NOAA-NMFS-HCPO-2020-2006306 NOFO Report.pdf

FY 2020 Community-based Restoration Program Coastal and Marine Habitat Restoration Grants

TABLE OF CONTENTS

I. Funding Opportunity Description 4

A. Program Objective 4 B. Program Priorities 5 C. Program Authority 6

II. Award Information 6 A. Funding Availability 6 B. Project/Award Period 7 C. Type of Funding Instrument 7

III. Eligibility Information 8 A. Eligible Applicants 8 B. Cost Sharing or Matching Requirement 8 C. Other Criteria that Affect Eligibility 9

IV. Application and Submission Information 10 A. Address to Request Application Package 10 B. Content and Form of Application 11 C. Unique Entity Identifier and System for Award Management (SAM) 18 D. Submission Dates and Times 19 E. Intergovernmental Review 19 F. Funding Restrictions 19 G. Other Submission Requirements 20

V. Application Review Information 21 A. Evaluation Criteria 21 B. Review and Selection Process 30 C. Selection Factors 31 D. Anticipated Announcement and Award Dates 33

VI. Award Administration Information 33 A. Award Notices 33 B. Administrative and National Policy Requirements 33 C. Reporting 36

VII. Agency Contacts 37 VIII. Other Information 37

Notice of Federal Funding Page 1 of 38

NOTICE OF FUNDING OPPORTUNITY

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

Federal Agency Name(s): National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Department of Commerce

Funding Opportunity Title: FY 2020 Community-based Restoration Program Coastal and Marine Habitat Restoration Grants

Announcement Type: Initial

Funding Opportunity Number: NOAA-NMFS-HCPO-2020-2006306

Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance (CFDA) Number: 11.463, Habitat Conservation

Dates: This program has a mandatory pre-proposal. Pre-proposals must be received by Grants.gov, postmarked, or provided to a delivery service by 11:59 PM Eastern time on January 8, 2020. See Section IV.B for more information regarding pre-proposal requirements. The full application deadline will be no earlier than April 9, 2020 at 11:59 PM Eastern time. The actual deadline will be provided by direct notice to all eligible applicants, after pre-proposal review. At least 45 days will be provided for completion of a full application.

Pre-proposals and full applications must be received by www.Grants.gov, postmarked, or provided to a delivery service by 11:59 PM Eastern time on the due date. The time the application was provided to a delivery service must be documented with a receipt. No facsimile or electronic mail applications will be accepted for pre-proposals or full applications. See Section III.C for more information, including a limit on transit time and Section IV.G for an address to submit paper applications.

Funding Opportunity Description: The principal objective of the NMFS Community-based Restoration Program Coastal and Marine Habitat Restoration solicitation is to support habitat restoration projects that use an ecosystem-based approach to foster species recovery and increase populations under NOAA’s jurisdiction. Proposals submitted under this solicitation will be primarily evaluated based on their ability to demonstrate how the proposed habitat restoration actions will: 1) help recover threatened and endangered species listed under the Endangered Species Act (ESA) (hereafter, Listed Species), including species identified by NMFS as “Species in the Spotlight” (https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/topic/endangered-species-conservation#species-in-the-spotlight); 2) sustain or help rebuild fish stocks managed under the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act (hereafter, Managed Species);

and/or 3) contribute to the sustainability of saltwater recreational fisheries. Successful proposals will: 1) identify a habitat-based issue/concern limiting the recovery or sustainability of one or

Notice of Federal Funding Page 2 of 38 more species targeted by the proposed restoration action; 2) describe in detail the habitat restoration project(s) to be undertaken to resolve the issue/concern and; 3) describe the project(s)’ expected outcomes and measurable impact on the project’s target species and their ecosystem. Proposals may include: restoration feasibility and/or design; implementation (i.e., on-the-ground activities); or a combination thereof.

Proposals selected for funding through this solicitation will be funded through cooperative agreements. One-year or multi-year awards up to three funding years will be considered. Multi-year awards are awards that are funded for up to three years. The funding for the second and/or third year (Fiscal Year [FY] 2021 and/or FY 2022) will be estimated in FY 2020, with final amounts determined in future years, pending future federal appropriations and progress towards project milestones. Proposals for multi-year funding should outline the costs expected for year two and/or year three in detail in this proposal (see Section IV.B for more details about the budget narrative for multi-year awards). NOAA anticipates typical federal funding for awards will range from $300,000 to $1.5 million over one to three years. NOAA will not accept proposals with a federal funding request of less than $75,000 or more than $3 million total over three years. NOAA anticipates up to $4 million will be available under this announcement in FY20. Within this funding opportunity, some funds may be targeted toward Chesapeake Bay oyster reef restoration, Atlantic salmon recovery, and coral reef restoration as described in Program Priorities (Section I.B) in this announcement. Funds will be administered by the Community-based Restoration Program within the NOAA Restoration Center. Awards are dependent upon the amount of funds Congress makes available to NOAA in the FY20 - FY22 budgets.

