OARS funding Environmental Sustainability

ecoTech™ Grants were created to combat the notion that students needed to choose between "the screen" or "the green" and to encourage educators and students to explore the role technology can play in designing and implementing solutions to some of our most pressing environmental challenges. We believe that technology can present innovative ways to address environmental challenges - and that when dealing with digital natives, we do ourselves a disservice by asking them to unplug. Originally developed in partnership with the Ray C. Anderson Foundation and now funded with ongoing support from Voya Financial Foundation, ecoTech™ Grants are specifically offered to engage children in inquiry-based, STEM-related projects that leverage technology and/or use nature-based design to address environmental problems in local communities. Examples of previous ecoTech™ Grant funded projects have involved: the integration of robotics and sensors to explore water bodies, collect data, and organize clean-ups; the development of aquaponic and hydroponic systems using arduinos and remote sensing; renewable energy design challenges; biotechnology research; nature-based design applications; and many others.

The CNH2 Program supports research projects that advance basic scientific understanding of integrated socio-environmental systems and the complex interactions (dynamics, processes, and feedbacks) within and among the environmental (biological, physical and chemical) and human ("socio") (economic, social, political, or behavioral) components of such a system. The program seeks proposals that emphasize the truly integrated nature of a socio-environmental system versus two discrete systems (a natural one and a human one) that are coupled.CNH2 projects must explore a connected and integrated socio-environmental system that includes explicit analysis of the processes and dynamics between the environmental and human components of the system. PIs are encouraged to develop proposals that push conceptual boundaries and build new theoretical framings of the understanding of socio-environmental systems.Additionally, we encourage the exploration of multi-scalar dynamics, processes and feedbacks between and within the socio-environmental system.

The program supports research projects related to sustainable solid waste management practices, including waste minimization; recycling; waste conversion to energy, biofuels, chemicals, or other useful products; strategies to promote diversion to higher and better uses (e.g., organics diversion, market analysis, optimized material management, logistics, etc.); and landfilling.

Under the Resources and Ecosystems Sustainability, Tourist Opportunities, and Revived Economies of the Gulf Coast States Act of 2012 (RESTORE Act), Subtitle F of P.L. 112-141, the Gulf Coast Restoration Trust Fund was established in the Treasury of the United States. Eighty percent of the civil penalties paid after July 6, 2012, under the Federal Water Pollution Control Act in connection with the Deepwater Horizon oil spill will be deposited into the Trust Fund and invested. The RESTORE Act created five components through which funds will be disbursed. Treasury is publishing multiple funding opportunity notices as part of the RESTORE Act. This announcement applies only to the Centers of Excellence Research Grants Program. Trust Fund amounts are available to establish one or more Centers of Excellence through competitive subawards to nongovernmental entities, including institutions of higher education. Funds may be used by those Centers of Excellence to conduct research only on the Gulf Coast region in one or more of the following disciplines: 1. Coastal and deltaic sustainability, restoration and protection, including solutions and technology that allow citizens to live in a safe and sustainable manner in a coastal delta in the Gulf Coast Region; 2. Coastal fisheries and wildlife ecosystem research and monitoring in the Gulf Coast Region; 3. Offshore energy development, including research and technology to improve the sustainable and safe development of energy resources in the Gulf of Mexico; 4. Sustainable and resilient growth, economic and commercial development in the Gulf Coast Region; and 5. Comprehensive observation, monitoring, and mapping of the Gulf of Mexico.

The Environmental Justice Small Grants (EJSG) Program provides funding directly to community-based organizations for projects that help residents of underserved communities understand and address local environmental and public health issues. For purposes of this announcement, the term "underserved community" refers to a community with environmental justice concerns and/or vulnerable populations, including minority, low income, rural, tribal, indigenous, and homeless populations that may be disproportionately impacted by environmental harms and risks. In general, the EJSG program awards grants that support community-driven projects designed to engage, educate, and empower communities to better understand local environmental and public health issues and develop strategies for addressing those issues, building consensus in the community, and setting community priorities. Community-driven projects are projects that include activities where community residents and/or representatives are integrally involved in the thinking behind and execution of those activities. Therefore, applying organizations should have a direct connection to the underserved community impacted by environmental harms and risks.

The purpose of the BRAG program is to support the generation of new information that will assist Federal regulatory agencies in making science-based decisions about the effects of introducing into the environment genetically engineered organisms (GE), including plants, microorganisms - such as fungi, bacteria, and viruses - arthropods, fish, birds, mammals and other animals excluding humans. Investigations of effects on both managed and natural environments are relevant. The BRAG program accomplishes its purpose by providing federal regulatory agencies with scientific information relevant to regulatory issues

The National Sea Grant College Program was enacted by U.S. Congress in 1966 (amended in 2008, Public Law 110-394) to support leveraged federal and state partnership that harness the intellectual capacity of the nation's universities and research institutions to solve problems and generate opportunities in coastal communities. The 2019 NMFS-Sea Grant Fellowship Program in Marine Resource Economics expects to award one new Ph.D. Fellowship each year to students who are interested in careers related to the development and implementation of quantitative methods for assessing the economics of the conservation and management of living marine resources. This fellowship can provide support for up to three years. Fellows will work on thesis problems of public interest and relevance to National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) under the guidance of NMFS mentors at participating NMFS Science Centers or Offices. The NMFS-Sea Grant Fellowship in Marine Resource Economics meets NOAA's Healthy Oceans goal of "Marine fisheries, habitats, biodiversity sustained with healthy and productive ecosystems." The expected annual award per Fellow will be $48,000 (Federal plus matching funds), jointly funded by NOAA Fisheries and Sea Grant.

