Robust Response for National Estuary Program Coastal Watershed Grants

More than 200 letters of intent submitted for 2021 grant cycle

By Suzanne Simon

The National Estuary Program Coastal Watersheds Grant Program is off to a fantastic start! Our first Request for Proposal (RFP) release resulted in more than 200 Letters of Intent being submitted. Applicants were alerted earlier this week as to the status of their submission, with a small subset of finalists being invited to submit full proposals.

Final funding decisions will occur by the end of the year, so stay tuned for an announcement in early 2021.

While we wish we could fund all projects, we are delighted in the high quality of the submissions as such a competitive pool ensures that our coasts and estuaries get the investments and innovation they so desperately need.

We anticipate at least two more rounds of funding in the coming years, so we encourage interested folks to review future RFPs, each of which will have a different set of priorities. Our goal in having different priorities is to provide opportunities for a variety of project types and approaches.

For more information, please visit the RAE website and be sure to tune in to the Summit session entitled “Funding Opportunities and Mitigation Banking” [Concurrent 5: Wednesday, September 30, 2:45 – 4 pm ET], which will feature a presentation about the Program.

Please contact Suzanne Simon if you have questions.

Suzanne Simon is the NEP Coastal Watersheds Grant Program Director for Restore America’s Estuaries. She is based in Massachusetts.