NOAA-NOS-OCM-2019-2005879 Full Announcement.pdf

FY19 Coral Reef Conservation Program, Domestic Coral Reef Conservation Grants

TABLE OF CONTENTS

I. Funding Opportunity Description 4

A. Program Objective 4 B. Program Priorities 4 C. Program Authority 12

II. Award Information 12 A. Funding Availability 12 B. Project/Award Period 13 C. Type of Funding Instrument 13

III. Eligibility Information 14 A. Eligible Applicants 14 B. Cost Sharing or Matching Requirement 14 C. Other Criteria that Affect Eligibility 16

IV. Application and Submission Information 16 A. Address to Request Application Package 17 B. Content and Form of Application 17 C. Unique Entity Identifier and System for Award Management (SAM) 27 D. Submission Dates and Times 28 E. Intergovernmental Review 28 F. Funding Restrictions 29 G. Other Submission Requirements 30

V. Application Review Information 31 A. Evaluation Criteria 31 B. Review and Selection Process 33 C. Selection Factors 35 D. Anticipated Announcement and Award Dates 36

VI. Award Administration Information 36 A. Award Notices 36 B. Administrative and National Policy Requirements 37 C. Reporting 38

VII. Agency Contacts 40 VIII. Other Information 40

Federal Funding Opportunity Page 1 of 42

ANNOUNCEMENT OF FEDERAL FUNDING OPPORTUNITY

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

Federal Agency Name(s): National Ocean Service (NOS), National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Department of Commerce

Funding Opportunity Title: FY19 Coral Reef Conservation Program, Domestic Coral Reef Conservation Grants

Announcement Type: Initial

Funding Opportunity Number: NOAA-NOS-OCM-2019-2005879

Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance (CFDA) Number: 11.482, Coral Reef Conservation Program

Dates: Applications must be postmarked, provided to a delivery service or received by www.Grants.gov by 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time on Tuesday, January 29, 2019.

Funding Opportunity Description: The NOAA Coral Reef Conservation Grant Program (CRCP), 16 USC §§ 6401-6409, provides matching grants of financial assistance through the Domestic Coral Reef Conservation Grant program to institutions of higher education, non-profit organizations, for-profit organizations, and local (as defined at 2 CFR § 200.64, which includes counties, municipalities, and cities) and Indian tribal government agencies. These awards are intended to support coral reef conservation projects in shallow water coral reef ecosystems, including reefs at mesophotic depths, in American Samoa, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, Florida, Guam, Hawaii, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, and coral-dominated banks in the U.S. portions of the Gulf of Mexico. Projects may be proposed in the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands and the U.S. Pacific Remote Island Areas, but these locations are not considered geographic priorities under this announcement. Proposals submitted to this competition must address at least one of the following five categories: 1) Improve Fisheries Sustainability; 2) Reduce Land-Based Sources of Pollution; 3) Increasing Resilience to Climate Change; 4) Restore Viable Coral Populations; and 5) Local and Emerging Management Issues.

Each category is described in more detail in the Federal Funding Opportunity announcement.

Proposals selected for funding through this solicitation will be implemented through a grant or cooperative agreement and will require a 1:1 match of non-Federal funds.

Funding for this program is subject to the availability of Fiscal Year (FY) 2019 Congressional appropriations and is expected to range between approximately $800,000 to approximately $1,000,000. Funding made available from NOAA's CRCP is intended to support priority coral reef management activities as described in Section I.B. of this Federal Funding Opportunity

Federal Funding Opportunity Page 2 of 42 announcement. Funding will be divided among the U.S. Pacific and Atlantic regions to maintain the geographic balance of the CRCP Grant Program portfolio overall, as required by the Coral Reef Conservation Act of 2000. NOAA expects that each applicant will request Federal funding at a funding level between $30,000 and $80,000 under this solicitation and that the average award size will be approximately $50,000.

Federal Funding Opportunity Page 3 of 42

FULL ANNOUNCEMENT TEXT

I. Funding Opportunity Description

A. Program Objective

Coral reefs and associated seagrass and mangrove communities 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, contain an array of potential pharmaceuticals, and provide essential services like food security, livelihood, and culture, among other benefits.

As shallow-water, near shore communities, coral reef ecosystems 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, destructive fishing practices, recreational overuse and misuse, and impacts from climate change, including changes in ocean chemistry.

To address these and other threats, Congress passed the Coral Reef Conservation Act of 2000 (Act), which established the NOAA Coral Reef Conservation Program (CRCP) and provided guidance for allocation of Federal funding toward efforts to conserve coral reef ecosystems in the United States and internationally. As described in the Act, one of the primary functions of the CRCP is to provide financial assistance to external partners for coral reef conservation projects consistent with the Act and the CRCP priorities.