The purpose of this Funding Opportunity Announcement is to support research activities that will contribute to the overall understanding of coccidioidomycosis, commonly known as Valley Fever, and other select endemic fungal diseases including histoplasmosis and blastomycosis. This research opportunity encourages studies that address diverse scientific areas such as: 1) pathogenesis; 2) host response; 3) disease transmission; 4) natural history and environmental factors contributing to disease; 5) vaccines; 6) diagnostics; and 7) therapeutics; with the ultimate goal of advancing the field towards solutions for the improved detection, prevention and treatment of select endemic mycoses.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service), Region 2, intends to award single source financial assistance agreements as authorized by 505 DM 2.14 (B) (4) to Texas State University. This notice is not a request for proposals and the Government does not intend to accept proposals. The Southwest Region of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service hereby provides this NOTICE OF INTENT TO AWARD TO A SINGLE SOURCE WITHOUT COMPETITION

Despite centuries of discovery, most of our planet's biodiversity remains unknown. The scale of Earth's unknown diversity is especially troubling given the rapid and permanent loss of biodiversity across the globe. The goal of the Dimensions of Biodiversity campaign is to transform how we describe and understand the scope and role of life on Earth. This campaign promotes novel integrative approaches to fill the most substantial gaps in our understanding of the diversity of life on Earth. It takes a broad view of biodiversity, and focuses on the intersection of genetic, phylogenetic, and functional dimensions of biodiversity. Successful proposals must integrate these three dimensions to understand interactions among them. While this focus complements several core programs in BIO, it differs by requiring that multiple dimensions of biodiversity be addressed simultaneously, in novel ways, to understand their synergistic roles in critical ecological and evolutionary processes, especially pertaining

The Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA), as amended by the Brownfields Utilization, Investment, and Local Development (BUILD) Act (P.L. 115-141), requires the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to publish guidance for grants to assess and clean up brownfield sites. EPA's Brownfields Program provides funds to empower states, communities, tribes, and nonprofit organizations to prevent, inventory, assess, clean up, and reuse brownfield sites.

The Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA), as amended by the Brownfields Utilization, Investment, and Local Development (BUILD) Act (P.L. 115-141), requires the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to publish guidance for grants to assess and clean up brownfield sites. EPA's Brownfields Program provides funds to empower states, communities, tribes, and nonprofit organizations to prevent, inventory, assess, clean up, and reuse brownfield sites.

Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton (CPEN) is located in the northwestern portion of San Diego County, immediately north of Oceanside, California. On CPEN, also referred to as the Base or installation, there is known nesting of Endangered Species Act (ESA) federally listed Western Snowy Plovers (Charadrius alexandrinus nivosus, SNPL) and California Least Terns (Sternula antillarum browni, LETE) located on Blue Beach, White Beach, and Salt Flats (Santa Margarita River salt flat area). The nesting populations of these species have historically been predated upon by various species. To reduce the predation levels on these populations of federally listed species, the predators are removed from the area using lethal and non-lethal means. Some of the species predating on SNPL and LETE include falcons, corvids, skunks, coyotes and others. Historically, wildlife species have also caused problems in CPEN housing areas. These species have been removed, and/or managed using lethal and non-lethal means for human health and welfare and for the hydrological management of the aquifers of CPEN. These species include coyotes, bobcats, snakes, skunks and others.

The National Forest Foundation (NFF) Matching Awards Program (MAP) provides funding for results-oriented on-the-ground projects that enhance forest health and outdoor experiences on National Forests and Grasslands. MAP supports the implementation of on-the-ground conservation and restoration projects that have an immediate, quantifiable impact on the National Forest System. These projects provide a lasting impact to the lands, waters, and wildlife of the National Forest System through the alteration of the physical environment. The current NFF strategic plan focuses on the Program Areas of Outdoor Experiences and Forest Health. Organizations may self-select into one of the Program Areas defined below, or choose to submit a proposal that cohesively integrates the two Program Areas. Projects that strongly integrate the program areas are highly encouraged. The NFF does not have funding targets for the Program Areas, and strongly encourages applicants to integrate the programs areas cohesively in their proposals.

Through the program, general support grants of up to $7,000 as well as funding for specific projects will be awarded to nonprofits working in one or more of the foundation's five focus areas - promoting Earth's beauty and bounty; creating a robust, healthy food system; increasing opportunities for outdoor activity; reducing environmental health hazards; and building stronger communities. Preference will be given to organizations that can demonstrate a clearly defined objective and a viable plan to achieve it, and that operate at the community level and have strong community ties. Organizations also must promote positive change through both their project and the implementation process.

The Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE), within the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), invests in cutting-edge research, development, and demonstration activities focused on sustainable transportation, renewable power, and energy efficiency. Through EERE's Advanced Manufacturing Office (AMO) public-private R&D consortia, manufacturers, small businesses, universities, national laboratories, and state and local governments are brought together to pursue coordinated early-stage R&D in high-priority areas essential to energy in manufacturing. Federal funding is the catalyst to bring stakeholders into shared spaces and to address process and technological challenges, that present a significant degree of scientific or technical uncertainty. The purpose of this funding opportunity announcement (FOA) is to establish an Energy Innovation Hub (referred to hereafter as the Energy-Water Desalination Hub, or the Hub) to address water security issues in the U.S. For the purpose of this FOA, "desalination" more broadly includes technologies that primarily remove salts. The Hub is a critical component of the Department of Energy's (DOE) broader Water Security Grand Challenge which will use a coordinated suite of prizes, competitions, early stage research and development (R&D), and other programs to help address the nation's water security needs. The Energy-Water Desalination Hub will be organized around four topic areas: 1) Materials Research and Development, 2) New Process Research and Development, 3) Modeling and Simulation Tools, and 4) Integrated Data and Analysis. DOE intends to select and fund one application with the greatest likelihood of achieving the goals of all four topics of this FOA.

Section 812 of ANILCA directs the Departments of the Interior and Agriculture, cooperating with other Federal agencies, the State of Alaska, and Alaska Native and rural organizations, to research and monitor fish and wildlife subsistence uses on Federal public lands and to seek data from, consult with, and make use of the knowledge of local residents engaged in subsistence. When the Federal government assumed responsibility for management of subsistence fisheries on Federal public lands in Alaska in 1999, the Secretary of the Interior made a commitment to increase the quantity and quality of information available to manage subsistence fisheries, to increase quality and quantity of meaningful involvement by Alaska Native and rural organizations, and to increase collaboration among Federal, State, Alaska Native, and rural organizations. The mission of the Fisheries Resource Monitoring Program (Monitoring Program) is to identify and provide information needed to sustain subsistence fisheries on Federal public lands for rural Alaskans through a multidisciplinary, collaborative program. The main focus of the Monitoring Program will continue to be projects whose purpose is the collection, dissemination, and application of information used in the management of Federal subsistence fisheries in Alaska.

The National Fish and Wildlife Foundation (NFWF) and the Wildlife Habitat Council (WHC), in cooperation with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), USDA Forest Service (USFS), U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS), FedEx, Southern Company, Shell Oil Company and BNSF Railway are pleased to solicit applications for the 2019 Five Star and Urban Waters Restoration program. The Five Star and Urban Waters program will award approximately $1.7 million in grants natio​nwide.

The NOAA Coral Reef Conservation Grant Program (CRCP), 16 USC §§ 6401-6409, provides matching grants of financial assistance through the Domestic Coral Reef Conservation Grant program to institutions of higher education, non-profit organizations, for-profit organizations, and local (as defined at 2 CFR § 200.64, which includes counties, municipalities, and cities) and Indian tribal government agencies. These awards are intended to support coral reef conservation projects in shallow water coral reef ecosystems, including reefs at mesophotic depths, in American Samoa, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, Florida, Guam, Hawaii, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, and coral-dominated banks in the U.S. portions of the Gulf of Mexico. Projects may be proposed in the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands and the U.S. Pacific Remote Island Areas, but these locations are not considered geographic priorities under this announcement. Proposals submitted to this competition must address at least one of the following five categories: 1) Improve Fisheries Sustainability; 2) Reduce Land-Based Sources of Pollution; 3) Increasing Resilience to Climate Change; 4) Restore Viable Coral Populations; and 5) Local and Emerging Management Issues. Each category is described in more detail in the Federal Funding Opportunity announcement. Proposals selected for funding through this solicitation will be implemented through a grant or cooperative agreement and will require a 1:1 match of non-Federal funds.

NOAA's Bay Watershed Education and Training Program (B-WET) is an environmental education program that promotes locally relevant, experiential learning focused on K-12 students and their classroom teachers. This competitive grant program promotes Meaningful Watershed Educational Experiences ("MWEEs"), B-WET's signature methodology which include multi-stage activities, in the classroom and outdoors, to increase environmental literacy of all participants. New England B-WET is one of NOAA's seven (7) regional, B-WET environmental education programs. New England B-WET promotes high quality environmental education, fosters innovative programs, and encourages capacity-building and environmental education partnerships within the six New England States: Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Connecticut. Successful projects advance ocean, climate, and other environmental literacy goals and incorporate the goals of the NOAA Education Strategic Plan (https://noaa.gov/explainers/noaa-education-strategic-plan) through (1) student, hands-on environmental education in New England watersheds and (2) formal kindergarten through