2026 National Coastal Resilience Fund Request for Proposals is sponsored by National Fish and Wildlife Foundation. Invests in nature-based solutions to enhance protection for coastal communities from the impacts of storms, floods, and other natural hazards while improving habitats for fish and wildlife.

National Coastal Resilience Fund | NFWF National Coastal Resilience Fund National Coastal Resilience Fund 2026 Request For Proposals National Coastal Resilience Fund: Monitoring Metrics and Protocols Coastal Resilience Dashboard The National Coastal Resilience Fund (NCRF), established in 2018, invests in nature-based solutions that protect coastal communities while enhancing habitats for fish and wildlife.

The National Coastal Resilience Fund invests in conservation projects that restore, increase and strengthen natural infrastructure such as coastal marshes and wetlands, dune and beach systems, oyster and coral reefs, rivers and floodplains, coastal forest, and barrier islands that mitigate the impacts of storms and other coastal hazards to communities.

Coastal communities and ecosystems are under threat from rising sea-levels, more intense storms, and changing rainfall patterns. While almost 40 percent of Americans call the coast home and coastal communities contribute $10 trillion in goods and services annually to the U.S. economy, these areas are increasingly affected by flooding and other coastal hazards.

In 2023, the U.S. experienced 28 separate weather and natural disasters costing at least $1 billon, for a total of $92. 9 billion . With sea-level rise and increasing development in coastal areas, the annual cost of flooding in the U.S. is increasing.

At the same time, the U.S. is losing valuable coastal ecosystems that help to buffer communities from these impacts and provide important habitats for fish and wildlife. For example, the 2009-2019 Wetlands Status and Trends national report indicates that wetland loss rates have increased by 50 percent over the last decade, with salt marshes experienced the largest reduction.

These and other important coastal habitats are “squeezed” by rising sea levels and increasing development on the coast. The National Coastal Resilience Fund supports the implementation of nature-based solutions to strengthen resilience of coastal communities and ecosystems to these threats.

The fund invests in building capacity and plans for coastal resilience, the design of nature-based solutions and implementation of coastal resilience projects to support communities and habitats to withstand, recover and adapt to changing environmental conditions.

Nature-based solutions include natural and hybrid (“green-gray”) solutions, such as restoring coastal marshes, reconnecting floodplains, rebuilding dunes or other natural buffers, and installing living shorelines. Additionally, NFWF prioritizes investments that are community-led or incorporate direct community outreach and engagement.

The National Coastal Resilience Fund uses CREST to identify open space areas where nature-based solutions may maximize fish and wildlife benefits and human community resilience to flooding.

National Coastal Resilience Fund 2026 Request For Proposals Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) Easygrants Pre-Proposal Walkthrough NCRF Field Liaison Support Contract to Design and Implement a Collaborative and Peer Learning Program on Nature-Based Solutions for Coastal Resilience - CLOSED Contract to Provide Assessment of the Catalytic Impacts of National Coastal Resilience Fund (NCRF) - CLOSED NOAA's Digital Coast Resources (NCRF) Interim Programmatic Report Guidance Final Programmatic Report Guidance National Coastal Resilience Fund 2026 Request For Proposals National Coastal Resilience Fund Fact Sheet Coastal Resilience Dashboard December 2025 Grant Slate November 2024 Grant Slate November 2023 Grant Slate December 2022 Grant Slate Coastal Resilience Assessment Fact Sheet Map: National Coastal Resilience Fund Footprint Program Director, Coastal Resilience Program Manager, Coastal Resilience Program Manager, Coastal Resilience Coordinator, Coastal Resilience The striking roseate spoonbill is found in tropical and subtropical wetlands throughout the Americas.

In the United States, it is found within the Gulf states where it remains uncommon and local. Acres for America Program ConocoPhillips SPIRIT of Conservation Program Gulf Environmental Benefit Fund National Coastal Resilience Fund There are seven different species of sea turtles, six of which are found in U.S. waters and are listed as threatened or endangered in a least a portion of their circumglobal range.

These species include leatherback, loggerhead, Kemp’s ridley, olive ridley, green and hawksbill. For more than 100 million years, sea turtles have migrated long-distances over temperate and tropical oceans, spending most of their time at sea but returning to natal beaches to lay eggs.

Gulf Environmental Benefit Fund National Coastal Resilience Fund Papahānaumokuākea Research and Conservation Fund Brown pelicans are a colonial nesting coastal seabird with five recognized subspecies found throughout the Atlantic and Pacific coasts of the Americas.

Pelicans are well known for their plunge diving strategy—falling from heights above the sea's surface they stun small fish before scooping them up in their expandable throat pouch. Gulf Environmental Benefit Fund National Coastal Resilience Fund The great egret is a common breeding species in many wetlands throughout the United States. However, this was not always the case.