As required under the Act, NOAA published the NOAA Coral Reef Conservation Grant Program Implementation Guidelines on Thursday, August 12, 2010 in Federal Register Vol.

75, No. 155, page 48934. The Guidelines are available at:

https://www.coris.noaa.gov/data/pdfs/CRCPGuidelines_FRN_Aug2010.pdf.

All applications submitted in response to this Federal Funding Opportunity (FFO) announcement must be consistent with the requirements stated herein and the CRCP Grant Program Guidelines. Funding is subject to the availability of Federal appropriations.

In FY 2019, the CRCP intends to initiate new awards in the following funding categories:

1. CRCP Domestic Coral Reef Conservation Grants, and

2. CRCP State and Territorial Coral Reef Conservation Cooperative Agreements.

All of the following information in this funding opportunity announcement pertains only to the CRCP Domestic Coral Reef Conservation Grants funding category.

B. Program Priorities

Federal Funding Opportunity Page 4 of 42

The Domestic Coral Reef Conservation Grants program will accept applications for projects that fall within at least one of the following five categories: (1) Improve Fisheries Sustainability; (2) Reduce Land-Based Sources of Pollution; (3) Increasing Resilience to Climate Change; (4) Restore Viable Coral Populations; and (5) Local and Emerging Management Needs. The categories include jurisdictional and/or national needs that support local coral reef conservation efforts and the CRCP’s priorities respectively. The awards will support only activities associated with shallow water coral reef ecosystems, including coral reefs at mesophotic depths, in American Samoa, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI), Florida, Guam, Hawaii, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands (USVI) and coral-dominated banks in the U.S. portions of the Gulf of Mexico. Although Northwestern Hawaiian Islands (NWHI) and Pacific Remote Islands Area (PRIA) are not considered geographic priorities under this competition, applicants may proposed NWHI and PRIA projects that are relevant to coral reef ecosystems located in the priority geographies noted above.

For the purpose of this solicitation, shallow water coral reef ecosystems include unconsolidated sediments (e.g., sand and mud); mangroves and other emergent vegetation;

submerged vegetation (e.g., seagrass and macroalgae); hermatypic coral reefs and associated colonized hardbottom habitats (e.g., spur and groove, individual and aggregated patch reefs, and gorgonian colonized pavement and bedrock); and uncolonized hardbottom (e.g., reef rubble and uncolonized bedrock). Projects focused on coral reef ecosystems at mesophotic depths must clearly describe how the mesophotic reefs are substantially linked to shallow water coral reefs (i.e., have a meaningful ecological connection between the mesophotic area and associated shallow water coral reefs) to be eligible under this competition.

Proposals should address the needs identified by the jurisdictions and/or the national CRCP/NOAA priorities list below, and may also support other local or regional planning documents (e.g. Endangered Species Recovery Plans, invasive species management plans, watershed management plans, or support NOAA Habitat Focus Areas in Guam, Hawaii, and Puerto Rico). Activities addressing national level priorities can be conducted in any of the jurisdictions.

Preference will be given to organizations with a demonstrated record of accomplishment in conducting successful coral reef conservation projects; projects that involve community-based conservation activities; and projects that develop and disseminate high quality information and materials to relevant user groups and management agencies. Applicants need to provide evidence of support (e.g. letter of support, co-principal investigator, or other indication of collaboration) for the project by appropriate representatives of States, Territorial, or other government jurisdictions who manage the area in which the project will

Federal Funding Opportunity Page 5 of 42 be conducted. Applicants are encouraged to consult with all relevant local governmental and non-governmental entities involved in coral reef activities while developing the application and demonstrate collaboration among these entities.

Research activities are eligible only if 1) the project conducts applied research that directly contributes to improved management and the project includes prompt mechanisms to disseminate information to resource managers in addition to peer-reviewed publications (e.g., training of managers to use information or direct presentations to managers on project activities and outcomes); or 2) the research activity is a jurisdictional coral reef management priority, in which case the applicant must cite the specific priority and obtain a letter of support from the local coral reef management authority that will utilize research results.

Applicants are also encouraged to show how the proposed activity contributes to other management efforts and plans (e.g., watershed management plans, conservation action plans, local action strategies, communication and outreach strategies, and marine protected area management plans) if applicable, and provide a link to the specific document whenever possible.

