The National Coastal Wetlands Conservation Grants Program annually provides grants of up to $1 million to coastal and Great Lakes states to protect, restore and enhance coastal wetland ecosystems and associated uplands. The Program is funded by revenues collected from excise taxes on sport fishing equipment, electric motors and sonar, import duties on fishing tackle, yachts and pleasure craft, a portion of the gasoline tax attributable to motorboats and small engines, and interest on the fund, under the authority of the Dingell-Johnson Sport Fish Restoration Act of 1950.
The grant program is co-administered by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s (Service) Wildlife and Sport Fish Restoration Program and the Coastal Program.
Click through the sections below to learn more about this funding opportunity.
Grant priorities include projects that:
Click on the next section to learn more about this funding opportunity’s eligibility requirements.
All projects must ensure long‐term conservation (at least 20 years) of coastal wetland resources. Eligible applicants include States adjacent to the Great Lakes, among others. Tribes, local governments, conservation organizations, and private landowners are encouraged to work with state agencies to develop a project and submit an application.
For more information about the eligibility requirements for this funding opportunity, please contact the program officers using the “Contact Information” section below.
Click on the next section to learn more about this funding opportunity’s matching requirements.
States provide 50% of the project cost or 25% if the state has a land conservation program. Match can be provided by the state or partners and may include the value of previously conserved land and in-kind contributions.
For more information about matching requirements, please reference the Notice of Funding Opportunity here.
Click on the next section to learn more about the eligible costs for this funding opportunity.
The NCWCG Program provides eligible State agencies with grants for projects that protect and restore valuable coastal wetland resources. Eligible costs include:
Ineligible Costs include:
For more information on eligible and ineligible costs, please click here.
Click on the next section for this funding opportunity’s project timeline.
The period of performance for this funding opportunity appears to be flexible but typically within 12 months.
Please click the Notice of Funding Opportunity here for details, and reference the “Contact Information” section below to get in touch with program officers.
Click on the next section for this funding opportunity’s application deadline and forms.
Grant application packages must be submitted in GrantSolutions.gov or Grants.gov no later than Friday, June 21, 2024, at 11:59 p.m. EDT. The grant opportunity can be found here.
Tribes, local governments, conservation organizations, and private landowners are encouraged to work with state agencies to develop a project and submit an application.
We strongly encourage you to email a draft of your application to your WSFR Regional Office and/or Coastal Program contact (see “Contact Information” section below) at least four weeks prior to the due date (i.e., by May 24, 2024) for pre-deadline review.
For technical questions regarding the grant application, please contact:
Nick Popoff
Midwest Region 3 (Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Ohio, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, and Wisconsin) may contact the regional grant contacts by completing the online messaging forms linked below for:
Mandy Kamps, USWS Fish and Wildlife Biologist, Office of Conservation Investment
Jessico Collier, USWS Great Lakes Coastal Restoration and Partnerships Coordinator, Green Bay Fish and Wildlife Conservation Office Coastal Program
Phone: (920) 866-1728
Elizabeth Berg, USWS Coastal Program Biologist, Midwest Region Headquarters Ecological Services Coastal Program
Phone: (612) 713-5138
Christie Deloria-Sheffield, USWS Great Lakes Coastal Program Coordinator, Midwest Region Headquarters Coastal Program
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