Notice of Federal Funding Page 3 of 38

FULL ANNOUNCEMENT TEXT

I. Funding Opportunity Description

A. Program Objective

The principal objective of the NMFS Community-based Restoration Program Coastal and Marine Habitat Restoration solicitation is to support habitat restoration projects that use an ecosystem-based approach to foster species recovery and increase populations under NOAA’s jurisdiction. Proposals submitted under this solicitation will be primarily evaluated based on their ability to demonstrate how the proposed habitat restoration actions will:

1. Contribute to the recovery of threatened and endangered species listed under the Endangered Species Act (ESA) (hereafter, Listed Species), including species identified by NMFS as “Species in the Spotlight” (https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/topic/endangered-species-conservation#species-in-the-spotlight),

2. Sustain or help rebuild fish stocks managed under the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act (hereafter, Managed Species), or

3. Contribute to the sustainability of saltwater recreational fisheries by the restoration of habitat that supports the National Saltwater Recreational Fisheries Policy and Implementation Plans (https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/national/recreational-fishing/national-saltwater-recreational-fisheries-policy).

Healthy habitat is critical to the recovery of protected resources and sustainability of commercial and recreational fisheries. In addition to habitat restoration actions that will benefit Listed, Managed, and saltwater recreational fisheries species as outlined above, proposals benefiting coastal and marine species with a nexus to NMFS fishery management through the following mechanisms will also be considered: the Atlantic Coastal Fisheries Cooperative Management Act; the Atlantic Striped Bass Conservation Act; the Marine Mammal Protection Act; the Coral Reef Conservation Act, and actions benefiting Species of Concern under NMFS.

NOAA promotes a holistic, landscape-scale approach to resource management in a changing climate. Proposed habitat restoration actions may also provide important ecosystem services such as protection from coastal flooding, extreme weather events, and coastal erosion.

Successful proposals will: 1) identify the habitat-based issue(s)/concern(s) limiting the recovery or sustainability of one or more species targeted by the proposed restoration action;

2) describe in detail the habitat restoration project(s) to be undertaken to resolve the issue(s)/concern(s) and; 3) describe the expected outcomes and measurable impacts on the project’s target species and ecosystem.

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This competition has a mandatory pre-proposal. Only applicants whose pre-proposals meet eligibility requirements, including strongly aligning with program objectives and goals, as determined by NOAA through the review process described in Section V.A, will be invited to submit full applications. Pre-proposals must be submitted by the deadline stated in Section IV.D. For details regarding the suggested content of pre-proposals please see Section IV.B.

B. Program Priorities

The principal objective of the NMFS Community-based Restoration Program Coastal and Marine Habitat Restoration solicitation is to support habitat restoration projects that use an ecosystem-based approach to foster species recovery and increase populations under NOAA’s jurisdiction. Habitat restoration projects include, but are not limited to, activities that contribute to the return of degraded or altered marine, estuarine, coastal, and freshwater, diadromous fish habitats to functioning habitats, or techniques that provide species access to their historic habitats. Typical habitat restoration projects that the NOAA Restoration Center supports include, but are not limited to: removal of in-stream migration barriers for diadromous fish; hydrologic reconnection of wetlands; coral reef restoration; and bivalve shellfish habitat restoration that includes some form of protection from harvest. Applicants should refer to the following website for more detailed information about program priorities:

https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/national/funding-and-financial-services/priorities-habitat-restoration-grants.

Highest priority will be given to habitat restoration proposals that have the greatest potential to (in no priority order):

1. Contribute to the recovery of Listed Species under NOAA jurisdiction, including those species designated by NOAA as Species in the Spotlight, where habitat availability and quality is limiting the recovery of the species. To be considered a priority, restoration projects should also be consistent with priority habitat restoration actions identified in Recovery Plans and 5-Year Action Plans (for Species in the Spotlight).

2. Sustain or help rebuild populations of Managed Species or their prey, specifically through projects that restore or enhance Essential Fish Habitat (EFH) or address actions supported by Fishery Management Plans.

3. Contribute to the sustainability of saltwater recreational fisheries by the restoration of habitat that supports the National Saltwater Recreational Fisheries Policy and Implementation Plans.

