Sportfishing and Boating Safety Act | F18AS00160

Opportunity Information: Apply for F18AS00160

The Sportfishing and Boating Safety Act grant opportunity refers to the Boating Infrastructure Grants (BIG) Program created under the Sportfishing and Boating Safety Act of 1998 (Public Law 105-178) and codified at 16 U.S.C. 777g-1. The program was designed to support recreational boating by helping states and U.S. territories build, renovate, and maintain boating infrastructure specifically intended for larger transient recreational vessels, defined here as boats at least 26 feet long that are used primarily for pleasure (including vessels that may be operated, leased, rented, or chartered for recreational purposes). The need is framed around the scale of boating nationwide, with roughly 12 million registered boats in the U.S. and an estimated 560,000 that are 26 feet or longer, which tend to require more specialized dockage and amenities when traveling.

Funding is provided through the Sport Fish Restoration and Boating Trust Fund, continuing authorities that stem from amendments to the Dingell-Johnson Sport Fish Restoration Act (16 U.S.C. 777) and later reauthorizations that keep the BIG Program operating. In practical terms, the grants focus on the kinds of physical and service improvements that make a site capable of accommodating eligible boats. The notice defines "boating infrastructure" broadly to include not only structures but also equipment, accessories, and services that are necessary or desirable for serving these vessels. The target users are "transient" boats, meaning vessels that are passing through and typically stay no more than 15 days at a given location, so the program is oriented toward travel corridors, destination harbors, and stopover facilities rather than long-term moorage.

A key condition attached to BIG-funded projects is public access. Facilities improved or built with these funds must be accessible to the public, but ownership can be either public or private, which allows states to partner with marinas and other non-government facility operators as long as the public access requirement is met. The specific announcement summarized here is the Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) for Fiscal Year 2019 BIG Tier 1 State grants, which indicates it is the state-level component of the program for that funding cycle. A separate Grants.gov posting covers the FY 2019 Tier 2 National grants, meaning applicants need to be careful to choose the correct track depending on whether they are pursuing state-tier or national-tier funding.

Administratively, this is a discretionary grant opportunity administered by the U.S. Department of the Interior, Fish and Wildlife Service, and it falls under CFDA 15.622, with activity categories tied to community development, environment, and natural resources. Eligible applicants are state governments, which in this program context includes the 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, and the territories of Guam, American Samoa, and the U.S. Virgin Islands. For this FY 2019 Tier 1 notice, the opportunity number is F18AS00160, it was created June 8, 2018, and it listed an application closing date of September 10, 2018 (noted as timed to allow review before an internal "blackout" period). The listed award ceiling is $200,000.

• The Department of the Interior, Fish and Wildlife Service in the community development, environment, natural resources sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Sportfishing and Boating Safety Act" 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 Jun 08, 2018.
• Applicants must submit their applications by Sep 10, 2018 This due date allows applications to be received and evaluated prior to the FBMS blackout period. It is 95 days after the estimated posting date.. (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 $200,000.00 in funding.
• Eligible applicants include: State governments.

Apply for F18AS00160

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