This morning Matt Doss of the Great Lakes Commission shared the announcement below.  Looks like promising source of funding for critical Great Lakes island habitat restoration projects.  Funders are especially interesting in multi-species and ecosystem-based projects, and note the  deadline of April 13th.

The Nature Conservancy (TNC)/National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) National Partnership has released a request for proposals (RFP) for community-based habitat restoration.  The RFP will close on April 13^th, 2012.  The Partnership typically funds projects between $25,000 and $85,000 in federal funding and requires a minimum of 1:1 non-federal match.  The statement below reflects the focus of the funding as stated in the RFP.

Focus areas: NOAA and TNC are looking to support community-based restoration of a diversity of habitat types and no habitats are excluded.  We will consider any innovative restoration project nationwide that supports NOAA trust resources, and particularly those projects that have a multi-species benefit or emphasize Ecosystem-Based Management.  A focal area of particular interest, though not exclusive or limiting, is native shellfish (bivalve) restoration projects.  Projects throughout all USA states and territories are eligible to compete for these grants.  Preference will be given to projects at priority sites identified through Marine Ecoregional Assessments and other TNC priority setting approaches at the state and territory level (contact TNC state or territory staff listed in Appendix II or NOAA/TNC Partnership Coordinator, Boze Hancock, bhancock@tnc.org).

The RFP is available at:

http://www.habitat.noaa.gov/pdf/rfp_tnc-noaa_crp_partnership_2012.pdf