4. Provide sustainable and lasting ecological benefits of regional or national significance for the target species and habitat. Projects that restore natural ecosystem function and processes will receive higher priority than projects that install structures that require maintenance. For example, dam removal projects will receive higher priority than projects installing fish passage devices.

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5. Demonstrate importance within the watershed or other geographic boundary through an inclusive planning process that determines the project’s relative importance and context within the landscape. Projects that were developed through collaborative processes and have coordinated investment strategies across multiple organizations will be prioritized. Example planning documents range from watershed plans developed in conjunction with hydropower licensing, to Recovery Plans for Listed Species, to agency-specific priority-setting.

Applicants should refer to the following website:

https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/national/funding-and-financial-services/priorities-habitat-restoration-grants#how-do-i-find-planning-documents-that-can-support-the-relative-importance-of-my-project-and-context-within-the-landscape? .

Within this competition, NOAA anticipates specific funding may be available to support restoration of oyster reefs in Chesapeake Bay (anticipated funding of $500,000), recovery of Atlantic salmon (anticipated funding of $750,000), and restoration of coral reefs (anticipated funding of $800,000). In FY20, these funds will provide support for existing awards and potential new awards. Awards are dependent upon the amount of funds Congress makes available to NOAA in FY20.

C. Program Authority

The Secretary of Commerce is authorized under the following statutes to provide grants and cooperative agreements for habitat restoration and conservation: Fish and Wildlife Coordination Act 16 U.S.C. 661, as amended by the Reorganization Plan No. 4 of 1970;

Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Reauthorization Act of 2006, 16 U.S.C. 1891a; and Endangered Species Act, 16 U.S.C. 1535.

II. Award Information

A. Funding Availability

One-year or multi-year awards up to three funding years will be considered, and additional releases of funds may be used to fund selected proposals through FY22 without further competition. NOAA anticipates typical federal funding awards will range from $300,000 to $1.5 million over one to three years. NOAA will not accept proposals with a federal funding request of less than $75,000 or more than $3 million over three years.

NOAA anticipates up to $4 million will be available under this solicitation in FY20.

Dependent on the level of funding made available by Congress, NOAA anticipates an additional $8 million may be available over the next two years (FY21 - FY22) to support selected awards, for a maximum of $12 million awarded under this announcement. Within

Notice of Federal Funding Page 6 of 38 this funding opportunity, some funds may be targeted toward Chesapeake Bay oyster reef restoration, Atlantic salmon recovery, and coral reef restoration as described in Program Priorities (Section I.B) in this announcement.

Funds will be administered by the Community-based Restoration Program within the NOAA Restoration Center. 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 and availability of funding at the discretion of the NOAA Office of Habitat Conservation and the NOAA Grants Management Division (GMD).

NOAA or the Department of Commerce are not responsible for direct costs of application preparation if programs fail to receive funding or are cancelled because of other agency priorities. 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 support awards for all top-ranked applications. The number of awards to be made as a result of this solicitation will depend on the number of eligible applications received, the amount of funds requested for habitat restoration, the merit and ranking of the applications, and the amount of funds made available by Congress in FY20 and subsequent fiscal years.

B. Project/Award Period

Applications should cover a period of performance between 12 and 36 months. NOAA anticipates that the period of performance for most awards will be for 36 months, but may select a project where the period of performance extends up to 48 months. The earliest anticipated start date for awards will be October 1, 2020. Both federal and match pre-award costs, incurred up to 90 days prior to the award start date, may be requested and will be considered during pre-award negotiations between the applicant and NOAA. Incurring pre-award costs before NOAA GMD offers a grant is at the applicant's own risk.

Once funds are awarded in FY20, recipients of multi-year awards will not need to compete for funding in subsequent years. NOAA expects, but is not obligated, to provide additional funding to multi-year awards in subsequent years. Adding funds to multi-year awards is contingent on the availability of funds and satisfactory progress toward milestones, and is at the sole discretion of NOAA.

C. Type of Funding Instrument

Selected applications will be funded through cooperative agreements, as described in 2 C.F.R. Sec. 200.24, meaning that NOAA expects to be substantially involved in many

Notice of Federal Funding Page 7 of 38 aspects of the awards. Substantial involvement may include, but is not limited to, collaboration on the scope of work, providing assistance with technical aspects of the habitat restoration project, review and comment on design plans, and review of procurement materials to the extent authorized by 2 C.F.R. Sec. 200.324.

III. Eligibility Information

A. Eligible Applicants

Eligible applicants are institutions of higher education, non-profits, commercial (for profit) organizations, U.S. territories, and state, local and Native American tribal governments. Applicants must propose work in geographic areas that benefit species with a nexus to NOAA management. Applications from federal agencies or employees of federal agencies will not be considered. Federal agencies are strongly encouraged to work with states, non-governmental organizations, municipal and county governments, and others that are eligible to apply.

