Sportfishing and Boating Safety Act - BIG Tier 2 | F21AS00003

Opportunity Information: Apply for F21AS00003

The Sportfishing and Boating Safety Act Boating Infrastructure Grants (BIG) Tier 2 program is a federal grant opportunity from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service designed to improve facilities that serve larger recreational boats traveling away from their home ports. It stems from the Sportfishing and Boating Safety Act of 1998 (Public Law 105-178), which created the BIG Program under 16 U.S.C. 777g-1 by amending the Dingell-Johnson Sport Fish Restoration Act (16 U.S.C. 777). Funding is supported through the Sport Fish Restoration and Boating Trust Fund, and the program has continued through subsequent reauthorizations. The FY 2021 notice covers the Tier 2 "National" competition, which generally targets larger, higher-impact projects compared to smaller state-level awards.

The main purpose of BIG Tier 2 is to fund the construction, renovation, and maintenance of boating infrastructure that accommodates transient recreational vessels that are at least 26 feet long and are used primarily for pleasure, including vessels that are operated, leased, rented, or chartered for recreation. In this context, "transient" means boats that are passing through or visiting an area for short stays, defined here as up to 15 days. The program is motivated by the scale of recreational boating in the United States, with about 11.8 million registered motorboats nationwide and an estimated 575,000 boats that are 26 feet or longer, creating a clear need for safe and functional facilities for traveling boaters.

Eligible projects can support what the program calls "boating infrastructure," a broad category that includes the structures, equipment, accessories, and services that are necessary or desirable for a facility to host eligible transient vessels. While the notice text does not list specific line-item examples, the definition implies typical marina- and harbor-related improvements that directly enable larger visiting boats to tie up, access the shoreline, and use associated amenities in a safe and practical way. A key condition is that any project completed with BIG funds must provide public access. Importantly, facilities benefiting from the program may be publicly owned or privately owned, as long as the public-access requirement is met.

Only state-level governmental entities are eligible to apply. This includes the 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, and the U.S. territories of Guam, American Samoa, and the U.S. Virgin Islands. The opportunity is categorized as a discretionary grant (rather than a formula entitlement), meaning proposals compete for funding. For this specific opportunity, the funding opportunity number is F21AS00003, the CFDA number is 15.622, and the application closing date listed is September 14, 2020 (for the FY 2021 cycle referenced in the notice). The maximum award amount (award ceiling) is $1,500,000.

• The Fish and Wildlife Service in the natural resources sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Sportfishing and Boating Safety Act - BIG Tier 2" 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 2020-06-04.
• Applicants must submit their applications by 2020-09-14. (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 $1,500,000.00 in funding.
• Eligible applicants include: State governments.

Apply for F21AS00003

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