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Coastal and Estuarine Land Conservation Program

Deadline: December 30, 2005

Link: http://coastalmanagement.noaa.gov/landconservation.html
See also: http://www.ecy.wa.gov/programs/sea/celcp/

OCRM is soliciting proposals from eligible coastal states, through the state's lead agency for implementing the CELCP, for coastal and estuarine land conservation projects for competitive funding under the CELCP. The state's lead agency may solicit, and include in their application, project proposals from additional state agencies, or local governments as defined at 15 CFR 24.3, or entities eligible for assistance under section 306A(e) of the CZMA (16 U.S.C. 1455a(e)), provided that each has the authority to acquire and manage land for conservation purposes. This solicitation will result in a prioritized list of projects that will be submitted to Congress in March 2006 for consideration in the FY 2007 appropriations process. Funding is contingent upon the availability of fiscal year 2007 Federal appropriations.

The Federal Register announced the solicitation of proposals for land acquisition proposals for states' coastal and estuarine land acquisition priorities for funding in FY2007. This year, Commencement Bay received $1 million.

Washington State: Proposals for acquisition projects of up to $3 million per project can come from local governments, DNR, WDFW, State Parks & Rec, Padilla Bay, and tribal governments and must be submitted through the Washington Department of Ecology to the federal government (NOAA) by 5 pm 12/30/05. There's a 1:1 non-federal funds match (in-kind is OK). According to Jean Koenings, the Ecology lead, there will be a prioritization process that will result in three projects being submitted by DOE for possible FY2007 congressional appropriations. If you're interested, please contact Jeanne at jkoe461@ecy.wa.gov or at 360-407-7258 as soon as possible to discuss the application process and other details.

Washington Department of Ecology Coastal & Estuarine Land Conservation Program:

• Purpose: To develop a Coastal & Estuarine Land Conservation Program (CELCP) "Plan." The plan qualifies a state to participate in the CELCP national competitive grant opportunity established under Public Law 107-77. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) will administer the program consistent with state Coastal Zone Management Programs. See more information on the federal program.
• Background on the CELCP Plan: This national grant funding program is administered by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). Although dedicated grant funds have not yet been authorized by Congress, a state plan has been drafted to assure Washington's eligibility for future participation.

The purpose of CELCP is to protect important coastal and estuarine areas having significant conservation, recreation, ecological, historical, or aesthetic values, and threatened by conversion. It gives priority to lands which can be effectively managed and protected and which have significant ecological value. Local governments, federally recognized tribal governments, and state agencies with authority to own land would be eligible to apply for land acquisition assistance.

The state CELCP Plan 1) identifies conservation needs and priority areas to acquire, 2) delineates general criteria for grant awards, and 3) establishes an approach for nominating projects for a competitive national review.

Download Public Review Draft (pdf, 113 k.)