Federal grant programs / Department of Commerce

Coastal Zone Management Estuarine Research Reserves (11.420)

• Awarded, FY 2021 to 2025$172 million
• Grant awards290
• Typical award$560,560
• Awarded in FY 2025$37.4 million
• Size rank648 of 1824
• Type of assistanceProject grants

Key findings

• Annual funding rose from $28.5 million in fiscal 2021 to $37.4 million in fiscal 2025.
• It is the 648th largest of 1,824 federal grant programs by five-year awards.
• The 20 largest recipients received 74% of the money.
• Awards went to recipients in 30 states and territories.

What the program funds

To assist States in establishing and operating National Estuarine Research Reserves as natural field laboratories for monitoring, research, and public education on the natural and human processes occurring within coastal estuaries.

From the federal Assistance Listing. Read the full listing on SAM.gov.

Open opportunities

No opportunity under this program is open or forecast on Grants.gov right now. Programs often post once a year, so the funding history below shows what to expect.

Rules from the program listing

Who can apply

Land acquisition, development, operation, and facilities construction grants are available to any coastal State and, in some cases, public or private person, including those bordering the Great Lakes. For the purposes of the Coastal Zone Management Act, the coastal State also applies to Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, Guam, American Samoa, and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands. The Governor shall designate the State agency or entity to be the applicant. Competitive research grants are available to any coastal State or qualified public or private person. Education grants are available to any coastal State entity.

What the money can and cannot pay for

Grants may be used to cover the costs of land acquisition, development, research, education, operation and facilities construction for National Estuarine Research Reserves. Development and operation costs may include the administrative expenses necessary for implementing reserve programs. Grants are available to states for education projects at reserves. Competitive research grants are also available.

Matching requirements

Statutory Formula: Title 15, Part 921, Subpart D,Public Law Coastal Zone Management Act of 1972, Pub. L. 92-583, 86 Stat. 1280 (1972), codified at 16 U.S.C. §§ 1451–1466..15Matching requirements are not applicable to this assistance listing. MOE requirements are not applicable to this assistance listing.

Award range and average, in the agency's words

$40,000 to $2,000,000, depending on type of award. Median operations award is $874,967.

Examples of funded projects

Fiscal Year2016: The three Florida Reserves promoted reduction of non-point source pollution and improvement of the landscaping industry practices through their training efforts which translated into creation of a state law for all landscaping businesses. These efforts improve the environment, economy, and society. Fiscal Year2017: Local specific examples of addressing water quality, habitat, and climate change for estuarine ecosystems and coastal communities.Fiscal Year2024: Awards supported operations, procurement, acquisition and construction at 30 research reserves across the country. Also supported the Margaret A. Davidson Fellowship.Fiscal Year2025: Awards supported operations, procurement, acquisition and construction at 30 research reserves across the country. Awards also supported The Margaret A. Davidson Fellowship Program.

Quoted from the program's federal Assistance Listing. The notice of funding opportunity is the official source for each competition's rules.

Who usually wins

State and local governments received 60% of the money, colleges and universities 34% and nonprofits 6.4%.

By state

25 states have a page for this program: those that received at least $1 million or 10 awards.

Award amounts are federal obligations reported to USAspending.gov for fiscal 2021 to 2025; see how our data works.