Center for Alaskan Coastal Studies
Alaska CoastWalk Marine Debris Removal and Prevention Program
Challenge Grants
Fiscal Year 2011
Grant Highlights
Challenge grants are competitive awards for the purpose of organizing a CoastWalk beach clean-up event,
implementing a clean-up of already-documented accumulations of marine debris, or developing and
implementing a marine debris prevention project.
Proposals: Downloadable electronic, fill-in-theblank forms in Microsoft Word format are available
for usage in printing, saving and submission of
proposals.
Available Funding and maximum grant awards:
There is a total of $15,000 federal grant money
available for these Challenge Grants. The maximum
grant award per project is $2,000. The applicant
must provide a minimum $1 non-federal:$2 federal
match of the total project funds (e.g, $1,000 match is
needed for a $2,000 grant for a total project budget
of $3,000). Match may be in the form of cash, or inkind goods and services. Volunteer time may be
valued at $18/hour.
Application submission: Electronic submissions
are strongly encouraged. Fill in the electronic form
in this packet and e-mail proposals as an attachment
to patrick@akcoastalstudies.org. Applications can be
mailed to the Center for Alaskan Coastal Studies,
P.O. Box 2225, Homer, AK 99603 or faxed to
(907)235-6668.
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Application Submittal Contact: If you have
questions or difficulty in electronically submitting the
documents, contact Patrick Chandler at (907)235-6741
or patrick@akcoastalstudies.org
Application Timelines and Process:
Proposal Due Date: Received by 5:00 p.m.,
February 28, 2011.
Proposals will be evaluated to determine applicant and
project eligibility, anticipated project outcomes and
measurable results, the likelihood of achieving
identified outcomes, matching funds, and ability to
execute a grant agreement.
Award Announcement Date: March 21, 2011.
Execution of Grant Agreement: Must enter into a
binding grant agreement no later than April 4, 2011.
Center for Alaskan Coastal Studies
Alaska CoastWalk Marine Debris Removal and Prevention Program
Challenge Grants
Fiscal Year 2011
I. Introduction
The purpose of this Request for Proposals is to provide potential applicants with the
necessary information regarding the Alaska CoastWalk Marine Debris Removal and
Prevention Program Challenge Grants and the application procedures.
The Challenge Grants will be available for the purpose of organizing a CoastWalk beach
clean-up event, implementing a clean-up of an existing accumulation of marine debris in
coastal Alaska, or developing and implementing a marine debris prevention program.
Projects conducting clean-up of derelict fishing gear, projects targeting high recreational
use areas, and projects containing an educational component aimed at preventing marine
debris in coastal communities are especially encouraged.
For the purpose of this grant, marine debris is defined to include derelict fishing gear
such as abandoned traps, nets, and monofilament line, or any manufactured or processed
solid waste material that enters the marine environment directly (e.g., by dumping) or
indirectly (e.g. washed out to sea via rivers, streams, storm drains, ect.).
Challenge grant funds are available from the Center for Alaskan Coastal Studies through
a grant from the NOAA Community-based Marine Debris Clean-up and Prevention
Program ($15,000).
II. Eligibility Criteria
Eligible applications are non-profit organizations, municipalities, chambers of
commerce, tribal governments, schools, and other types of youth or community
organizations that can demonstrate fiscal responsibility for administering grant funds.
Eligible projects: Grants are made for the purpose of:
 Organizing CoastWalk beach clean-ups
 Coastal Monitoring with a beach clean-up event
 Documenting areas of marine debris accumulation and developing clean-up plans
 Developing marine debris prevention education and outreach programs
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Center for Alaskan Coastal Studies
Alaska CoastWalk Marine Debris Removal and Prevention Program
Funding Level: Projects are eligible for grants up to $2,000. The applicants must provide
a minimum $1 non-federal:$2 federal match of the total project funds (e.g., at least
$1,000 match would be required for a $2,000 grant and total project budget of $3,000).
The match may be in the form of in-kind services (such as salaries or volunteer time, boat
or vehicle transportation, paid travel) or cash.
In-kind services must be valued at the cost of the services if they had to be purchased;
volunteer time can be valued at $18/hour. Matching funds must be specified as
committed or pending prior to execution of a grant agreement.
Eligible Costs: Allowable expenses must be necessary for marine debris clean-up,
documentation, or prevention and will include:
 Salary or stipends for CoastWalk coordinators or project coordinators for marine
prevention projects
 Contractual costs (e.g., diver to retrieve marine debris in harbors)
 Travel costs (e.g., boat or vehicle rentals) to transport volunteers to beach access
points or to move marine debris to disposal sites
 Clean-up supplies
 Other costs related to clean-up (e.g., paid advertising, facility rentals for kick-off
event)
Ineligible Costs: No indirect costs or general operating costs of the organization may be
included.