Details of the four categories are as follows:

1. Improve Fisheries Sustainability (IFS)- Activities under this category must address at least one of the following topics:

• IFS-American Samoa: Projects that 1) Fill data gaps for community-based fisheries management tools (e.g., size limits, species and seasonal restrictions, etc.); 2) Increase our understanding of reef fish (priority species: surgeonfish, parrotfish, snappers, emperors, groupers, and jacks) life history stages within and among habitat types (offshore banks, shallow lagoons, mangroves, etc.) throughout Tutuila, Aunu’u, and Manu’a; and/or 3) Develop and ground-truth connectivity models for fish, macroinvertebrates, and coral larvae on an fine scale intra-island level (e.g. watershed and village-based marine protected area management) and larger scale (inter-island) to inform the development of a network of resilient/resistant sites and/or species complexes to reduce vulnerability to future climate impacts (inter-island analysis may include the incorporation of existing data for Samoa to understand archipelago connectivity; however, funding through this grant program will not support fieldwork outside of the U.S. jurisdictions).

• IFS–Guam: Projects that 1) Support outreach and education to increase compliance with marine preserve and fisheries laws and regulations; and/or 2) Biological research on life histories, spawning aggregations, recruitment, and stock assessments for herbivorous fishes, culturally important species, and target species, including bigeye scad (Selar crumenophthalmus), groupers (Variola louti, Epinephelus fasciatus), and jacks (Caranx

Federal Funding Opportunity Page 6 of 42 melampygus, Caranx sexfasiatus).

• IFS–Hawaii: Projects that 1) Fill data gaps in coral reef fisheries through data-limited stock assessments using reef monitoring and commercial landing data to help Department of Aquatic Resources (DAR) evaluate current management of these species with a focus on coastal pelagic fish connected with coral reefs (i.e., opelu), regulated species (i.e., Parupeneus sp., Naso annulatus, Acanthurus triostegus, nabeta), aquarium fish (i.e., Zebrasoma flavescens, Ctenochaetus strigosus, Naso literatus), and invertebrates (i.e., lobsters, crabs, opihi, and octopus); 2) Fill data gaps of species specific reef herbivory in terms of turf grazing, macroalgae browsing, bioerosions, and corallivory and evaluates the relative importance of various herbivores for health of coral reefs and control of macroalgae to help determine if species-specific regulations are necessary to promote reef resilience and recovery; 3) Supplement DAR’s coral reef and fish surveys and produce high resolution benthic habitat mapping to support the 30x30 marine management goal; 4) Conduct creel surveys at marine managed areas (e.g., Kahekili Herbivore Management Area, Kahului Harbor Fishery Management Area (FMA), Ha‘ena Community-Based Subsistence Fishing Area, Waikiki-Diamond Head Shoreline FMA, Manele and Hulopo'e Bays, Pupukea, etc.)

and surrounding areas that include weekend and nighttime surveys; and/or 5) Compose a document highlighting the top twenty-five most important coral reef fishes and invertebrates, based on economic, cultural, and ecological importance and rank them on current knowledge of their stocks, biology, etc.

• IFS-Puerto Rico: Projects that 1) Assess the current status, trends, and known life history information (including diets) of keystone herbivores (i.e. parrotfish and urchins) and provide an assessment of key data gaps needed to improve management of these species, and/or 2) Assess the current status, trends, and known life history information (including diets) of upper tropic level species (i.e., groupers and sharks) and provide an assessment of key data gaps needed to improve management of these species.

• IFS-USVI: Projects that 1) track ecologically or commercially important reef fish movement within the St. Croix East End Marine Park to determine the effectiveness of park zones, rules and regulations; 2) Create an updated an accurate territorial benthic habitat map;

and/or 3) Obtain the necessary information to understand the impacts of recreational fisheries in the USVI.

• IFS-National: Projects that obtain essential life history and ecological information on key coral reef fisheries species or functional groups through: 1) Collecting life history data to understand population dynamics (e.g., age, growth, reproductive rates, and natural mortality) in support of quantitative stock/population assessments; 2) Understanding the functional role of herbivorous fishes in coral ecosystems; and 3) Identifying and characterizing existing spawning aggregations.

2. Reduce Land-Based Sources of Pollution (LBSP) - Activities under this category must

Federal Funding Opportunity Page 7 of 42 address at least one of the following topics:

• LBSP-American Samoa: Projects that 1) Asses specific land-based pollutants and their effects on coral reef ecosystems including compiling existing information on biological indicators of contamination (sedimentation, pesticides, heavy metals, etc.) and identifying new indicators and research gaps and/or 2) Increase understanding of how LBSP has impacted nursery and foraging habitats of invertebrates, reef fish, sharks, rays, and turtles in the Nu’uuli Pala Lagoon, a culturally and biologically important mangrove/lagoon ecosystem.

• LBSP-CNMI: Projects that 1) Assist the jurisdiction in identifying and implementing new watershed restoration activities that effectively reduce sediment and other land-based sources of pollution in priority watersheds; and/or 2) Engage local private industry, community groups, and individuals in stewardship of reducing and preventing land-based sources of pollution in priority watersheds. CNMI’s priority watersheds can be found here:

https://dcrm.gov.mp/our-programs/water-quality-and-watershed-management/.

• LBSP–Florida: Projects that quantify turbidity and sedimentation effects, and nutrient criteria needed to reduce those effects for coral reefs along the Florida reef tract.

• LBSP-Guam: Projects that support community-based projects designed to restore vegetation and decrease runoff and erosion in Guam's priority watersheds (Manell-Geus, Piti-Asan, and Tumon Bay) to reduce impacts on adjacent reefs.

• LBSP–Hawaii: Projects that 1) Conduct LBSP appraisals especially where data gaps exist to further identify hot spots for erosion, nutrient, and contaminants; 2) Reduce key anthropogenic threats using ahupua‘a based management; and/or 3) Implement pollution control activities outlined in one of the following conservation action plans or watershed plans in the priority sites. Activities may also include conducting a situation analysis. *West Maui, Maui: Wahikuli-Honokowai: http://www.westmauir2r.com/conservation-action-plan.html, http://www.westmauir2r.com/watershed-management-plans.html; Kahana- Honokahua-Honolua: http://www.westmauir2r.com/watershed-management-plans.html *South Kohala, Hawai‘i: http://www.southkohalacoastalpartnership.com/south-kohala-conservation-actionplan.html; Wai'ula'ula - (https://data.nodc.noaa.gov/coris/library/NOAA/CRCP/other/other_crcp_publications/Water shed_Hawaii/waiulaula_plan_final_w-o_appendices.pdf); Pelekane Bay - (http://health.hawaii.gov/cwb/files/2013/05/PRC_Maps_PelekaneBayWatershedPlan.pdf)

• LBSP-Puerto Rico: Activities that determine the range of water quality parameters for coral reefs in Puerto Rico.

• LBSP–USVI: Activities that execute a comprehensive water-quality and sediment contaminant project to establish baseline data and identify high impact areas in watersheds adjacent to the St. Croix East End Marine Park.

3. Increasing Resilience to Climate Change (CC)- Activities under this category must

Federal Funding Opportunity Page 8 of 42 address at least one of the following topics:

• CC-American Samoa: Projects that 1) Provide an updated assessment of the presence/location of coral diseases and growth anomalies around Tutuila and Manu’a to help prepare for potential emergency management of an outbreak; and/or 2) Characterize coral immune response and the causes of diseases. This can include tissue and water quality sampling for disease identification and potential catalysts and how this relates localized climate change stressors.

• CC-CNMI: Projects that 1) Provide a quantitative baseline surveys to understand coral disease incidence and prevalence; 2) Conduct climate change vulnerability assessments for reef fish and macro invertebrates and/or; 3) Quantify ocean acidification impacts for nearshore reefs around the CNMI.

• CC-Florida - Projects that assess the disease outbreak relative resilience of Florida's reef and identifies sites that may be resilient to the current disease out break.

(https://floridadep.gov/fco/coral/content/florida-reef-tract-coral-disease-outbreak)

• CC–Guam: Projects that examine factors explaining the resilience of certain coral species or reef sites to climate-related impacts or assess refugia potential of reef sites, including mesophotic reefs and highly turbid sites (e.g. Apra Harbor).

• CC–Hawaii: Projects that investigate the relationships between thermal exposure and coral bleaching, mortality, and/or recovery patterns and use this information to help identify local-scale stressors that hinder coral recovery and inform regional coral recovery and resilience action plans as part of the State’s 30x30 Plan and Coral Bleaching Recovery Plan.

• CC-USVI: Projects that identify stress-tolerant and resilient coral genotypes so that they can be incorporated into restoration activities.

• CC-National: Projects that 1) Shed light on mechanisms that enable corals to cope with ocean warming, and how this process affects coral reef ecosystem services and the other ecosystem components reliant upon them; and/or 2) Increase our understanding of rate in which corals can adapt or acclimatize to changes in their environment caused by climate change and by what mechanisms they might use to achieve this.

