. Note that equipment is defined as tangible personal property (including information technology systems) having a useful life of more than one year and a per-unit acquisition cost, which equals or exceeds the lesser of the capitalization level established by the non-federal entity for financial statement purposes, or $10,000; see 2 CFR 200.1. Non-federal applicants should identify, if this information is known when submitting the grant application, who they plan to request that NOAA transfer equipment or property ownership titles to after the project ends. The decision on grant ownership requests will be made by the Grants Officer during the grant closeout process.

The budget narrative should also provide, to the extent possible, detailed information on travel, including costs, a description of anticipated travel, destinations, the number of travelers, and a justification of how the requested travel is directly relevant to the successful completion of the project. If actual trip details are unknown, applicants should state the basis for the proposed travel charges.

Element 4. Supporting documents:

This section includes the qualifications of the primary project personnel; letters of support received from the relevant jurisdictional fishery agencies, regional fishery management councils, project partners, or communities involved in the project; permits; and additional environmental compliance information. All supporting attachments should be combined into one file, which includes a list of the documents and associated page numbers.

The application should include short biographies or resumes of key personnel. It should also include evidence of support for the project by the fishery management agencies and/or regional fishery management councils. Letters of collaboration from partners and any letters of support should be included in the application to confirm their participation. Additional letters of support are not required but are encouraged.

For in-water work, applications should include a list or copy of all applicable permits that will be required to perform the proposed work. It is the responsibility of the applicant to obtain all necessary federal, state, and local government permits and approvals for the proposed work. For work within National Marine Sanctuaries, National Parks, National Seashores, and other federally designated protected areas, it is the responsibility of the applicant to request and obtain any necessary permits or letters of agreement from the appropriate government agencies prior to commencement of an award. Applicants are expected to design their proposals so that they minimize potential adverse impacts on the environment. If applicable, documentation of requests or approvals of environmental permits should be included in the proposal package.

Failure to apply for and/or obtain federal, state, and local permits, approvals, letters of agreement, or failure to provide environmental analyzes where necessary (i.e., National Environmental Policy Act [NEPA] environmental impact assessment) will delay or prevent the award of funds for projects that have been preliminarily selected for funding. More information on NEPA is provided below, under Additional NEPA information.

Element 5. Data/Information Sharing Directive (2-page limit)

All environmental data and information collected or created under NOAA grants or cooperative agreements must be made discoverable by and accessible to the public in a timely fashion (typically within two years), free of charge or at no more than the cost of reproduction, unless an exemption is granted by the NOAA Program. Applications proposing the collection of environmental data must include a Data Management Plan of up to two pages describing how these requirements will be satisfied. Please see additional information under Section VI. B. Data Sharing Plan.

Here is some additional data management guidance for proposal writers:

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• The NOAA contact for questions regarding this guidance and for verifying accessibility of data produced by funding recipients: Liz Fairey, Federal Program Officer, NOAA Office of Habitat Conservation, Liz.Fairey@noaa.gov, 301-427-8632.

• Data Accessibility: The NOAA Coral Reef Conservation Program requires that public access to grant/contract-produced data be enabled and has held preliminary consultation with NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information regarding these pending data. Funding recipients are expected to submit data to NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, which will provide public access and permanent archiving.

• Technical Recommendations: The NOAA Coral Reef Conservation Program does not offer specific technical guidance. Proposals are to describe their proposed approach. Use of open-standard formats and methods is encouraged.

• Resources: NOAA Coral Reef Conservation Program’s resources for data sharing or archiving have already been identified; proposals should not include such costs (unless data volume is expected to exceed 20GB).

Element 6: Standard Form 424 (SF-424)

At the time of application submission, all applicants must submit a signed and dated copy of Standard Form SF-424, "Application for Federal Assistance," to indicate the total amount of Federal funds and non- Federal matching funds proposed for the project period. An electronic signature is applied automatically when an application is successfully submitted via www.grants.gov.

Element 7: Standard Form 424A (SF-424A)

At the time of application submission, all applicants are required to submit an SF-424A Budget Form. The first column of Sections A and B shows the Federal funds requested. In the second and third column in Section B, the funding for the two additional years can be added; the total three-year funding is shown in the final column of Section B. Provide the forecasted cash needs for year one in Section D. In Section E add the second- and third- year funding requests. Section F summarizes the direct charges in line 21 and lists the indirect charges requested; please show the rate used in line 22. Please note that completion of the SF-424A as described above represents NOAA's preference and may not be consistent with the instructions that accompany the SF424A. All budget figures should match the funding requested on the application cover sheet and correspond with the descriptions contained in the project and budget narratives. Each proposed sub-award of $30,000 or more should be accompanied by a separate SF-424A form to fully document the proposed sub-award budget.

