NOAA Restoration Center Community-based Restoration Program (CRP) Erika Ammann NOAA Restoration Center 222 West 7th Ave Box 43 Anchorage, AK 99503 Erika.Ammann@noaa.gov

NOAA Restoration Center Welcome Goals: Provide an overview of the Community-based Restoration Program (CRP) Identify Funding opportunities Review procedures for Applying for Funding For this presentation I am going to go through a brief overview of the CRP program NOAA Restoration Center CRP

NOAA Restoration Center About the RC Mission: Restoring degraded habitats Advancing the science of coastal habitat restoration Funding projects that are considered important by the people who live in the community Fostering habitat stewardship and a conservation ethic Moose Creek Willow Planting NOAA Restoration Center CRP

NOAA Restoration Center Projects Nationwide Northwest, 255 projects North Atlantic 214 projects Alaska 35 projects Middle Atlantic 93 projects California 182 projects South Atlantic 72 projects Caribbean 4 projects Western Pacific, 10 projects Gulf of Mexico, 140 projects NOAA Restoration Center CRP

Restoration and Stewardship Over 1000 projects funded since 1996 97,000 volunteers contributed over 586,000 hours 19,000 acres of productive habitat restored 735 miles of stream opened for fish passage Volunteers at the Bell Creek Restoration NOAA Restoration Center CRP

NOAA Restoration Center CRP in Alaska Total Projects = 35 ~ $881,000 in NOAA funding and ~$883,000 in leveraged funds Participation by 1,290 volunteers contributing ~20,00 volunteer hours 170 acres restored/rehabilitated Over 9 stream miles opened to fish passage NOAA Restoration Center CRP

National & Regional Partnerships in AK NOAA Restoration Center CRP

Cooperative Agreements through the RC Direct Funding Mechanisms: 1) Direct Solicitation Habitat Awards 2) Open River Initiative 3)Marine Debris Program 4) New STIMULUS opportunity : RFP to be released in the coming week. Federal ‘find and apply’ www.grants.gov Direct solicitation :: Typical Award Size: $50,000 to $250,000 Match: 1:1 match is encouraged Funding Duration: Two (2) years Limitations: Mostly funds on-the-ground restoration work Funding requests must be between $30K and $250K OPen Rivers Limitations: Funding requests must be between $30K and $1M; only obsolete or derelict structures qualify for removal. Project should benefit diadromous fish; have community consensus; owner willingness; and not be federally-owned or FERC-licensed. Marine Debris Typical Award Size: $15,000 to $100,000 Funding Duration: Up to 18 months Limitations: Funding requests must be between $15,000 to $250,000. Approximately $2M in funding available through Cooperative Agreements for the implementation of locally-driven, community-based marine debris prevention and removal projects. Projects should have a strong community education component to help prevent future marine debris accumulation. NOAA Restoration Center CRP

NOAA Restoration Center Stimulus Opportunity 4) New STIMULUS opportunity : RFP to be released in the coming week. -Priority one is ecological benefit to fish habitat Second priority is job creation Timeline : 30 day for proposals Funding decisions in May Projects completed in 18 Months Federal ‘find and apply’ www.grants.gov Improving Health and Livelihood: NOAA’s habitat restoration efforts improve coastal ecosystems that not only benefit the environment, but people as well. • Economy: Coastal communities are America’s economic engines, with more than half of the Nation’s GDP generated in coastal counties. • Creating Jobs: An analysis by the Economic Policy Institute estimates that every $1 million in the industry of agriculture/forestry/fisheries—which includes restoration—generates 20.3 jobs. Based on this estimate, the $400 million in restoration work included in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act will help NOAA generate over 8,000 jobs in coastal communities— including local engineers and demolition/construction crews, surveyors and out‐of‐work waterman and loggers. • Shovel‐Ready: Should NOAA receive stimulus funding for habitat restoration, we have a substantial list of priority shovel‐ready projects that span every coast and the Great Lakes – projects that have not been funded for many years due to lack of funds. In addition to improving water quality and the environment, these efforts will restore commercial and recreational fishing; improve tourism; and create new business and recreational opportunities such as fishing, river rafting and kayaking. • Protecting Lives and Property: Green infrastructure projects can reduce hazards through erosion and flood mitigation, or the removal of out‐dated, non‐functional structures—including thousands of dangerous coastal area dams and culverts. • The Need: There is a much greater need for restoration work than there are existing funds to support these efforts. Frequently, NOAA has to turn down project requests due to insufficient resources. The inclusion of habitat restoration in the economic stimulus package is an opportunity for NOAA to support some of the shovel‐ready projects that we haven’t been able to fund. • Supporting Volunteers and Community Service: In addition to job creation, the habitat restoration projects that NOAA pursues also support community service. In the last 12 years, the NOAA Restoration Center’s Community‐based Restoration Program has worked with 165,000 NOAA Restoration Center CRP

Finding Funding Opportunities www.nmfs.noaa.gov/habitat/restoration NOAA Restoration Center CRP

Finding Funding Opportunities www.nmfs.noaa.gov/habitat/restoration Funding Opportunities All CRP-direct Partner Other NOAA-related NOAA Restoration Center CRP

Applying for Direct CRP Funds Grants.gov Step 1: Register to submit applications Register organization Register authorized representative Set up an individual as a representative Registration can take up to three weeks One time process NOAA Restoration Center CRP

NOAA Restoration Center Proposal Outline Proposal Content: Standard federal forms Project summary (2 pages max) Project narrative including budget narrative Resumes or CV’s of primary project personnel Site location map Letter documenting private or public landowner/manager support (Required for Open Rivers) Additional relevant supporting documentation NOAA Restoration Center CRP

NOAA Restoration Center Evaluation Criteria Evaluation criteria Importance/applicability (benefit to NOAA trust resources) Technical/scientific merit Qualifications of applicant Cost effectiveness Outreach, education, and community involvement *Stimulus funding will have an additional “jobs” component Importance/applicability Historic condition/problem Anticipated benefits to NOAA trust resources & how will benefits be achieved Part of a larger planning effort or conducted in a protected area Acres/stream miles restored, reconnected, cleaned up etc NOAA Restoration Center CRP

Assistance from NOAA Staff Never too early or too late to contact NOAA RC staff regarding a proposal Answer questions Assistance with project design Guidance on level and scope of information needed for NEPA compliance Never assume prior knowledge of the project by reviewers NOAA Restoration Center CRP

Important Funding Requirements Financial Reports Progress Reports Minimum Monitoring When developing a proposal, account for the time and resources necessary to complete these requirements NOAA Restoration Center CRP

NOAA Restoration Center Minimum Monitoring Four steps to an effective plan Develop one broad goal Develop two quantifiable objectives For each objective, identify a parameter to monitor Define a target value for each parameter Structure - Greater than 40% cover of native plant species Function - 10% increase in desired fish population utilizing the marsh Data are analyzed collectively to help improve restoration success Results do not determine whether a project succeeds or fails NOAA Restoration Center CRP

NOAA Restoration Center Contact info Erika Ammann (907) 271-5118 Erika.Ammann@noaa.gov NOAA Restoration Center CRP