#FundingFriday: Federal Grants for the Great Outdoors

This week’s #FundingFriday post highlights recent funding opportunity announcements that share an interest in protecting and promoting an enjoyment of the great outdoors. The federal agencies posting these grants are the Department of the Interior, the National Science Foundation, the Department of Commerce and the Environmental Protection Agency.

1. Department of the Interior, National Park Service – SUCR ACE PLC Fencing and Trails

In this project, fencing and trail work will take place within the Flagstaff Area National Monuments, Sunset Crater Volcano National Monument, and will include patrol and repairs to over 10 miles of boundary fence. This involves brushing overgrown vegetation, documenting trespass sights, repairing fence, clearing downed trees, and rebuilding fence, smoothing and grading of tread, stump removal, stone masonry, stone step construction, water diversion devices and other various tasks related to trail construction. Throughout this project the youth corps will be trained in the various skills and tasks it takes to complete such a project.

2. National Science Foundation – Engineering for Natural Hazards

The Engineering for Natural Hazards (ENH) program supports fundamental research that advances knowledge for understanding and mitigating the impact of natural hazards on constructed civil infrastructure. Natural hazards considered by the ENH program include earthquakes, windstorms (such as tornadoes and hurricanes), tsunamis, storm surge, and landslides. The constructed civil infrastructure supported by the ENH program includes building systems, such as the soil-foundation-structure-envelope-nonstructural system, as well as geostructures, and underground facilities, such as tunnels. While research may focus on a single natural hazard, research that considers civil infrastructure performance over its lifetime in the context of multiple hazards, that is, a multi-hazard approach, is encouraged.

3. Department of Commerce – Great Lakes Bay Watershed Education and Training Program (B-WET) FY18

The NOAA Office of National Marine Sanctuaries is seeking proposals under the Great Lakes B-WET Program. The Great Lakes B-WET Program is a competitive grant program that supports existing, high quality environmental education programs, fosters the growth of new, innovative programs, and encourages capacity building and partnership development for environmental education programs throughout the entire Great Lakes watershed. Successful projects provide Meaningful Watershed Educational Experiences (MWEEs) for students and related professional development for teachers, while advancing regional Great Lakes education and environmental priorities.

4. Environmental Protection Agency – FY17 and FY18 Region 2 Wetland Program Development Grants

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is soliciting proposals from eligible applicants to develop or refine state/tribal/local government wetland programs. States, tribes, local government agencies, interstate agencies, and intertribal consortia are eligible to apply under this announcement, as further described herein. Universities that are agencies of a state government are eligible, but must include documentation demonstrating that they are chartered as part of a state government in the proposal submission.

5. Department of the Interior, Fish and Wildlife Service – Analysis of Practices that Lead to Successful Prairie Reconstructions

The purpose is to provide technical and financial assistance to identify, conserve, manage and enhance the ecological and physical property condition of the National Wildlife Refuge System (NWRS) resources through work on and off NWRS lands and waters.