Element 8: Standard Form 424B

All applicants are required to submit a signed SF- 424B, Assurances for Non-Construction Programs.

Element 9: Standard Form CD-511

All applicants are required to submit a completed CD-511, Certifications Regarding Debarment, Suspension, and Other Responsibility Matters, Drug-Free Workplace Requirements, and Lobbying.

Element 10: Other Federal Forms (if applicable)

Applicants may be required to disclose certain lobbying activities by filling out form SF-LLL, regarding any payment or agreement to make payment to any lobbying entity for influencing or attempting to influence an officer or employee of any agency, a Member of Congress, an officer or employee of Congress, or an employee of a Member of Congress in connection with a covered federal action under 31 U.S.C. § 1352.

Proposals submitted in response to this Announcement must include a Data Management Plan (up to 2 pages). See Section VI.B., Administrative and National Policy Requirements, below for additional information on what the plan should contain.

Additional NEPA Information

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Under NEPA, NOAA must analyze the potential environmental impacts of projects or proposals seeking funding from NOAA. After the application is submitted, NOAA may require additional information to fulfill NEPA and other compliance requirements. The applicants selected for funding may be required to complete a subset of questions (based on activities outlined in your application as identified by the Federal Program Officer) from the Environmental Compliance Questionnaire for NOAA, Applicants may also be required to cooperate with NOAA in identifying and implementing feasible measures to reduce or avoid any identified adverse environmental impacts of their proposal. The failure to work with NOAA on environmental compliance or refusal to implement any required action (e.g., the best management practices, conservation recommendations, or mitigation measures) related to consultations may be grounds for the denial of an application.

The NOAA Coral Reef Conservation Program has a Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement (PEIS;

NEPA) and a joint programmatic Biological and Conference Opinion and Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act Essential Fish Habitat Consultation on the National Coral Reef Conservation Program and Mission: Iconic Reefs (BiCOp; Endangered Species Act and essential fish habitat) that streamlines the environmental evaluation and compliance process. NOAA will need to ensure the proposed work aligns with actions and levels of impact described in these documents. To ensure alignment, selected applicants must agree to implement all relevant 1) required best management practices (Appendix A of the PEIS); 2) reasonable and prudent measures and conservation recommendations from the BiCOp; and/or 3) any other required actions from other environmental consultations (e.g., National Historic Preservation Act). If a successful applicant chooses not to implement requirements in the NOAA Coral Reef Conservation Program’s programmatic documents, NOAA will need to complete independent environmental compliance actions, which may delay the funding or start of the work.

In cases where additional information is required after an application is selected, funds can be withheld by the Grants Officer under a special award condition requiring the recipient to submit additional environmental compliance information sufficient to enable NOAA to make an assessment of the impact that a project may have on the environment. Detailed information on NOAA compliance with NEPA can be found at the following NOAA NEPA website.

C. Unique entity identifier and System for Award Management (SAM) Each applicant (unless the applicant is an individual or Federal awarding agency that is excepted from those requirements under 2 CFR 25.110(b) or (c), or has an exception approved by the Federal awarding agency under 2 CFR 25.110(d)) is required to: (i) Be registered in SAM before submitting its application;

(ii) Provide a valid unique entity identifier (UEI) in its application; and (iii) Continue to maintain an active SAM registration with current information at all times during which it has an active Federal award or an application or plan under consideration by a Federal awarding agency. NOAA may not make a Federal award to an applicant until the applicant has complied with all applicable unique entity identifier and SAM requirements and, if an applicant has not fully complied with the requirements by the time NOAA is ready to make a Federal award, NOAA may determine that the applicant is not qualified to receive a Federal award and use that determination as a basis for making a Federal award to another applicant.

D. Submission Dates and Times Full applications in electronic form must be received and validated through www.grants.gov by 11:59 p.m.

Eastern Time, on July 23, 2026. See Section IV. G. for more information, including a limit on transit time and address to submit paper applications.

