Cooperation with Greater Atlantic Region States:
Endangered Species Act (ESA) Section 6 Program

Species Recovery Grants to States (ESA Section 6) Grant Program

Virginia Aquarium Foundation uses Section 6 funding to study the location and dive behavior of sea turtles in the waters of Virginia and Maryland.  This turtle’s tag transmitted for 224 days, showing the turtle’s use of both the Chesapeake Bay and oceanic waters.
Photo: Virginia Aquarium Foundation

NOAA Fisheries Service annually advertises a competitive Species Recovery Grants to States (ESA Section 6) Grant Program open only to states that have entered into a section 6 agreement with NOAA Fisheries Service. The grant program is intended to provide federal financial assistance to state agencies for endangered and threatened species conservation projects and activities. Projects can focus on management, research, monitoring, and outreach activities that provide direct conservation benefits for listed species, recently de-listed species, and proposed and candidate species that reside or spend a portion of their life in a state or state waters.

NOAA Fisheries Service also encourages collaborative state projects focusing on multiple species or projects covering a larger portion of a species' range.

This national grant program is administered by NOAA Fisheries Service's Office of Protected Resources, with the assistance of regional section 6 staff. It was implemented in 2003 and has provided millions of federal dollars for species recovery projects being carried out by state agencies.

The FY 2014 Species Recovery Grants to States funding opportunity was announced on August 1, 2013.  Application materials are available at www.Grants.gov.  Click on “Find Grant Opportunities” and complete a Basic Search using the Funding Opportunity Number (NOAA-NMFS-PRPO-2014-2003811).  Applications are due on October 29, 2013.

For more information on the grant program, including eligibility requirements and information on the grant program schedule, visit the Species Recovery Grants to States website.