NFWF will make investments in planning, design, and implementation of natural and nature-based solutions. The goal is to enhance protections for coastal communities from the impacts of storms, floods, and other natural coastal hazards and to improve habitats for fish and wildlife.
NFWF will award grants to create and restore natural systems to increase protection for communities from current and future coastal hazards and improve habitats for fish and wildlife species. The availability of federal funds estimated in this solicitation is contingent upon the federal appropriations process; funding decisions will be made based on level of funding and timing of when it is received by NFWF.
Natural habitats such as coastal marshes and wetlands, coastal forests, rivers, lakes, and streams, dune and beach systems, and oyster and coral reefs – maintained at a significant size for the habitat type and natural hazard being addressed – can provide communities with enhanced protection and buffering from the growing impacts of natural coastal hazards, including rising sea- and lake- levels, changing flood patterns, increased frequency and intensity of storms, and other environmental stressors. NFWF’s regional coastal resilience assessments identify areas, called Resilience Hubs, where natural resource restoration efforts will have the greatest impact for human community resilience and fish and wildlife. Projects need not be located in an area identified by NFWF as a Resilience Hub to be eligible, but applicants may find this tool useful to assess projects based on the dual benefits to habitats and human communities. Applicants may explore Resilience Hubs on the Coastal Resilience and Evaluation Siting Tool (CREST).
Award decisions will be made based on regional circumstances and needs, but all proposals must address the following priorities:
Further priority will be given to projects that demonstrate:
More about the priorities can be found at https://www.nfwf.org/sites/default/files/2023-02/2023-ncrf-rfp.pdf#page=2.
Project Categories
To implement these program priorities, NFWF funds activities in four categories designed to advance a project through NFWF’s “project pipeline” from planning to implementation: 1) Community Capacity Building and Planning; 2) Site Assessment and Preliminary Design; 3) Final Design and Permitting; 4) Restoration Implementation. More about these categories can be found starting at https://www.nfwf.org/sites/default/files/2023-02/2023-ncrf-rfp.pdf#page=3.
Additional Geographic Information:
The NCRF is a national program focused on enhancement of resilience for coastal communities. Projects must be located within the coastal areas of U.S. coastal states, including the Great Lakes states, and U.S. territories and tribal lands. For the purpose of this funding opportunity, the eligible project area is defined as all coastal Hydrologic Unit Code (HUC) 8 watersheds that drain to the sea and any adjacent HUC 8 watersheds that are particularly low-lying or tidally influenced (“coastal areas”); a map of the NCRF geographic footprint can be found at https://www.arcgis.com/apps/View/index.html?appid=1dd16e528fd844b49d765b51402feb8c&%3Bextent.Estimated Total Program Funding:
