50 C.F.R. Subpart B—Applying for Grants


Title 50 - Wildlife and Fisheries


Title 50: Wildlife and Fisheries
PART 84—NATIONAL COASTAL WETLANDS CONSERVATION GRANT PROGRAM

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Subpart B—Applying for Grants

§ 84.20   What are the grant eligibility requirements?

(a) Eligible grant activities include:

(1) Acquisition of a real property interest in coastal lands or waters from willing sellers or partners (coastal wetlands ecosystems), providing that the terms and conditions will ensure the real property will be administered for long-term conservation.

(2) The restoration, enhancement, or management of coastal wetlands ecosystems, providing restoration, enhancement, or management will be administered for long-term conservation.

(b) Ineligible activities include but are not limited to:

(1) Projects that primarily benefit navigation, irrigation, flood control, or mariculture;

(2) Acquisition, restoration, enhancement, or management of lands to mitigate recent or pending habitat losses resulting from the actions of agencies, organizations, companies, or individuals;

(3) Creation of wetlands by humans where wetlands did not previously exist;

(4) Enforcement of fish and wildlife laws and regulations, except when necessary for the accomplishment of approved project purposes;

(5) Research;

(6) Planning as a primary project focus (planning is allowable as a minimal component of project plan development);

(7) Operations and maintenance;

(8) Acquiring and/or restoring upper portions of watersheds where benefits to the coastal wetlands ecosystem are not significant and direct; and

(9) Projects providing less than 20 years of conservation benefits.

§ 84.21   How do I apply for a National Coastal Wetlands Conservation Grant?

(a) Eligible applicants should submit their proposals to the appropriate Regional Director of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Proposals must be complete upon submission, and must include the information outlined in §84.22 to be complete.

(1) Service Regional Federal Aid Offices' responsibilities for administration of this grant program include: Notifying the States of the program, its requirements, and any changes that occur; determining the State agencies designated by the Governor as eligible applicants; ensuring that only eligible applicants apply for grants; coordinating with various Service programs to ensure that sound and consistent guidance is communicated to the States; determining proposal eligibility and substantiality; and determining 75 percent match eligibility and notifying the States of approved and disapproved proposals.

(2) Service Divisions of Ecological Services in the regions and field and Fisheries and Habitat Conservation in the national office provide technical assistance and work with Federal Aid to encourage State participation in this process.

(3) Send your proposals to the appropriate Regional Offices, as follows:

 ------------------------------------------------------------------------   Coastal states by service regions       Regional contact information------------------------------------------------------------------------American Samoa, California,              Regional Director (Attention: Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana     Federal Aid), U.S. Fish and Islands, Guam, Hawaii, Oregon, and       Wildlife Service, Eastside Washington (Region 1).                   Federal Complex, 911 NE 11th                                          Avenue, Portland, Oregon 97232-                                          4181, (503) 231-6128.Texas (Region 2).......................  Regional Director (Attention:                                          Federal Aid), U.S. Fish and                                          Wildlife Service, P.O. Box                                          1306, 500 Gold Avenue, SW,                                          Albuquerque, New Mexico 87103,                                          (505) 248-7450.Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota,  Regional Director (Attention: Ohio, and Wisconsin (Region 3).          Federal Aid), U.S. Fish and                                          Wildlife Service, Bishop Henry                                          Whipple Federal Building, 1                                          Federal Drive, Fort Snelling,                                          Minnesota 55111-4056, (612)                                          713-5130.Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Mississippi,  Regional Director (Attention: North Carolina, Puerto Rico, South       Federal Aid), U.S. Fish and Carolina, and the Virgin Islands.        Wildlife Service, 1875 Century Louisiana is not eligible to             Boulevard, Suite 324, Atlanta, participate under Section 305 of 16      Georgia 30345, (404) 679-4159. U.S.C. 3954, because Louisiana has its own separate program. (Region 4).Connecticut, Delaware, Maine, Maryland,  Regional Director (Attention: Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New        Federal Aid), U.S. Fish and Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode    Wildlife Service, 300 Westgate Island, and Virginia (Region 5).         Center Drive, Hadley,                                          Massachusetts 01035-9589,                                          (413) 253-8508.Alaska (Region 7)......................  Regional Director (Attention:                                          Federal Aid), U.S. Fish and                                          Wildlife Service, 1011 East                                          Tudor Road, Anchorage, Alaska                                          99503, (907) 786-3435.------------------------------------------------------------------------

(b) The Program operates on an annual cycle. Regional Federal Aid Offices request proposals from the States in early April. Proposals must be received by the Regional Director on or before a due date set in early June in order to be considered for funding in the following fiscal year. Check with your Regional Office each year for the exact due dates. Regions review proposals for eligibility and substantiality. Regions may rank eligible and substantial proposals and submit them to the national office of the Service in Washington, DC, by a date set in late June. A Review Panel coordinated by the Service's National Office of Fisheries and Habitat Conservation reviews and ranks proposals in early August using the criteria established in this rule. The Director selects the proposals and announces the grant recipients at the beginning of the new fiscal year (October 1).

(c) More than one agency in a State may submit proposals to the Service if the Governor determines that more than one agency has responsibility for coastal wetlands.

(d) A project proposal that includes several separate and distinct phases may be submitted in phases, but any succeeding phases must compete against other proposals in the year submitted. Obtaining money for one phase of a project will not be contingent upon acquiring money for another phase of that same project.

(e) The Federal (Program) share will not exceed $1 million per project.

(f) The percentage of non-Federal match (cash or in-kind) must not be less than 25 percent of the total costs if the State has a designated fund or not less than 50 percent without a fund.

§ 84.22   What needs to be included in grant proposals?

Proposals must include the following:

(a) Application for Federal Assistance (Standard Form 424);

(b) A Statement of Assurances of compliance with applicable Federal laws, regulations, and policies (either Standard Form 424B or 424D); and

(c) A project statement that identifies and describes:

(1) The need within the purposes of the Act;

(2) Discrete, quantifiable, and verifiable objective(s) to be accomplished during a specified time period;

(3) Expected results or benefits, in terms of coastal lands and waters, the hydrology, water quality, or fish and wildlife dependent on the wetlands;

(4) The approach to be used in meeting the objectives, including specific procedures, schedules, key personnel, and cooperators;

(5) A project location, including two maps: A map of the State showing the general location of the proposal, and a map of the project site;

(6) Estimated costs to attain the objective(s) (the various activities or components of each project should be broken down by cost and by cooperator);

(7) If the request is more than $100,000 (Federal share), the applicant must submit a Form DI–2010, certifying that the grant money will not be used for lobbying activities;

(8) A concise statement, with documentation, of how the proposal addresses each of the 13 numeric criteria including a summary using FWS Form No. 3–2179 (see §84.32);

(9) A description of the State trust fund that supports a request for a 75 percent Federal share in sufficient detail for the Service to make an eligibility determination, or a statement that eligibility has been previously approved and no change has occurred in the fund;

(10) A list of other current coastal acquisition, restoration, enhancement, and management actions; agency(ies) involved; relationship to the proposed grant; and how the proposal fits into comprehensive natural resource plans for the area, if any; and

(11) Public involvement or interagency coordination on coastal wetlands conservation projects that has occurred or is planned that relates to this proposal (Specify the organizations or agencies involved and dates of involvement.).

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