B. Cost Sharing or Matching Requirement

There is no statutory matching requirement for this funding opportunity. NOAA typically leverages its federal funding with matching contributions from a broad range of sources in the public and private sectors to implement coastal and marine habitat restoration.

To this end, applicants should note that cost sharing is an element considered in Evaluation Criterion #4 "Project Costs" (Section V.A.4).

Federal sources cannot be considered for matching funds, but can be described in the budget narrative to demonstrate additional leverage and collaboration. Match to NOAA funds can come from a variety of public and private sources and can include third party in-kind goods and services and volunteer labor. Refer to 2 C.F.R. 200.306 for cost sharing or matching policies. Applicants are permitted to combine contributions from non-federal partners, as long as such contributions are not used to match any other federal funds and are available within the project period stated in the application. Applicants with approved indirect cost rates planning to provide cost sharing may find it convenient to propose a portion or all of their indirect costs as match, since the valuation of such costs has already been federally approved and documentation is readily available. Refer to Section IV.F "Funding Restrictions" for information on indirect costs. Refer to Section II.B “Project/Award Period” for information on pre-award costs.

Applicants whose proposals are selected for funding will be bound by the percentage of cost sharing reflected in the award document signed by NOAA's Grants Management Division, Notice of Federal Funding Page 8 of 38 unless amended based on extenuating circumstances. NOAA is under no obligation to amend the matching contributions once agreed to by the recipient. Successful applicants should be prepared to carefully document matching contributions, including the overall number of volunteers and third party in-kind participation hours devoted to habitat restoration projects.

Letters of commitment for any secured resources that will be used as match for an award under this solicitation should be submitted as an attachment to the application (see Section

IV.B).

C. Other Criteria that Affect Eligibility

This competition has a mandatory pre-proposal. Only those applicants whose pre-proposals strongly align with program objectives and goals, as determined by NOAA (through the criteria described below in Section V.A), will be allowed to submit full applications. The recommended content and form of the mandatory pre-proposal are described in Section IV.B. Eligible full applications should include the proposal ID provided by NOAA on form SF-424, field 5b.

Pre-proposals and 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. Paper applications received later than five business days following the post-mark due date and time will not be accepted. Submission time will be documented by electronic submission to Grants.gov, a U.S. Postal Service postmark, or a delivery service receipt. No facsimile or electronic mail applications will be accepted. Information regarding electronic submission through Grants.gov and for submitting paper applications is contained in Section

IV.G.

All applications MUST contain ALL required forms; if these forms are not signed via the www.Grants.gov application process, they MUST be signed in ink (SF-424, SF-424B, CD- 511). Failure to submit signed forms shall result in disqualification from this competition.

See Section IV.G for more details.

NOAA will not accept proposals with a federal funding request of less than $75,000 or more than $3 million over three years.

For the purposes of this competition, work in geographic areas that benefit species with a nexus to NOAA management will be considered (also described in Sections I.A and III.A).

Please review Section I.B and the Evaluation Criteria in Section V.A.1 to understand the priority target species within coastal areas. Section III.A presents information distinguishing eligible versus ineligible organization types. Applications that propose projects in the Commonwealth and Territories of the United States, for this solicitation defined as American

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Samoa, Guam, Northern Mariana Islands, U.S. Virgin Islands, and Puerto Rico, are eligible, but those in the Freely Associated States are not eligible for funding consideration. Projects in the Great Lakes region are not eligible under this solicitation. The Great Lakes Restoration Initiative (GLRI) will continue to fund habitat restoration projects in the Great Lakes at this time. The NOAA Restoration Center will continue to support current Great Lakes partnerships with GLRI funds in FY20.

The following information describes ineligible project proposal types and activities:

1. Proposals that solely benefit freshwater fish species or Listed Species under the jurisdiction of the United States Fish and Wildlife Service are not eligible, unless the species is jointly managed by NOAA.

2. Proposals that focus on marine debris prevention and removal are not eligible.

3. Proposals that focus on acquisition of real property are not eligible.

4. Proposals that focus on beach renourishment solely for recreational purposes are not eligible.

5. Proposals addressing hard infrastructure only for water quality improvement are not eligible. Ineligible activities include, but are not limited to, wastewater treatment plant upgrades, elimination of combined sewer outfalls, and replacement of failing septic systems and implementation of agricultural animal waste management plans. However, projects that improve water quality through the creation or enhancement of fish habitat are eligible.

6. 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 for federal funding.

