Funder: DOC NOAA - ERA Production
Due Dates: April 16, 2025 (11:59 PM Eastern)
Funding Amounts: Up to $10M per award (typical awards $4M–$6M over 3 years); total program funding up to $100M; project period up to 3 years (potentially 5 years)
Summary: Supports large-scale, transformational habitat restoration projects in marine, estuarine, coastal, or Great Lakes ecosystems to enhance community and ecosystem resilience to climate hazards, with a focus on high-impact, climate-resilient, and inclusive projects.
Key Information: No cost share required; up to 15% of funds reserved for Indian tribes and Native American organizations; proposals under $750,000 or over $10M not accepted.
Description
This opportunity funds transformational habitat restoration projects that restore marine, estuarine, coastal, or Great Lakes ecosystems, using approaches that enhance both community and ecosystem resilience to climate hazards. Projects should demonstrate significant ecological and socioeconomic impacts, rebuild sustainable fisheries, contribute to the recovery of threatened and endangered species, and promote climate-resilient ecosystems—especially in tribal, indigenous, and underserved communities. The program is part of the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and aligns with the Biden-Harris Administration’s Ocean Climate Action Plan and Justice40 Initiative.
Priority is given to projects that:
- Are high-value and transformative within their region or watershed.
- Advance resilience to climate hazards (e.g., storms, flooding, sea level rise).
- Provide benefits to tribal, indigenous, and/or underserved communities.
- Include on-the-ground implementation (planning-only projects are less competitive).
- Demonstrate strong community engagement and inclusive partnerships.
Eligible project phases include planning, feasibility studies, engineering/design, permitting, on-the-ground implementation, and pre/post-implementation monitoring. Capacity building and community engagement activities are also eligible.
Due Dates
- Application Deadline: April 16, 2025, at 11:59 PM Eastern Time.
- Earliest Anticipated Start Date: January 1, 2026.
Applicants are strongly encouraged to begin required federal registrations (SAM.gov, Grants.gov, eRA Commons) as early as possible, as this process can take 4–6 weeks.
Funding Amount
- Total Program Funding: Up to $100 million.
- Award Size: $750,000 (minimum) to $10,000,000 (maximum) per project.
- Typical awards: $4 million to $6 million over three years.
- Only a small number of awards will be funded near the $10M cap.
- Project Duration: Up to 3 years encouraged; up to 5 years possible if necessary.
- Reserved Funding: Up to 15% of total funds for Indian tribes and Native American organizations (direct awards or subawards).
- No cost share or matching required, but leveraging other funds is encouraged and considered in review.
Eligibility
Eligible applicants include:
- State, county, city, township, and special district governments
- Public and private institutions of higher education
- Independent school districts
- Native American tribal governments (federally recognized and other tribal organizations)
- Nonprofits (with or without 501(c)(3) status, except institutions of higher education)
- For-profit organizations (including small businesses)
- U.S. territories (American Samoa, Guam, Northern Mariana Islands, U.S. Virgin Islands, Puerto Rico)
Ineligible: Federal agencies/employees (may participate as unfunded partners), foreign entities (unless as partners to a U.S. prime recipient), projects in Freely Associated States.
Project Location: Must be in U.S. coastal, marine, estuarine, or Great Lakes areas. Great Lakes projects must be within the eight U.S. Great Lakes states.
Special Note: Up to 15% of funds are reserved for Indian tribes and Native American organizations.
Application Process
- Submission: Applications must be submitted via Grants.gov.
- Required Registrations: SAM.gov, Grants.gov, and eRA Commons (start early).
- Application Package:
- SF-424 family of forms
- Project Summary and Narrative (max 20 pages)
- Budget Narrative (max 10 pages)
- Supplemental Materials and Project Designs (max 45 pages)
- Data Management Plan (required)
- Monitoring Plan (if on-the-ground implementation)
- Letters of support (especially from tribal/underserved communities if relevant)
- Resumes/CVs for up to 5 key personnel
- Page Limit: Reviewers will only evaluate the first 75 pages (excluding required forms).
- Evaluation Criteria: Importance/relevance, technical merit, applicant qualifications, project costs, outreach/education, and community engagement.
See the NOAA Habitat Restoration Grants | Coastal Resilience PDF for full details.
Additional Information
- No cost share required, but cost sharing and leveraging are encouraged and considered in review.
- Buy America Preference applies to infrastructure projects (see NOFO for details).
- Reporting: Semiannual financial and performance reports required.
- Data Sharing: Environmental data collected must be made publicly accessible.
- Justice40: Program aims for at least 40% of benefits to flow to disadvantaged communities.
- Ineligible Activities: Projects focused solely on marine debris, real property acquisition, beach renourishment for recreation, hard infrastructure for water quality, or effectiveness monitoring/research.
External Links
Contact Information
Prospective applicants are strongly encouraged to contact NOAA Restoration Center staff before submitting an application to discuss project ideas and technical merit.