Funding Sources
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
National Coastal Wetlands Conservation Grants
Application deadlines: May or June
Common acronyms: Coastal Wetland Grant or CWPRA (pronounced "quip-rah")
This matching grant program, funded and administered by the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service Federal Aid Program, directs funds from the Coastal Wetlands Planning, Protection and Restoration Act to state conservation agencies to acquire, restore, or manage coastal wetlands for fish and wildlife values. Grants can range up to $1,000,000. To be nationally competitive, proposals should provide approximately 50% or more match in non-federal funds. Match can be derived from donated lands, bargain sales, cash or in-kind services. In Maine, the Maine Wetlands Protection Coalition [215K PDF] has often taken a lead role in identifying land protection priorities and coordinating Coastal Wetland Grant applications. Frequently, biologists at the Gulf of Maine Coastal Program assist local partners in developing successful proposals.
In Maine, twelve Coastal Wetland Grants have been accepted for funding, leading to the permanent protection of more than 2,896 acres of coastal wetlands and associated upland buffer, and the restoration of 120 acres of salt marsh. Coastal Wetland Grants have contributed $4.66 million towards total acquisition costs of more than $7 million. Currently, two additional Coastal Wetland Grants are pending approval. Islands and coastal mainland properties with large mudflats and salt marsh that provide high value habitat for nesting eagles, nesting seabirds, migrating shorebirds, breeding, migratory and wintering waterfowl, other waterbirds and searun fish, have been acquired with these funds.
To be nationally competitive, Coastal Wetland Grants proposals should provide:
- Non-federal matching funds. In order to be minimally eligible, 25% of the total project cost must be provided as non-federal match derived from donated lands (permanently protected in fee or easement), bargain sales, cash, or in-kind services. In order to be nationally competitive, an additional cash match totaling 25% of the required match should also be provided.
- Minimum of 25% wetlands (including associated intertidal habitat) with habitat values for waterbirds and federally threatened and endangered species. Properties with >50% wetlands will rank even higher. Habitat for searun fish and other migratory bird species of concern in our region can also add a competitive edge to proposals
- Agreement of Maine Dept. of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife (MDIFW) to serve as Grantee. MDIFW may own and manage habitat in perpetuity or designate a Subgrantee such as a statewide or local land trust, to own and steward the property in perpetuity.
- Lands proposed for protection cannot be purchased by a conservation group until after the grant is awarded by the USFWS and an Internal Grant Agreement is completed by federal and state agencies.
- In general, Coastal Wetland Grants requires that all other funds for a project should be in-hand or firmly pledged, prior to submitting a proposal. Coastal Wetland Grant funds are not designed to serve as “catalyst” dollars in a fundraising campaign.
- For Coastal Wetland Grants in Maine, we recommend contacting a member of the Maine Wetlands Protection Coalition early in the process of developing your grant proposal and then submitting a completed "Application and Guidance for Proposal Endorsement" (download in Word format [61K] or PDF format [39K]).
View a map listing and locating all Coastal Wetland Grant-funded projects in Maine (135K PDF).
View a slide show to see examples of successful Coastal Wetland Grants in Maine.
For more information, contact Stewart Fefer, U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service Gulf of Maine Coastal Program (207-781-8364, x17; stewart_fefer@fws.gov) or Dan Leahy, Regional Office Federal Aid Coordinator (413-253-8687)
National Coastal Wetlands Conservation Grant Program web page orients you to the National Coastal Wetlands Conservation Grant Program at the federal level, provides the Federal Register Rules and Regulations governing the grant program and application process and clarifies current grant ranking criteria: http://www.fws.gov/coastal/CoastalGrants.