7. Activities that alleviate the liability associated with legally required compensatory restoration for natural resource damages under federal, state, or local law are ineligible for federal funding.

8. 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 19636 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

Notice of Federal Funding Page 10 of 38 application forms from www.Grants.gov, contact www.Grants.gov Customer Support at 1- 800-518-4726 or support@Grants.gov. Instructions for these forms are available at http://www.grants.gov/web/grants/form-instructions.html. Information about the recommended format for pre-proposals and full applications is contained in Section IV.B.

B. Content and Form of Application

1. PRE-PROPOSAL CONTENT AND FORMAT

Applicants must submit a pre-proposal and receive an invitation from NOAA before submitting a full application. The pre-proposal must include the Standard Form (SF)-424.

The pre-proposal narrative should be no more than five (5) pages in length. The narrative should provide a concise description of the proposed work and its relevance to the competition’s priorities. Applicants are strongly encouraged to submit maps and/or photographs of the project site embedded within the five-page narrative. NOAA requests that applicants use single-spacing, 11- or 12-point font, and 1-inch margins. Files should be submitted in PDF format to ensure readability and reduce file size.

Pre-proposals will undergo an initial administrative screening to determine if they are eligible and complete. NOAA, in its sole discretion, may continue the review process for pre-proposals with non-substantive issues that may be easily rectified or cured. The pre-proposal process is a critical step to determine if proposed projects are well-suited for this specific competition. Only those applicants whose pre-proposals strongly align with program objectives and goals, as determined by NOAA (through the criteria described below in Section V.A), will be allowed to submit full applications. The goal of the pre-proposal process is to streamline the application and review process by inviting full applications only from applicants whose projects are most likely to support NOAA’s goals as described in this announcement.

Pre-proposals must include the following Federal application form: Standard Form (SF)-424:

Application for Federal Assistance. If not submitted through Grants.gov, this form MUST be signed in ink by the authorized representative for the application to be eligible. The SF-424 form may be downloaded from https://www.grants.gov/web/grants/forms.html.

In addition to the SF-424, NOAA recommends the following components for the Project Summary.

1) Applicant Organization

2) Project Title

3) Site Location. Include the geographic coordinates and the nearest town or watershed. If multiple sites are proposed, please include the geographic coordinates for all sites. Maps are

Notice of Federal Funding Page 11 of 38 encouraged.

4) Brief Project Description

a) Benefits to Fisheries Species. Describe how the proposed actions will: contribute to the recovery of Listed Species; sustain or help rebuild Managed Species; and/or contribute to the sustainability of saltwater recreational fisheries.

b) Regional Priority. Describe how the proposed actions demonstrate importance within the watershed or other geographic boundary through an inclusive planning process that determines the project’s relative importance and context within the landscape.

c) Realistic Timeline. Provide a timeline of all project activities to be supported with federal or match funds, including an indication of when activities will begin.

d) Project Assessment. For construction projects, describe how the restoration project will measure near-term implementation success following the monitoring requirements outlined in Section IV.B and listed in the NOAA Restoration Center Implementation Monitoring (Tier 1) Guidance (https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/national/habitat-conservation/resources-noaa-restoration-center-applicants#restoration-monitoring-and-data-management). For feasibility and planning projects, describe milestones to be achieved and how any pre-restoration monitoring meets the requirements outlined in Section IV.B and listed in the NOAA RC Implementation Monitoring (Tier 1) Guidance.

Optional: Additional Effectiveness Monitoring. If the application includes effectiveness monitoring that exceeds the requirements listed in Section IV.B, describe a clear, relevant question or hypothesis that will be answered. Additional effectiveness monitoring is NOT a required element of the proposal and efforts will be funded on a limited basis; therefore, it is not required in the Evaluation Criteria (Section V.A).

e) Sustainability. Describe the potential of the restoration effort to be sustainable and provide lasting benefits of regional or national significance for the target species and habitat.

5) Project Performance Measures and Outcomes. Describe the expected outcomes of the project and measurable impacts on the project’s target species and ecosystem. Include the number of acres to be restored and/or stream miles to be made accessible to diadromous fish through the proposed activities, and any other anticipated long-term ecological and socioeconomic outcomes.

6) Permits and Approvals. Identify and list all consultations, permits, and regulatory approvals necessary for the proposed project and include documentation or approval status (e.g., not applied for; pending; secured).

7) Landowner. Include name and address (if privately owned) or public agency contact.

8) Funding Request. Outline the total request for federal funds and the amount anticipated for non-federal match, and state whether the match is confirmed or secured. Outline any leveraged funds beyond proposed non-federal match that are part of the overall project costs.

