| Description |
The California State Coastal Conservancy (Conservancy) seeks partners for joint applications to the Fiscal Year (FY) 2023 round of the US Fish and Wildlife Service’s (USFWS) National Coastal Wetlands Conservation Grant (NCWCG) Program for coastal wetlands acquisition and/or restoration projects on the California coast or along the San Francisco Bay shoreline. Only seven designated state agencies, including the Conservancy, are eligible to apply for NCWC grants in California. However, the Conservancy can work in partnership with state and local agencies, tribes, and certain non-profits to develop and submit NCWC proposals. The Conservancy can pass through NCWCG funds to its partners, as subrecipients, to implement projects. While federal agencies can’t receive NCWCG funds, NCWCG-funded projects can be implemented on federal lands by a subrecipient.
NCWC provides grants of up to $1,000,000 for the protection and/or restoration of coastal wetlands. Grants are for project implementation, although it is permissible to utilize no more than 30%, combined, for biological surveys or monitoring, planning and permitting if those activities are closely tied to implementation. Projects should be ready for implementation in Summer 2023 or 2024. Projects will be more competitive if the project area is primarily made up of jurisdictional wetlands. The NCWC grant program requires a non-federal match of at least 25% of the total project cost, consisting of either cash or in-kind contributions, and additional points are awarded for match of up to 33% of the total project cost. The Conservancy may be able to provide some or all of the required match, but project partners providing their own match will increase the Conservancy’s capacity to carry out more projects. The NCWCG program also prioritizes projects that involve multiple partners providing a cash or in-kind contribution. All projects must ensure long-term (at least 20 years) conservation of coastal resources.
Projects hoping to receive NCWCG funding are NOT required to apply through the Coastal Conservancy. As stated below, there are six other state agencies who are also designated to apply for these funds for the projects in California. However, should a project wish to work with the Coastal Conservancy to manage and administer a potential future grant, please read the following announcement, and if you feel your project fits the NCWCG criteria, please submit a brief (~2-4 page) letter of interest via email to heller@scc.ca.gov by 5 PM PST on Friday, March 11th, 2022 |
