Proposals Being Accepted for National Coastal Resilience Funds
The National Fish and Wildlife Foundation (NFWF), and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) have partnered to form the National Coastal Resilience Fund to restore, increase and strengthen the natural infrastructure that helps absorb the impacts of storms and floods.
In its first year, the fund will invest up to $30 million in the restoration or expansion of natural features such as coastal marshes and wetlands, dune and beach systems, oyster and coral reefs, mangroves, forests, coastal rivers, and barrier islands that help minimize the impacts of storms, rising sea levels and other extreme events. NOAA will use a small portion of the funding for scoping designed to assist communities in getting the regional information they need to make ocean and coastal management decisions and provide economic, security, and environmental benefits.
The new partnership will focus investing on projects that have been prioritized in existing community or regional resilience plans. Priority will be given to design-ready restoration projects that enhance resilience and reduce risk; planning and design projects to position communities for future implementation; and projects that demonstrate the effectiveness of innovative approaches to enhance coastal resilience with natural infrastructure.
In partnership with NOAA, NFWF will administer the program, as authorized by Title IX of the National Oceans and Coastal Security Act. Both organizations will jointly establish criteria to review proposed projects for funding. Proposals are due August 7, 2018, and the full Request for Proposals can be found here.
