F24AS00387 - FY 2024 - Sportfishing and Boating Safety Act - BIG Tier 2 | F24AS00387

Opportunity Information: Apply for F24AS00387

The FY 2024 Boating Infrastructure Grants (BIG) Tier 2 National grant opportunity (Funding Opportunity Number F24AS00387) is a discretionary grant program run by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) under CFDA 15.622. It is rooted in the Sportfishing and Boating Safety Act of 1998 (Public Law 105-178), which created the BIG Program in statute (16 U.S.C. 777g-1) and amended the Dingell-Johnson Sport Fish Restoration Act (16 U.S.C. 777). The program continues through later reauthorizations that allow funds from the Sport Fish Restoration and Boating Trust Fund to be used for these purposes. The underlying need is substantial: recreational boating is widespread in the U.S., with roughly 11 million registered motorized recreational vessels, and about 596,000 of those vessels are 26 feet or longer, which is the key size threshold for eligibility in this program.

At its core, this NOFO is designed to fund the construction, renovation, and maintenance of boating infrastructure that supports transient recreational vessels that are at least 26 feet long and are used primarily for pleasure (including vessels that are operated, leased, rented, or chartered for pleasure). In BIG program terms, "boating infrastructure" is interpreted broadly and can include the structures, equipment, accessories, and services that are necessary or desirable for a facility to accommodate eligible vessels. A central concept is "transient" use: a transient vessel is generally one that is passing through or by a location and stays no more than 15 days. Because the program is oriented toward travel and temporary stays, projects are expected to support facilities that serve boaters who are not permanent tenants at that location.

Projects funded through BIG must provide public access. Importantly, the facilities improved or developed with BIG funds do not have to be publicly owned; they may be publicly or privately owned as long as the public access requirement is met and the project otherwise complies with program rules. This makes the program relevant to a wide range of marinas and boating destinations, but it also means that the flow of funds is structured through state-level government applicants rather than direct applications from local governments, nonprofits, or private marina operators.

Eligibility to apply is limited to specific governmental entities: the Governor-designated state agencies in the 50 states, the District of Columbia (through the Mayor-designated agency), the Commonwealths of Puerto Rico and the Northern Mariana Islands, and the territories of Guam, American Samoa, and the U.S. Virgin Islands. In other words, the applicant must be the designated state or territorial agency; other organizations cannot apply directly to this national Tier 2 competition. Organizations interested in developing marina or boating-access improvements typically need to work through their state agency partner to be considered under the state submission.

Key administrative details included in the listing are that the funding instrument is a grant, the activity area is Natural Resources, and the original closing date for applications was 2023-09-20 (with the opportunity created on 2023-06-15). The listed award ceiling is $1,500,000. The notice also emphasizes points of contact through FWS Wildlife and Sport Fish Restoration (WSFR) Regional Offices, with region-specific staff identified for areas such as Alaska; California and Nevada; the Pacific Islands and territories; and multiple multi-state regions across the Midwest, South, Northeast, and Mountain/Plains states. These regional contacts are provided for eligibility questions and coordination, which is especially relevant given the requirement that only designated state or territorial agencies may submit applications.

• The Fish and Wildlife Service in the natural resources sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "F24AS00387 - FY 2024 - Sportfishing and Boating Safety Act - BIG Tier 2" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 15.622.
• This funding opportunity was created on 2023-06-15.
• Applicants must submit their applications by 2023-09-20. (Agency may still review applications by suitable applicants for the remaining/unused allocated funding in 2026.)
• Each selected applicant is eligible to receive up to $1,500,000.00 in funding.
• Eligible applicants include: State governments.

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