The National Coastal Resilience Fund restores, increases and strengthens natural infrastructure to protect coastal communities while also enhancing habitats for fish and wildlife. Established in 2018, the National Coastal Resilience Fund invests in conservation projects that restore or expand natural features such as coastal marshes and wetlands, dune and beach systems, oyster and coral reefs, forests, coastal rivers and floodplains, and barrier islands that minimize the impacts of storms and other naturally occurring events on nearby communities.
Partners
Coastal communities and ecosystems are under threat from rising sea-levels, more intense storms, and changing rainfall patterns. While 40 percent of Americans call the coast home and coastal communities contribute $9.5 trillion in goods and services annually to the U.S. economy, these areas are increasingly being affected by flooding and other coastal hazards. In 2021, the U.S. experienced 20 extreme weather and climate-related disaster events causing a total of $145 billion in disaster costs, the third-highest year on record.
New research shows with sea-level rise and increasing development in coastal areas, the annual cost of flooding in the U.S. will jump by more than 26 percent by 2050, with underserved communities shouldering the greatest burden. 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. According to a 2009 study, the U.S. loses 80,000 acres of coastal wetlands each year and these losses are mounting as wetlands and other important coastal habitats continue to be “squeezed” by rising sea levels on one side and increasing development on the other.
The National Coastal Resilience Fund supports the implementation of nature-based solutions to enhance the resilience of coastal communities and ecosystems to these threats. We strategically invest in projects that construct or restore coastal habitats that increase the capacity of communities and habitats to withstand and recover from disruptions 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 address the disproportionate risks faced by underserved communities and projects that are community led or incorporate direct community outreach and engagement.
A Regional Focus
The National Coastal Resilience Fund is a national program with a regional focus. It supports targeted investments that help communities address their specific resilience needs and priorities. The National Coastal Resilience Fund invests in projects that:
- Benefit coastal communities by reducing threats from coastal hazards (such as rising sea- and lake-levels, more intense storms, increasing flooding and erosion, and melting permafrost) to property and key assets, such as hospitals and evacuation routes; and
- Benefit fish and wildlife by enhancing the ecological integrity and functionality of coastal ecosystems
A Scientific Approach
The National Coastal Resilience Fund uses Regional Coastal Resilience Assessments to identify open space areas where nature-based solutions may maximize fish and wildlife benefits and human community resilience to flooding. NFWF also supports socioeconomic assessments, monitoring and evaluation of our on-the-ground restoration projects to evaluate the efficacy of nature-based solutions and improve and refine our approach to building resilience along our coasts.
Application Information
| National Coastal Resilience Fund 2024 Request for Proposals - CLOSED | View Now | |
| 2024 NCRF Applicant Easygrants Walkthrough | View Now | |
| Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) | View Now | |
| NCRF Technical Reviewer | View Now | |
| NCRF Field Liaison Support | View Now | |
| Coastal Resilience Evaluation and Siting Tool (CREST) | View Now | |
| NOAA's Digital Coast Resources (NCRF) | View Now | |
| 10 Tips for Grantees | View Now | |
| Interim Programmatic Report Guidance | View Now | |
| Final Programmatic Report Guidance | View Now | |
| Request for Proposals: National Coastal Resilience Fund Technical Field Liaison Support - CLOSED | View Now | |
| NCRF Field Liasion FAQ | View Now |
| National Coastal Resilience Fund Fact Sheet | Download the PDF | |
| Coastal Resilience Dashboard | View Website | |
| November 2023 Grant Slate | Download the PDF | |
| October 2023 Grant Slate | Download the PDF | |
| December 2022 Grant Slate | Download the PDF | |
| August 2022 Grant Slate | Download the PDF | |
| 2021 Grant Slate | Download the PDF | |
| 2020 Grant Slate | Download the PDF | |
| 2019 Grant Slate | Download the PDF | |
| 2018 Grant Slate | Download the PDF | |
| Coastal Resilience Success Stories | View Website | |
| Coastal Resilience Assessment Fact Sheet | Download the PDF | |
| Map: National Coastal Resilience Fund Footprint | View Website |
Program Director, Coastal Resilience
Program Manager, Coastal Resilience
Program Manager, Coastal Resilience
Program Manager, Coastal Resilience
Program Coordinator, Coastal Resilience
Related Species
Roseate spoonbill
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.
Sea turtles
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.
Brown pelican
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.
Great egret
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.
Corals
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.
Elkhorn coral
Elkhorn coral are 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.
Green sea turtle
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, Hawaii and across all five U.S. territories. Reaching more than 300 pounds, these gentle giants feed almost exclusively on seagrasses and algae.
Least tern
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.
Black skimmer
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 of Mexico 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.
Blue crab
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 of Mexico.
Eastern oyster
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.
Red knot
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.
American oystercatcher
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.
American black duck
The American black duck is large dabbling duck who resemble the closely-related mallard, but are 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.