E. Intergovernmental Review Applications submitted by state and local governments are subject to the provisions of Executive Order 12372, "Intergovernmental Review of Federal Programs." Any applicant submitting an application for funding is required to complete item 19 on SF-424 regarding clearance by the State Single Point of Contact established because of Executive Order 12372. To find out about and comply with a state's process under Executive Order 12372, contact the official listed in Section VII of this announcement for referral information.

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1WVoZ-HPMlBu8Web6ITxAJlmG2tepoTEb/view?usp=sharing https://www.coralreef.noaa.gov/about/resources/CRCP_FPEIS_07132020_NS_508c.pdf https://repository.library.noaa.gov/view/noaa/44324 https://repository.library.noaa.gov/view/noaa/44324 https://repository.library.noaa.gov/view/noaa/44324 https://www.noaa.gov/general-counsel/nepa

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F. Funding Restrictions The budget may include indirect (facilities & administrative [F&A]) costs if the applicant has an established indirect cost rate with the federal government. As defined at 2 C.F.R. § 200.1, indirect (F&A) costs are incurred for a common or joint purpose benefiting more than one cost objective, and not readily assignable to the cost objectives specifically benefited, without effort disproportionate to the results achieved (e.g., lights, rent, water, and insurance). A copy of the current, approved negotiated indirect (F&A) cost agreement with the federal government should be included with the application. In addition, an eligible applicant under 2 C.F.R. § 200.414(f), may elect to charge a de minimis rate of 15% of modified total direct costs. An applicant may also describe all costs as direct costs in the budget narrative or establish a new rate through the Department of Commerce by contacting Jennifer Jackson Grants Officer at NOAA Grants Management Division, 1325 East- West Highway, 9th Floor, Silver Spring, MD 20910, or jennifer.jackson@noaa.gov. Applicants may elect to propose the reduction of part, or all, of allowable indirect costs as a component of cost sharing.

The following projects will not be eligible for funding: (1) Activities that constitute legally required mitigation for the adverse effects of an activity regulated or otherwise governed by state or federal law;

(2) Activities that constitute mitigation for natural resource damages under federal or state law; (3) Activities that are required by a separate consent decree, court order, statute or regulation; (4) Construction projects; and (5) Large equipment and/or infrastructure acquisitions; and (6) Real property acquisitions.

G. Other Submission Requirements Prior to registering with eRA Commons, applicant organizations must first obtain a Unique Entity Identifier from SAM.gov, if needed (refer to Section IV. C above). Organizations can register with eRA Commons in tandem with completing their full SAM and Grants.gov registrations; however, all registrations must be in place by the time of application submission. eRA Commons requires organizations to identify at least one Signing Official (SO) and at least one Program Director/Principal Investigator (PD/PI) account in order to submit an application.

The first PD/PI listed on the application must include their eRA Commons ID in the "Credential, e.g., agency login" Applicant Identifier field on the SF424 form. Failure to register in the Commons and to include a valid PD/PI Commons ID in the Applicant Identifier field will prevent the successful submission of an electronic application.

We strongly encourage all prospective applicants to begin the required registrations as early as possible.

Completing the required registrations can take six weeks or longer. Submission due dates will not be extended because of registration delays. Submissions received after the due date will be considered late and will not be accepted.

For more information on the registration process and common application errors, please see the National Marine Fisheries Service website on the Grant Application Process. You will need to pay close attention to the submission checks section and the common error section.

H. Address for Submitting Proposals Applicants should submit full applications electronically through www.Grants.gov. Users of Grants.gov will be able to create an online application workspace to submit the application. If an applicant has problems accessing the online workspace at Grants.gov, contact Grants.gov Customer Support at 1-800- 518-4726 or support@Grants.gov.

If you are unable to submit electronically, the paper submission must have a U.S. Postal Service postmark, or a delivery service receipt for paper applications. Facsimile or electronic mail applications will not be accepted. Applications submitted via the U.S. Postal Service must have an official postmark;

private metered postmarks are not acceptable. Applications received later than ten business days following the closing date will not be accepted. Paper applications should be sent to: Elizabeth Fairey, ATTN: Ruth D. Gate Coral Reef Conservation Grants – Fishery Management, NOAA Fisheries Office of Habitat Conservation, 1315 East West Highway, SSMC3, Silver Spring, MD 20910.

https://www.fisheries.