4. Restore Viable Coral Populations (RVCP): Activities under this category must address at least one of the following topics:

• RVCP-American Samoa: Projects that 1) Characterize benthic habitat (shallow-water coral reef areas) and fish utilization of these habitats around Tutuila and Manu’a to identify habitat changes and assist with predicting the best sites for coral reef restoration; 2) Quantify reef resiliency to multiple stressors (i.e., increased temperature, ocean acidification) to identify the most and least resilient reefs and coral species to aid in restoration site prioritization.

• RVCP-CNMI: Projects that supplement current coral nursery development in the CNMI and provide necessary information for future upscaling of these activities; this can include molecular species differentiation, phylogenomics, population genomics, and experimental

Federal Funding Opportunity Page 9 of 42 gene expression assays specific to corals within the CNMI.

• RVCP-Florida: Projects that assist the collaborative partner response effort with mitigation of the disease outbreak along the Florida coast by: 1) Collecting of wild population fragments and corals of opportunities to be grown in land-based and in situ nurseries; 2) Assessing these corals for resilience/resistance to the disease in order to support population enhancement; 3) Developing optimal out-plant designs including assessment and optimization for long-term success of out-plants (i.e., addressing genetic risk) in the endemic disease area using propagated and cached corals of opportunity (macro and micro); and/or 4) Establishing criteria, identifying, and collecting/caching/propagating ‘stress hardened’ corals that should be targeted for propagation efforts under status quo stress scenarios.

• RVCP-Guam: Projects that 1) Increase understanding of coral diseases on Guam's reefs, including prevalence, transmission mechanisms, ecological impacts, causal factors, and management recommendations; and/or 2) Support coral reef restoration, including expansion of Guam's in situ coral nurseries, development of new nurseries, increased out-planting, and development of novel methods to enhance resilience of transplanted corals and restored reef sites.

• RVCP-USVI: Projects research and develop innovative multi-species habitat restoration techniques for coral reefs.

5. Local and Emerging Management Needs (LEMN)- Activities under this category must address at least one of the following topics:

• LEMN-CNMI: Projects that update CNMI’s coral reef and seagrass economic valuation is needed. Socioeconomic data is needed across all the populated islands in the CMNI to increase understanding of human use parameters to inform valuation models. Efforts can include integrating the socioeconomic data with previously collected jurisdictional biophysical data to demonstrate the importance and value of coral reefs to support of coastal resource management programs.

• LEMN-Florida: Projects that increase understanding of the mechanisms and/or conditions that cause and promote coral diseases such as 1) Modeling of nearshore oceanic processes for the Florida Reef Tract as related to the coral disease epidemic (focus on Miami-Dade north to Martin and south through Monroe); 2) Determining the potential for microbial, nutrient, or toxin releases associated with dredged sediments that may impact coral reef resources - including management recommendations for what should be tested and how to test for it; and/or 3) Synthesizing information on the potential correlative or causative associations between urban wastewater and coral disease – including management recommendations for reducing potential outbreaks.

• LEMN-Puerto Rico: Projects that 1) Assess the current status, trends and potential interventions to address invasive/ nuisance species in coral reefs and marine seagrasses (i.e., Ramicrustra spp. and Halophila stipulacea); 2) Assess the impact of Sargassum on coral

Federal Funding Opportunity Page 10 of 42 reefs and associated ecosystems such as seagrasses; and/or 3) Map seagrass meadows to allow monitoring of changes in distribution and abundance over time.

• LEMN-National (Atlantic/Caribbean): Projects that address priority monitoring and science needs for Caribbean corals listed as threatened under the Endangered Species Act (ESA).

Priority needs include demographic monitoring, synoptic surveys, monitoring of robust reference populations, applied population enhancement research, adaptation/acclimation to increases in climate stress, reproductive and recruitment success, organismal response to nutrients and contaminants, and effective disease mitigation approaches. For additional information see:

https://data.nodc.noaa.gov/coris/library/NOAA/CRCP/NMFS/SERO/Other/recovery_prioriti es_esa_corals.pdf

• LEMN-National-Pacific: Projects that improve species identification for ESA listed corals in the U.S. Pacific. Priorities include 1) classroom and field trainings on application of the Species Identification Guide (https://www.coris.noaa.gov/activities/Corals_FieldID/) for coral field surveyors, and/or 2) development of molecular tools to confirm identification of "typical" colonies of listed species and/or sort out "ambiguous" colonies that appear to be intermediate between listed and unlisted species, which would be used in conjunction with the identification guide.

All projects funded through this competition are expected to result in tangible improvements in the condition of coral reef ecosystems. To achieve this outcome, applicants must specify the activities they will undertake as well as the specific outputs, products and outcomes that are expected to result from funded proposals. Types of specific outputs:

a. Support to management authorities in the form of management plans, legislation, regulations or policies, best management practices, communication and outreach tools, and/or applied research aimed at enhancing local capacity to conserve coral reef resources;

b. Environmental data, including recorded and derived observations and measurements of the physical, chemical, biological, geological, and geophysical properties and conditions of the oceans and/or atmosphere, as well as correlative data, such as socio- economic data and media (e.g. recordings, photos, videos etc.), and their accompanying metadata files, must comply with standards developed or endorsed by the Federal Geographic Data Committee (http://www.fgdc.gov); and

c. Other outputs, such as assessments, publications, summary reports, outreach and education materials, and other useful products, that provide resource managers and the public with timely and readily understandable information on coral reefs. These outputs and products should be identified in the original application as described in Section IV(B)4 and must be provided to NOAA at the end of the award period; products of awards may be made available to the public via NOAA's Coral Reef Information System. As such, all products must be of publishable quality, be written in English unless another language is specified in

Federal Funding Opportunity Page 11 of 42 the application and approved by NOAA, and include appropriate acknowledgement of the support provided by the CRCP.

C. Program Authority

Authority for the NOAA Coral Reef Conservation Grant Program is provided by Section 6403 of the Coral Reef Conservation Act of 2000, 16 USC §§ 6401-6409.

II. Award Information

A. Funding Availability

Pursuant to 16 USC § 6403, and pending Congressional appropriations in FY19 and subsequent years, the CRCP expects the funding to range between approximately $800,000 and $1,000,000. NOAA will not accept proposals requesting less than $30,000 or more than $80,000 in Federal support under this solicitation. NOAA expects that the average award size will be $50,000 and anticipates approximately 15 awards may be issued.

There is no limit on the number of applications that can be submitted by the same applicant during the FY19 competitive grant cycle. However, multiple applications submitted by the same applicant must clearly differentiate projects and must be successful in the competitive review process. The number of awards made as a result of this solicitation will depend on the number of eligible applications received, the amount of funds requested for each project, the merit and ranking of the proposals, and the amount of funds made available to the CRCP by Congress. In addition, funding may be divided between the U.S. Pacific and the U.S.

Atlantic/Caribbean to meet requirements for geographic distribution of funds as described in the Act.

Attempts will also be made to fund one or more projects in each jurisdiction, provided that the project addresses funding priorities outlined above, is identified as having sufficient merit, and meets all other requirements as stipulated in this solicitation. 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 establish any specific partnership or to obligate available funds for partnership activities. There is no guarantee that funds will be available to make awards for this funding opportunity or that any proposal will be selected for funding. If an applicant incurs any costs prior to receiving an award agreement signed by an authorized NOAA official, it does so at its own risk of not being selected or of these costs not being included in a subsequent award. In no event will NOAA or the Department of

Federal Funding Opportunity Page 12 of 42

Commerce (DOC) be responsible for any proposal preparation costs. In addition, NOAA and DOC will not be responsible for any incurred project costs if this program fails to receive funding.

Proposals not funded in the current fiscal period may be considered for funding in next fiscal year, FY20, without NOAA repeating the competitive process outlined in this announcement.

B. Project/Award Period

Projects with an award period of either 12 or 18 months will be considered for funding under this competition; the requested award start date should begin on the first day of the month and end on the last day of the month. Proposals may include an award start date no earlier than August 1, 2019. If an application for a financial assistance is selected for funding, the CRCP has no obligation to provide any additional funding in connection with that award in subsequent years. Additional funding for subsequent years of projects selected in this competition will require submission of a new application, which will compete with other project proposals submitted during subsequent competitions.

C. Type of Funding Instrument

Successful applicants will enter into a grant or cooperative agreement with the CRCP.

NOAA expects most of the successful applications will be funded as a grant. The instrument will depend on the level of federal involvement. Federal cooperative agreements 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 the activities described in Section III.A, below, including assisting in the implementation of fieldwork and/or laboratory support, and providing Federal data that 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 become 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.

The lead applicant on any proposal will be responsible for ensuring that allocated funds are

Federal Funding Opportunity Page 13 of 42 used for the purposes of, and in a manner consistent with, this program, including any funds awarded to an eligible sub-awardee.