III. Review of Proposals
Review Process: A grant review committee that will include representative from the
Center for Alaskan Coastal Studies, tribal governments, municipalities, Kachemak Bay
Research Reserve, Kachemak Bay Community Council, and NOAA Restoration
Program. The grant committee will review all information and make funding decisions.
Evaluation Criteria for Proposals:
The priorities for award of 2011 challenge grants are as follows:
1) Removal of derelict fishing gear (including fishing line in areas of high
recreational fishing use),
2) Clean-up and restoration of high-value fish and wildlife habitats,
3) Inclusion of a project component to target debris prevention in recreational user
communities,
4) Use of clean-up data to design specific outreach strategies for prevention.
Proposals will be evaluated on how well they address one or more of these priorities and
on their inclusion of the following:
 Clear goals and measurable objectives for the marine debris removal project.
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Center for Alaskan Coastal Studies
Alaska CoastWalk Marine Debris Removal and Prevention Program
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Identification of high-value fish and wildlife habitats that will be cleaned of
marine debris.
Anticipated benefits to commercial and recreational fisheries, anadromous species
like salmon, marine mammals (whales, dolphins, and seals), endangered and
threatened species, navigational waterways, marshes, seagrass beds, coral reefs,
and other coastal habitats.
How benefits to habitats and wildlife will be achieved.
Education and outreach efforts on marine debris prevention.
Documentation and reporting of marine debris cleanup efforts in terms of the
amount of area cleaned, the amount and types of debris removed, the number of
volunteer hours, and the numbers of people reached by prevention and education
outreach efforts.
Statement of legal authority, if needed, for beach access and or removal of
derelict fishing gear.
Statement of intent to comply with the CoastWatch Safety and Low-Impact Plan
(Appendix A).
Award of Grant: The grant review committee will make their grant award
announcements by March 21, 2011.
Grant Agreement: Each grant recipient must formally enter into a grant agreement. The
process of establishing a grant agreement must be completed by April 4, 2011. Grant
recipients are expected to keep accurate financial records of the project.
IV. Proposals Submission
Application Deadline: Received by 5:00 p.m. AST, February 28, 2011.
Application Submission:
Electronic submissions are strongly encouraged. Fill in the electronic form in this packet
(using word processing software such as Microsoft Word or Corel WordPerfect), and email proposals as an attachment to patrick@akcoastalstudies.org. Applications can also
be faxed to (907)235-6668 or mailed to the Center for Alaskan Coastal Studies, P.O. Box
2225, Homer, AK 99603. If you have questions or difficulty in electronically submitting
the documents, contact Patrick Chandler at (907) 235-6667 or at the email above.
Applicant
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Center for Alaskan Coastal Studies
Alaska CoastWalk Marine Debris Removal and Prevention Program
Organization/applicant:
Mailing address:
City:
Alaska
Contact name:
Title:
E-mail:
Telephone:
Applicant’s Web site:
Fax:
Zip code:
2011 Challenge Grant Application
Project
Project title:
Grant requested: $
Matching funds: $
A. Project Abstract (Maximum 100 words):
<Type description here, field will expand>
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Total Project Cost: $
Center for Alaskan Coastal Studies
Alaska CoastWalk Marine Debris Removal and Prevention Program
Project continued…
B. Project Description: Describe the project location, the high-value fish and wildlife
habitats that will be targeted, project methods, planned marine debris prevention
education and outreach activities, and the impact the project will have on the
community (Maximum 2 pages).
<Attach Project Description to this application.>
C. How will you measure the success of your project? (e.g., miles of beach or stream
corridor to be cleaned, amount and type of marine debris removed, # of volunteers
involved, etc.):
<Type description here, field will expand>
D. Explain the anticipated benefits your project will have to commercial and
recreational fisheries, anadromous species like salmon, marine mammals (whales,
dolphins, and seals), endangered and threatened species, navigational waterways,
marshes, seagrass beds, or other coastal habitats. How will these benefits be
achieved?
<Type description here, field will expand>
E. Identify how your project will provide outreach to recreational users on marine
debris prevention.
<Type description here, field will expand>
F. Indicate the sources of non-federal matching funds. Matching funds can include nonfederal grants, cash, or in-kind services. Please note if funds are committed or
pending.
<Type description here, field will expand>
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Center for Alaskan Coastal Studies
Alaska CoastWalk Marine Debris Removal and Prevention Program
G. Describe the applicant’s experience and qualifications.
<Type description here, field will expand>
H. Are you able to execute a grant agreement by April 4, 2011? YES or NO
I. Compliance: Are the applicant and all participants able to comply with the
CoastWatch Safety and Low-Impact Plan? YES or NO If not, please explain below.
