December 20th, 2013 - U.S. Department of the Interior Secretary Sally Jewell has announced that competitive grants are now available from the Hurricane Sandy Coastal Resiliency Competitive Grant Program. The program, funded by the Hurricane Sandy disaster relief appropriation, is administered by National Fish and Wildlife Foundation (NFWF).
The Hurricane Sandy Coastal Resiliency Competitive Grants Program will award more than $100 million in grants throughout the region affected by Hurricane Sandy, including Connecticut, Delaware, the District of Columbia, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Virginia, and West Virginia-the states that officially declared a natural disaster as a result of the storm event.
Grants from $100,000 to $5 million will be awarded to projects that assess, restore, enhance or create wetlands, beaches and other natural systems to better protect communities as well as fish and wildlife species and habitats from the impacts of future storms and naturally occurring events.
Applicants can download the Request for Proposals here.
"NFWF will use its network of partners to promote the grant opportunity, aid potential grant applicants in shaping proposals that meet our objectives, and identify opportunities to leverage the $100 million with other funding sources to rebuild, restore, and research natural defenses that protect communities," Jewell said. "I am certain that we will see innovative ideas and projects that will help us be much better prepared the next time a super storm rolls up the Atlantic coast."
"With our partners at the Department of the Interior and its Bureaus, we will work to restore natural resiliency in the states devastated by Hurricane Sandy," said Jeff Trandahl, executive director and CEO of NFWF. "We will make sure these funds are used effectively, efficiently and transparently to help ecosystems recover and to protect communities from future storms."
Implementation of the Hurricane Sandy Coastal Resiliency Competitive Grant Program is being closely coordinated with several Department of the Interior bureaus, including the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, National Park Service, U.S. Geological Survey, Bureau of Ocean Energy Management and the Bureau of Indian Affairs.