III. Eligibility Information

A. Eligible Applicants

Institutions of higher education, non-profit organizations, for-profit organizations, and local (as defined at 2 C.F.R. § 200.64, which includes counties, municipalities, and cities) and Indian tribal government agencies are eligible to apply for funding under this funding category. U.S. federal agencies, state, territory, and commonwealth governments and Regional Fishery Management Councils are not eligible to apply under this funding announcement, as NOAA funds their coral reef work in separate programs.

NOAA employees and contractors are not permitted to assist in the preparation of applications or write letters of support for any application. However, the CRCP staff is available to provide general information on programmatic goals and objectives, ongoing coral reef conservation programs/activities, and regional funding priorities. NOAA or other federal collaboration on applications submitted to this program may only include 1) providing federally collected data not yet publically available or 2) significant NOAA or Federal staff time to assist with in-water work or laboratory analysis. This does not include attending workshops, playing the role as liaison to connect applicant with other local resource managers, or reviewing documents and, in these cases, NOAA employees may not be listed as project collaborators in the application. If the applicant desires NOAA collaboration on the proposed project, NOAA staff, NOAA employees and contractors may provide a statement confirming the degree and nature of the collaboration. As noted in Section II.C above, NOAA may also propose to become substantially involved in a project selected for funding regardless of whether an applicant proposes substantial Federal involvement. For applications working in National Marine Sanctuaries or with protected species, NOAA employees may provide a statement acknowledging the utility of the proposed work to meet management priorities in the application. All letters of support from NOAA employees and contract staff will be removed from application materials prior to technical review.

B. Cost Sharing or Matching Requirement

The CRCP awards are subject to statutory and regulatory matching fund policies.

Federal funds for any coral conservation project under 16 U.S.C. § 6403(b) may not exceed 50 percent of the total cost of the award. Therefore, any coral conservation project under this Grant Program requires a 1:1 contribution of non-Federal matching funds.

Federal Funding Opportunity Page 14 of 42

"Cost sharing or matching” is defined by 2 CFR § 200.29 as “the portion of project costs not paid by Federal funds (unless otherwise authorized by Federal statute).” NOAA will accept any shared costs or matching funds and all contributions, including cash and third party in-kind contributions of goods and services, will be accepted as part of an applicant’s cost sharing or matching when they meet all of the following criteria listed in 2 CFR § 200.306(b):

(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 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.

Matching funds may come from a variety of public and private sources and may include third party in-kind goods and services such as private boat use and volunteer labor. Goods and services provided by the recipient have the valuation described in 2 CFR 200.306.

Federal agencies and employees’ in-kind services cannot be considered as part of an applicant’s matching funds, but can be described in the budget narrative to demonstrate additional leverage. Applicants are permitted to combine contributions from multiple non-federal partners in order to meet the 1:1 match requirement, consistent with the standards described in 2 CFR § 200.306, and if funds are available within the project period stated in the application.

Applicants should specify the source(s) of match in their proposal and detailed budget narrative and may provide or 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. Successful applicants should be prepared to carefully document matching contributions, including the number of volunteer or community participation hours devoted to specific projects, and all other cash or third party in-kind contributions.

If the applicant plans to use any federal funds as match, the applicant should identify the

Federal Funding Opportunity Page 15 of 42 federal statute authorizing the program to use federal funds to meet the match or cost sharing requirements.

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.B.10 and Section IV.F of this announcement.

In addition, any Program Income that may arise in the project may be put toward cost sharing or added to the project, consistent with 2 CFR § 200.307.

The NOAA Administrator may waive all or part of the matching requirement if the Administrator determines that the project meets the following two requirements identified in 16 USC § 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 project outweighs the public interest in such matching requirement.

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 match, and any other extenuating circumstances preventing the availability of match. Match waiver requests, including the appropriate justification, should be submitted as part of the final application.

Please address the waiver request as described in Section IV.B.11 of this announcement.

In addition, under 48 USC § 1469a, the DOC has determined that any requirement for local matching funds under $200,000 (including third party in-kind contributions) to be provided by the governments of American Samoa, Guam, the Virgin Islands, and the Northern Mariana Islands shall be waived, notwithstanding any other provision of law. Any matching funds otherwise required by law to be provided by government entities of an insular area may be waived at the discretion of the operating unit. Please contact the individual listed in Section VII. Agency Contacts for more information about eligibility for this exemption.

C. Other Criteria that Affect Eligibility

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IV. Application and Submission Information

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A. Address to Request Application Package

The standard application forms are available at through the apply function on Grants.gov or http://www.grants.gov/web/grants/forms/sf-424-family.html#sortby=1. For applicants unable to access the application package, it may be requested by contacting the Federal Program Officer and technical point of contact for the CRCP Domestic Coral Reef Conservation Grants, Elizabeth Fairey. She can be reached at 301-427-8632, or via email at Liz.Fairey@noaa.gov.