If requesting a multi-year award, outline the federal requests per funding year.

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2. FULL APPLICATION CONTENT AND FORMAT

If invited by NOAA to submit a full application, applicants should apply through the www.Grants.gov website. A complete standard NOAA financial assistance application package should be submitted, as described below.

Each full application must include the following Federal application forms:

1) Standard Form (SF)-424: Application for Federal Assistance. If not submitted through Grants.gov, this form MUST be signed in ink by the authorized representative for the application to be eligible. The SF-424 form family may be downloaded from https://www.grants.gov/web/grants/forms.html.

2) SF-424A: Budget Information for Non-construction Programs. Selected applications will require an SF-424A for each funding year.

3) SF-424B: Assurances for Non-construction Programs

4) CD-511: Certification Regarding Lobbying

5) SF-LLL (if applicable): Disclosure of Lobbying Activities

In addition to the Federal application forms, NOAA recommends the following components as part of a complete application package. Page limits assume an 11- or 12-point font and 1-inch margins. Components should be organized into a maximum of four (4) PDF files outlined below:

1) Project Summary, Project Narrative, and Data Management Plan (19 page limit)

2) Budget Justification (6 page limit)

3) Project Designs (no page limit)

4) Supplemental Information (15 page limit)

The full application should follow the organization and descriptions of the Evaluation Criteria (see Section V.A) to receive a consistent review against competing applications.

Additional information is provided below for sections of the Project Narrative, Budget Justification, and Supplemental Information. Refer to the Evaluation Criteria outlined in Section V.A to view all required components.

1) Project Summary (2 page limit) Follow guidelines for Project Summary listed above in Section IV.B.1 (PRE-PROPOSAL

CONTENT AND FORMAT).

2) Project Narrative (15 page limit) Provide sufficient background and contextual information for reviewers to independently

Notice of Federal Funding Page 13 of 38 assess the significance of the proposed project.

a) Importance/Relevance and Applicability of Proposal to the Program Goals. Describe the extent to which the proposed project aligns with the stated Program Objective (Section I.A) and Program Priorities (Section I.B). Highlight how the proposed habitat restoration actions are identified in, or are consistent with, ESA Recovery Plans, Species in the Spotlight 5-year Action Plans, Fishery Management Plans, watershed plans, or other fishery-related strategic planning, conservation, or management documents. The narrative should succinctly describe the historic condition of the restoration site(s) and the primary habitat-based issue(s)/concern(s). Describe any processes that have resulted in degradation of the habitat and how these processes have been abated to allow for successful restoration. Identify one or more species targeted by the proposed habitat restoration, their historic and current status or population estimates, and whether they are species under NOAA’s jurisdiction (https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/national/funding-and-financial-services/priorities-habitat-restoration-grants). Define the project’s context within the ecosystem and how project planning and design incorporates an ecosystem-based approach. Identify any other restoration efforts planned or completed within the watershed for the benefit of the proposed target species. Describe the expected outcomes and measurable impacts on the project’s target species and ecosystem, and indicate how the anticipated outcomes have been determined (e.g., ground-truthing, desktop assessment, etc.). Describe any additional societal benefits, such as increased community or ecosystem resilience, business opportunities, recreational opportunities, decreased safety hazards, or reduced maintenance costs that may result from the proposed habitat restoration.

b) Technical/Scientific Merit. Proposals should describe in detail the actions to be undertaken to resolve the issue(s)/concern(s). For each restoration site, applicants should clearly identify the project phase(s) proposed (e.g., feasibility study, design, construction) and proposed restoration techniques. Proposals that include multiple restoration sites should fully describe the proposed restoration activity at each site within the project narrative section. Furthermore, if multiple restoration sites are included within one proposal, the habitat issue or target species should be linked across all proposed sites to achieve a substantive outcome. If page limits are restrictive, focus the application on the technical aspects of the proposed actions and on those actions with highest priority funding needs. If all aspects of a multi-year or multi-project award cannot be described within the recommended page limits, applicants should consider submitting more than one application. For applicants proposing feasibility and design activities, a detailed scope of services or tasks should be included in the proposal.

Applicants should describe the overall habitat restoration goals of the feasibility and design activities, and how support for the proposed activity would catalyze subsequent on-the-ground restoration.

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Suggested Details by Project Type. For fish passage projects, please indicate whether there are other dams or obstructions upstream or downstream of the target barrier and whether the target barrier is a partial or complete barrier. Applicants proposing to alter tidal exchange should also provide a hydrograph and/or other information explaining any tidal restriction(s) and projected conditions with restoration. Applicants proposing to place plants or release animals into the environment should include the origin/source and regional genetic stock of the plant or animal, and describe the proximity to any existing or remnant sources of similar type in the area.