<Type description here, field will expand>
J. List other project participants (Name, phone number, experience and qualifications).
<Type description here, field will expand>
Please provide a map that identifies work sites. Supporting photographs and letters of
commitment or support from partners are encouraged.
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Center for Alaskan Coastal Studies
Alaska CoastWalk Marine Debris Removal and Prevention Program
Budget
Complete your project budget in the table below.
Category
Matching Funds or In-kind
Services
Amount
Challenge Grant
Funds Requested
Total
Source
Salary Benefits
Volunteer Time
(Valued at $18/hr)
Contractual
Travel
Supplies
Other
For all categories used include a budget detail: <Type description here, field will expand>
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Center for Alaskan Coastal Studies
Alaska CoastWalk Marine Debris Removal and Prevention Program
Appendix A.
Alaska CoastWatch Safety and Low-Impact Plan
I.
Hazardous or unsafe substances or items
The following practices will be promoted for all marine debris removal activities:
1.
Wear work gloves and be careful in handling glass, syringes, or other sharp
objects.
2.
Use disposal plastic gloves to handle dead animals.
3.
Do not handle or remove dead animals unless you are following specific
procedures provided for species identifications or to collect specimens desired
by scientists or resource managers.
4.
Report, but do not attempt to remove, large drums or five-gallon buckets
w/petroleum-based on unknown substances.
5.
Report the characteristics of outfalls with discharge directly onto the beach.
Take samples using disposal plastic gloves and plastic containers that will not
leak.
II.
1.
Avoiding or minimizing impacts on sensitive intertidal communities
Survey protocols will not require turning over rocks or digging holes to
observe and count marine invertebrates.
2.
The collection of live marine invertebrates, fish, and seaweeds is prohibited,
with the exception of collections under valid state permits for scientific and
educational purposes, or legal harvests.
3.
Good “beach etiquette” practices will be promoted:
a) Handle marine invertebrates only if needed to identify.
b) Wet hands when handling to minimize drought stress.
c) Keep hands low to minimize stress from falling or slipping out of hands to
beach.
d) Replace marine invertebrates in micro-climate location found.
e) Minimize trampling in areas of high-density biological communities by
having only one member of survey team walk this area.
4.
The use of vehicles or heavy equipment to remove large debris should take
into account the impact of the vehicles on intertidal communities and habitats.
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Center for Alaskan Coastal Studies
Alaska CoastWalk Marine Debris Removal and Prevention Program
These should only be employed if the benefit of debris removal exceeds the
damage and mitigation and restoration actions should be incorporated.
III.
1.
Disturbance of marine birds and marine mammals
Practices to minimize disturbance of marine birds and marine mammals will
be based on those in effect under the Marine Mammal Protection Act,
Endangered Species Act, Bald Eagle Protection Act, and Migratory Bird Act.
2.
The use of binoculars and spotting scopes will be encouraged to reduce the
need for close approach for identification purposes.
3.
Approaches closer than 100 yards to humpback whales and placing a vessel
into the path of oncoming whales in such as a way as to cause them to surface
within less than 100 yards is prohibited. Boats are required to move at a
“slow, safe” speed when near a humpback.
4.
“Leapfrogging” or running a vessel ahead of humpbacks to put it in their path
of travel is prohibited.
5.
Direct approach to sea otters, especially those with pups, is discouraged.
Maintaining a 50 yard distance from sea otters and other marine mammal
females with young and 100 yards from hauled-out seals and sea lions is
encouraged.
6.
The operation of heavy equipment may be restricted within ¼ mile of active
bald eagle nests.
7.
Disturbances that cause bald eagle eggs or chicks to be knocked out of the
nest are illegal.
8.
Approaches closer than 100 yards of seabird colonies or raptor nests will be
discouraged as will disturbance of feeding or nesting shorebirds.
9.
Stranded or injured marine mammals should be reported to the Alaska Sealife
Center Stranding hotline but not handled unless advised by Stranding Network
personnel or volunteers to do so.
IV.
1.
Collection of Items other than Marine Debris
Collecting any part of a migratory bird, Steller sea lion or whales on the
endangered species list is prohibited. Marine mammal parts must be registered
with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service or National Marine Fisheries Service,
as appropriate and required by the Marine Mammal Protection Act or
Endangered Species Act.
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Center for Alaskan Coastal Studies
Alaska CoastWalk Marine Debris Removal and Prevention Program
2.
V.
1.
2.
VI.
Collection of natural items that contribute to beach stability like driftwood is
discouraged.
Disposal of Marine Debris
All marine debris items must be disposed of in solid waste facilities designed
to accept those specific types of items.
Burning of marine debris on the beach is prohibited.
Safe Boating Practices
All vessels used will be operated in a manner consistent with Coast Guard
regulations.
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