B. Content and Form of Application

The application process for this grant competition requires submission of a standard NOAA financial Assistance application package 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 1-6 (described below) may not exceed 30 pages total; the 30-page limit does not apply to required federal forms and other documentation (elements 7-15 below). Applications that exceed the 30-page limit will be shortened by removing pages before it is 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 6-10) combined into one file. Applications submitted in electronic format should be either Adobe Acrobat (.PDF) or Microsoft Word files (Adobe Acrobat is the preferred format). The total electronic file size of the proposal narrative and appendices combined shall not exceed 5 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.

Applications should follow the format described below; failure to follow these requirements may result in the application being eliminated from the competition.

Each application should include the following information:

1. Application Cover Sheet (1-page limit) listing:

a. Applicant organization;

b. Applicant name and contact information;

c. Primary and alternate points of contact with contact information for the primary and alternate points of contact, including address, phone number, and e-mail address;

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d. Recipient DUNs number (must match application information in SAM.gov)

e. Project title;

f. Geographic location of the proposed project;

g. Amount of Federal funding requested;

h. Amount of matching funds provided and source of the matching funds;

i. Requested award start date, which needs to be the first day of the month, end date, which needs to be the last day of the month with an award period of either 12 or 18-months duration. Proposals may include an award start date no earlier than August 1, 2019;

j. The specific priority or priorities (see Section I(B)) that the proposal will address. If the proposal addresses more than one priority, the applicant must list the priority that most closely reflects the overall objective of the proposal, followed by additional priorities; and

k. Application summary - a brief, one-paragraph description of the application including an overview of the types of activities that are proposed for funding.

2. Project Summary (1-page limit) describing:

a. Status and magnitude of the issue(s) in the jurisdiction where the project will occur and recent actions undertaken to address the issue(s);

b. A description of how the project proposes to address the issue;

c. The partners that will be involved in the project;

d. A summary of the specific tasks to be accomplished and the proposed approach;

e. Expected outcomes of the proposed work; and

f. A description of how performance will be evaluated.

3. Project Narrative The Project Narrative should be the majority of the application and must include a clear and thorough description of the proposed work including a timeline with milestones. Each task must be completely and accurately described. Sufficient detail should be provided to enable reviewers to evaluate the relevance and applicability of proposed work to program priorities described in Section I.B. of this announcement; to determine the technical/scientific merit of the proposed work; to adequately review the qualifications of the applicants; and to assess whether the proposed scope of work raises any concerns with regard to federal policy considerations, such as those related to the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), ESA, Historic Preservation Act, and Marine Mammal Protection Act. Applicants should clearly describe how the project will directly benefit coral reef management efforts.

The elements of a good project narrative:

a. Introduction: A brief summary of relevant background information that justifies the need for the proposed project or task. Identification of the problem/issue the project intends to address and describe its significance to the conservation of U.S. coral reef ecosystems.

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Identify the specific objective, listed under Section (I)(B), to which the project's objective(s) corresponds. Objectives should be simple and understandable, as specific and quantitative as possible, and attainable within the proposed timeframe, the described budget, and the human resources available. Projects should be accomplishment-oriented and identify attainable goals, outcomes, and products.

b. Project Description: The project narrative is the scientific or technical plan of activities that are to be accomplished to meet the project objectives, and must be written with sufficient detail to allow a review of suitability of the proposed work and the likelihood of successful completion in the stated timeframe. 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 must include information on dissemination of the findings/results to resource managers, local communities, and other stakeholders as appropriate. The project narrative also needs to include information on how the project will be evaluated for success. If the work is one component of a larger project (or the activity is a pilot project for a larger initiative), and proposed activities will continue after the end of the grant period, describe future activities and potential future funding sources (and other mechanisms) to continue the work. If the goal of the project is to build capacity for improved conservation, describe proposed plans to ensure the activities continue into the future and how success will be evaluated.

c. 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. Program Affected: List the programs (Federal, state, territorial or local governmental activities) this project would affect and describe how the project coordinates with relevant state, territorial, or local governmental and non-governmental agencies, and if applicable, NOAA activities.

e. Project Management/Personnel: Describe how the project will be organized and managed, and include 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 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.

4. Table of Products/Outputs and Outcomes Please provide a table to summarize the specific products/outputs and outcomes that will be

Federal Funding Opportunity Page 19 of 42 produced under the award.