NOAA Great Lakes Habitat Restoration Program Project Grants under the U.S. Great Lakes Restoration Initiative in Areas of Concern

NOAA delivers funding and technical expertise to restore Great Lakes coastal habitats. These habitats support valuable fisheries and protected resources; improve the quality of our water; provide recreational opportunities for the public's use and enjoyment; and buffer our coastal communities from the impacts of changing lake levels. Projects funded through NOAA have strong on-the-ground habitat restoration components that provide social and economic benefits for people and their communities in addition to long-term ecological habitat improvements. Through this solicitation, NOAA seeks to openly compete funding available for habitat restoration in U.S. Great Lakes Areas of Concern (http://www.epa.gov/glnpo/aoc/) under the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative as anticipated in the President's FY2012 Budget. Applications should be submitted for any project that is to be considered for this funding, even for those projects already submitted as applications to other NOAA competitions. Competition will ensure that the most beneficial restoration projects are selected to realize significant ecological gains and ensure that projects are "shovel-ready." Applications selected for funding through this solicitation will be implemented through a grant or cooperative agreement, with awards dependent upon the amount of funds made available to NOAA for this purpose by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. NOAA anticipates up to $5 million may be available for Great Lakes coastal habitat restoration; typical awards are expected to range between $1 million to $4 million. NOAA will also accept proposals for engineering and design of habitat restoration projects; typical awards are expected to range between $75,000 and $350,000. Funds will be administered by the Great Lakes Region of NOAA's Restoration Center (RC).