Timeline and Milestone Schedule. The project narrative should include a timeline with key milestones identified and outline how the project(s) will be completed within the specified time period. This includes identifying all consultation and permitting requirements and the documentation or approval status (e.g. not applied for; pending; secured), 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 VI.B.2). For projects with NEPA documents completed or under development, please indicate the status and level of NEPA review (Categorical Exclusion [CE], Environmental Assessment [EA], or Environmental Impact Statement [EIS]), lead Federal agency, contact information for the lead agency person, and where public copies of the document are available. Applications for multi-year awards should identify annual/interim milestones that correspond to funding increments. As described in Section II.A, NOAA will consider progress towards identified milestones when making funding decisions for multi-year awards in subsequent years.

Project Assessment. Applications requesting funding for restoration implementation/construction activities should include a discrete Monitoring Plan. Applicants should be willing to work with NOAA to adjust the plan, if necessary, to ensure that the proposed parameters are adequate and meaningful and meet the requirements below. All Monitoring Plans should propose sufficient, cost-effective monitoring metrics that assesses whether the restoration action was carried out as designed and provides a basic level of effectiveness. Monitoring Plans should: 1) include parameters that evaluate short-term structural changes at the project site(s) (e.g. as-built surveys), and may also include a basic measure of effectiveness (e.g. presence/absence of target species); 2) propose pre-implementation data collection, when applicable; 3) include parameters with quantitative or clearly defined targets; and 4) include parameters with targets that can be evaluated within approximately one year post-implementation. Applications that include one of the Restoration Center's four primary restoration methods (fish passage barrier removal, hydrologic reconnection of wetlands, coral reef restoration, or bivalve shellfish habitat restoration) must incorporate the monitoring parameters found in the NOAA RC Implementation Monitoring (Tier 1) Guidance available at

Notice of Federal Funding Page 15 of 38 https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/national/habitat-conservation/resources-noaa-restoration-center-applicants#restoration-monitoring-and-data-management. Applications requesting funding for feasibility and planning projects should describe how pre-restoration monitoring meets the requirements listed above. On a limited basis, NOAA will also consider funding more in-depth, longer-term monitoring that addresses ecological effectiveness or restoration technique effectiveness of the Restoration Center's primary restoration methods. NOAA may choose to provide additional funds to an award or increase the award period for successful applicants whose awards are identified as suitable for effectiveness monitoring. Projects proposing such effectiveness monitoring should describe the specific question or hypothesis that will be addressed, and detail the monitoring methods and analyses proposed. Additional effectiveness monitoring is NOT a requirement of the proposal and is not included in the Evaluation Criteria (Section V.A).

Sustainability. To protect the federal investment, the narrative should describe future management, beyond the award period, including mechanisms to protect, maintain, or sustain the restoration site(s) so the effects of the funded project(s) can benefit the target species and habitat into the future. Proposed habitat restoration actions that are sustainable and provide lasting benefits for the species targeted by the project and its habitat are preferred (see Evaluation Criteria 2.(e): Sustainability). In particular, applicants proposing to install structures such as fish passage devices or tide gates as a component of the project should include discussion of an operation and management plan that specifies the entity responsible for the operation and maintenance of the structure(s) and how they will be operated and maintained throughout the life of the structure(s) to ensure lasting habitat benefits. Applicants proposing new or modified tide gates should also describe measures that will be put in place to prevent filling of the flood storage area upstream of the proposed tide gate. Applicants proposing to enhance existing tidal wetlands, including beneficial re-use of dredged material to increase substrate elevation to keep pace with sea level rise and subsidence effects, should provide information on the source of the dredge materials, the site-specific rate of sea-level rise and subsidence, target substrate elevation(s), and how the restored site is expected to keep pace with the rate of sea level rise and subsidence. As mentioned above, applicants should also describe how the proposed restoration design, methodology, and techniques account for, or provide for, resilience to extreme weather events or adaptation to potential climate change impacts at the project site.