In the 19th and early 20th centuries, the bird was nearly eliminated from the country because of demand for its feathers as part of a hat trade. Following a ban on hunting the great egret in 1912, and the species has recovered to its former numbers. Gulf Environmental Benefit Fund National Coastal Resilience Fund Found in shallow, tropical waters around the world, coral reefs are among the most iconic and diverse ecosystems on Earth.

Despite covering less than 1 percent of the ocean, 25 percent of marine species rely on coral reefs, which are made up of many different species of coral. While corals are threatened by pollution, overfishing, disease and increasing ocean temperature resulting in widespread mortality, local conservation efforts coupled with advancements in coral restoration show promise for conserving this important ecosystem.

Coral Reef Stewardship Fund Hawai‘i Conservation Program National Coastal Resilience Fund Elkhorn coral is one of the most important reef-building corals found in the Caribbean, where individual colonies can grow more than 6 feet in height and 12 feet in diameter.

Elkhorn coral were listed as threatened following a severe disease outbreak that caused widespread mortality, decimating the population to less than 3 percent of its former abundance. Warming ocean temperatures are a further stress on these corals.

Coral Reef Stewardship Fund National Coastal Resilience Fund Green sea turtles are found around the world, nesting in more than 80 countries including on U.S. beaches, where sustained conservation efforts have contributed to increasing populations in Florida, Hawai'i and across all five U.S. territories. Reaching more than 300 pounds, these gentle giants feed almost exclusively on seagrasses and algae.

Gulf Environmental Benefit Fund National Coastal Resilience Fund Papahānaumokuākea Research and Conservation Fund Least terns are a small migratory North American tern with three distinct populations -- Atlantic coastal, interior and southern California. They are a vocal, colonial seabird vulnerable to development, human disturbance and predation on coastal nesting beaches.

In some locations, least terns have begun successfully nesting on flat gravel roofs and are in general responsive to management actions. Atlantic Flyway Shorebird Initiative Gulf Environmental Benefit Fund National Coastal Resilience Fund Black skimmers are a beach-nesting, tern-like member of the gull family found across the Americas.

The North American population migrates to the warmer waters of the Gulf and Caribbean during the non-breeding season. Skimmers are aptly named for their unique foraging strategy of skimming the water’s surface with their lower beak, or mandible, and snapping shut when it contacts a fish.

Atlantic Flyway Shorebird Initiative Gulf Environmental Benefit Fund National Coastal Resilience Fund With their distinctive bright blue claws, blue crabs are one of the most iconic species of the Chesapeake Bay, where an estimated 594 million were found in 2019. These bottom-dwelling omnivores have a very wide geographic distribution that supports an important blue crab fishery in the Gulf Coast.

Chesapeake Bay Stewardship Fund Gulf Environmental Benefit Fund National Coastal Resilience Fund Chesapeake Bay Business Plan Eastern oysters have played a particularly prominent role in the culture, history, and economy of the Chesapeake Bay and other areas throughout the Gulf and Atlantic Coasts. Reefs serve as important habitat for a variety of aquatic species.

However, overharvesting, disease and declines in estuarine and bottom habitats have ravaged native oyster populations. Eastern oysters now represent less than 2 percent of their peak historical populations.

Chesapeake Bay Stewardship Fund Gulf Environmental Benefit Fund National Coastal Resilience Fund Chesapeake Bay Business Plan The red knot is a shorebird known for long-distance migrations, with some populations traveling from Argentina to the Arctic every year. Stopover areas providing high-quality foraging habitat are critically important for the red knot.

For example, large numbers of red knots arrive in Delaware Bay during their spring migration to feed upon horseshoe crab eggs, which provide an excellent source of energy that fuels completion of the northward migration and contributes to successful reproduction.

Atlantic Flyway Shorebird Initiative Gulf Environmental Benefit Fund National Coastal Resilience Fund Atlantic Flyway Shorebirds Business Plan Delaware River Watershed Business Plan The American oystercatcher is a stocky shorebird who is characterized as a short-distance migrant whose movements are confined to the United States and adjacent Caribbean islands.

The oystercatcher wades in shallow water and uses its powerful bill to pry open and feed on mollusks, so protecting and restoring near-shore feeding grounds are critical for this species.

Atlantic Flyway Shorebird Initiative Chesapeake Bay Stewardship Fund Gulf Environmental Benefit Fund Long Island Sound Futures Fund National Coastal Resilience Fund Atlantic Flyway Shorebirds Business Plan The American black duck is large dabbling duck that resembles the closely related mallard, but is darker in appearance and much less common.

Black ducks nest in wetlands throughout the Eastern Seaboard, including freshwater and salt marshes where restoration and protection are vitally important to maintaining black duck populations.

Chesapeake Bay Stewardship Fund National Coastal Resilience Fund Chesapeake Bay Business Plan Contract to Design and Implement a Collaborative and Peer Learning Program on Nature-Based Solutions for Coastal Resilience Restoring healthy shorelines for wildlife and communities New Hampshire receives $997,000 grant for Merrimack River watershed conservation