| Coastal and Estuarine Land Conservation |
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| Introduction |
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The Coastal and Estuarine Land Conservation Program, or CELCP, is a federal program to provide grants to states for coastal conservation land acquisitions. Projects for CELCP funding are selected at the national level on a competitive basis, and federal funds for CELCP projects must be matched at least 1:1 by non-federal funds. Only state agencies and local governments authorized to hold title to conservation lands are eligible to apply for CELCP funds.
The Oregon Coastal Management Program (OCMP) is the lead entity for managing CELCP in Oregon. As the lead entity for CELCP, the OCMP manages the process to solicit, review, and nominate eligible projects for the national-level competition. The selection processes at the state level is described in Oregon's Coastal and Estuarine Land Conservation Plan, and the national-level selection process is described in the CELCP Guidelines.
To meet the CELCP's national criteria, projects should:
- Protect important coastal and estuarine areas that have significant conservation, recreation, ecological, historical, or aesthetic values, or that are threatened by conversion from their natural or recreational state to other uses;
- Give priority to lands that can be effectively managed and protected and that have significant ecological value; and
- Directly advance the goals, objectives, and implementation of the state or territory's CELCP plan, which necessarily includes goals and objectives that relate to the coastal management plan or program, National Estuarine Research Reserve management plans approved under the Coastal Zone Management Act (CZMA), national objectives of the CZMA, or a regional or state watershed protection plan for states and territories with approved coastal management plans.
Additional details on the national criteria are available in the CELCP Guidelines and Oregon's 2007 Coastal and Estuarine Land Conservation Plan, both of which are available below.
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| CELCP FY 2009 Competition |
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On May 23, 2008, notice was published in the Federal Register of a Federal Funding Opportunity for states to apply for funds for CELCP projects in federal fiscal year 2009 (see 73 FR 30060). Funding for projects in FY 2009 is contingent on the availability of federal appropriations for CELCP in the fiscal year 2009 federal budget. Should funds be made available, projects selected for funding under this opportunity are anticipated to have a grant start date between March 1, 2009 and October 1, 2009.
Only states that have submitted to NOAA a CELCP plan on or before May 1, 2008 are eligible to participate in the FY 2009 funding opportunity. Oregon submitted a CELCP Plan to NOAA in December 2005, and a revised version in July 2007. Oregon's revised CELCP Plan is the basis for Oregon's participation in this FY 2009 funding opportunity. Oregon's CELCP plan is available by link below.
Under the CELCP Guidelines, states may solicit CELCP project applications from qualified entities upon notice of the availability of CELCP funds. Accordingly, the Oregon Coastal Management Program notified eligible state agencies and local governments in Oregon of the FY 2009 national solicitation. (Here is a link to the OCMP solicitation, May 29, 2008.) The OCMP solicitation directed interested parties to this website for further information and access to materials to be used in preparing an application for CELCP funding. This page provides access to all the materials a prospective applicant needs to prepare an application for CELCP funds.
Under the FY 2009 CELCP Competition, states may submit up to three separate applications of up to three million dollars apiece. Federal grant funds for CELCP are required to be matched dollar for dollar by non-federal funds.
Applications for CELCP funds are due to NOAA by the end of the day on July 23, 2008. To allow time for the Oregon Coastal Management Program to review, score, and select applications to forward for the national-level competition, applications for 2009 CELCP funding in Oregon are due to the OCMP in the Department of Land Conservation and Development at 635 Capitol Street, Suite 150, Salem, Oregon, 97301, by 5:00 PM on July 11, 2008.
Prospective applicants for FY 2009 CELCP funding in Oregon must contact the OCMP to discuss their application. Please see "For Further Information" below for contact information.
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| Oregon's CELCP Plan, July 2007 |
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Following the CELCP Guidelines (see below), the Oregon Coastal Management Program first submitted a CELCP Plan to NOAA's Office of Coastal Resource Management (OCRM) in December 2005. OCRM provided comments to Oregon in late 2006, and the OCMP revised the CELCP Plan and re-submitted it to OCRM in July 2007. OCRM provided additional comments to Oregon on the revised draft in April 2008, but further revisions of Oregon's plan have been deferred until later in 2008.
Oregon's 2007 revised CELCP Plan is the basis for the OCMP's solicitation for applications for funding under the FY 2009 Competition. Criteria for Oregon CELCP Projects are discussed in Oregon's CELCP Plan on pages 22 through 25, and the process of selecting proposals to forward to the national-level competition is outlined on pages 26 and 27.
The Oregon Coastal Management Program Coastal and Estuarine Land Conservation Plan, July 2007 (pdf)
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| Announcement of Funding Opportunity, Application Package |
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Projects eligible for CELCP funding in federal fiscal year 2009 must meet all requirements described in the full Announcement of Federal Funding Opportunity published in the Federal Register on May 23, 2008. The Federal Register notice lists the criteria for project selection, describes the review and selection process at the national level, and provides a link to the full text of the funding opportunity announcement (which is also provided below). Finally, the full announcement of this funding opportunity contains appendices to be used in the preparation of an application. The appendices that comprise the Application Package are also available by link below.
In its capacity as the lead entity for CELCP in Oregon, the Oregon Coastal Management Program will submit the application for CELCP funds for Oregon under the FY 2009 solicitation. In the Application Package, the OCMP will complete the section named "Appendix C: Project Application Checklist" that begins on page 8 (of 13). The OCMP can advise applicants on the completion of other sections of the Application Package, but the project scope, justification, description, budget, and timeline are all the sole responsibility of project applicants.
Announcement of Federal Funding Opportunity (pdf)
Application Package: Project and Budget Templates and Project Application Checklist (doc)
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| CELCP Guidelines, 2003 |
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The CELCP Guidelines, which were published in June 2003, establish the framework for developing state CELCP Plans and the criteria and process for NOAA to select projects at the national level for funding.
Coastal and Estuarine Land Conservation Program Guidelines (pdf)
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| For Further Information |
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To arrange a consultation with the Oregon Coastal Management Program about a possible CELCP project, or for further information about the Coastal and Estuarine Land Conservation Program, Oregon's CELCP Plan, or the Oregon Coastal Management Program, please contact Jeffrey Weber, the OCMP Conservation Coordinator, at jeff.weber@state.or.us or (971)673-0964.
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