3) Data Management Plan (2 pages) Proposals submitted in response to this announcement should include a Data Management Plan of up to two pages. NOAA provides the following Data Management Guidance for this program. The Data Management Plan should follow the Guidance for Data Management Plans at https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/national/habitat-conservation/resources-noaa-

Notice of Federal Funding Page 16 of 38 restoration-center-applicants#restoration-monitoring-and-data-management. A typical plan should include descriptions of the types of environmental data and information expected to be created during the course of the project; the tentative date by which data will be shared;

the standards to be used for data/metadata format and content; methods for providing data access; approximate total volume of data to be collected; and prior experience in making such data accessible. The costs of data preparation, accessibility, or archiving may be included in the proposal budget unless otherwise stated in the Guidance. Accepted submission of data to the NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI) is one way to satisfy data sharing requirements; however, NCEI is not obligated to accept all submissions and may charge a fee, particularly for large or unusual datasets. Final Data Management Plans may be developed in coordination with NOAA as part of NOAA’s substantial involvement, as described in Section II.C. See also Section VI.B of this announcement. NOAA’s Data and Publication Sharing Directive for NOAA Grants, Cooperative Agreements, and Contracts is available at https://nosc.noaa.gov/EDMC/PD.DSP.php.

4) Budget Justification (6 pages) Reviewers will evaluate project costs by reviewing the budget justification. The budget justification narrative must include a detailed breakdown by category of cost (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 requesting funds for a multi-year proposal, award costs should be broken into annual/interim funding requests up to three years in duration, based on logical milestones in the implementation plan. For instance, a proposal might include a request for a project's design costs in year one, estimated construction costs in year two, and estimated post-project monitoring costs in year three. Another example would be a project that requests construction costs for discrete sites in each year of a multi-year award. One, two, or three-year proposals will be accepted. 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 the project has been submitted for funding consideration elsewhere, the amount(s) requested or secured from other sources, and whether the funds requested/secured are federal or non-federal should be included. If the proposed project includes a monitoring component, the applicant should provide an estimate of all monitoring-related costs within the proposed budget.

The NOAA Restoration Center and GMD 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

Notice of Federal Funding Page 17 of 38 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.

Additional budget development guidance, including a budget narrative template, is available in the “Supplemental Instructions” at: https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/national/habitat-conservation/resources-noaa-restoration-center-applicants#restoration-budget-guidance.

5) Project Designs (no page limit) For applications proposing construction, design plans (including the basis for the proposed design), specifications, scope of work for services, and engineering, opinions of cost or cost estimates (if available) should be included in the proposal. Project design plans should be included in the application in order for reviewers to comprehensively assess the technical merit of the proposed restoration action(s). Please do not attach feasibility studies or watershed plans.

6) Supplemental Information (15 pages) All supplemental attachments should be combined into one file which includes a list of the documents and associated page numbers.

a) Include a site location map such as a US Geological Survey topographic quadrangle map or aerial photo with site location(s) highlighted;

b) Include brief resumes or curriculum vitae (CV) for up to three (3) key personnel (maximum of 1 page per person) and any examples of projects similar in scope and nature that have been successfully completed by the project team;

c) If applicable, include a letter documenting private owner or public land manager support of the project proposed for the owned site(s); and

d) Include any other relevant supporting materials, such as letters of support (including those from adjoining landowners and those documenting financial and in-kind support), federally Negotiated Indirect Cost Rate Agreements, Monitoring Plan, site photos, etc. Environmental Compliance Questionnaire for NOAA Federal Financial Assistance Applicants: This program does not use this questionnaire, except as described in Section VI.B.4.

C. Unique Entity Identifier and System for Award Management (SAM)

Applicants should: (1) Be registered in the System for Award Management (SAM) before submitting an application; (2) provide a valid Data Universal Number System (DUNS) number on an application; and (3) 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. The federal awarding agency may not make a federal award to an applicant until the applicant has complied with

Notice of Federal Funding Page 18 of 38 all applicable DUNS and SAM requirements and, if an applicant has not fully complied with the requirements by the time the federal awarding agency is ready to make a federal award, the federal awarding agency 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.

Applicants should allow a minimum of two weeks to complete the SAM registration;

registration is required only once but must be periodically renewed. Applicants can receive a DUNS number at no cost by calling the dedicated toll-free DUNS Number request line at 1- 866-705-5711 or online at http://fedgov.dnb.com/webform. Your organization's Employer Identification Number (EIN) will be needed on the application form.

D. Submission Dates and Times

This program has a mandatory pre-proposal. Pre-proposals must be received by Grants.gov by 11:59 PM Eastern time on January 8, 2020. See Section IV.B for more information regarding pre-proposal requirements and Section IV.G for more application submission instructions and requirements.

The full application deadline will be no earlier than April 9, 2020 at 11:59 PM Eastern time.

The actual deadline will be provided by direct notice to all eligible applicants, after pre-proposal review. At least 45 days will be provided for completion of a full application. See Section III.C for more information, including a limit on transit time, and Section IV.G for an 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 (SPOC) established as a result of EO 12372.

To find out about and comply with a State's process under EO 12372, contact the official listed in Section VII of this announcement…