Grant Details


Boating Infrastructure Grant (BIG) Program (Part A): Tier 1 - FY 2026

Agency: U.S. Department of Interior
CFDA: 15.622
Federal FON: F26AS00008
Office: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) Office of Conservation Investment
Multipart Grant: Yes
Next Due: 10/27/2025 (Application)
Solicitation Date: 08/28/2025
   
Match Required: Yes
Match Type: Cash/In-Kind
Actual Funds: Unspecified
Range: $4,000,000 (Max)
Award Range: $300,000 (Max)
Number of Awards: 25 (Estimated)
Summary:

The purpose of this program is to support the construction, renovation, and maintenance of boating infrastructure facilities for transient recreational vessels that are at least 26 feet in length and that are operated, leased, rented, or chartered primarily for pleasure. Boating infrastructure eligible for this program includes the structures, equipment, accessories, and services that are necessary or desirable for a facility to accommodate eligible vessels. Transient vessels are recreational vessels staying no more than 15 days at a facility. Facilities must provide public access and may be publicly or privately owned.

Examples of eligible costs and activities include:

  • Boat slips, piers, mooring buoys, dinghy or courtesy docks, day docks, and gangways
  • Fuel stations, restrooms, showers, utilities, laundry facilities, and similar amenities
  • Lighting, communications, buoys, beacons, signals, markers, signs, and security features
  • Floating or fixed breakwaters, wave attenuators, sea walls, and other improvements that provide a harbor of safe refuge
  • Planning, permitting, engineering, cultural, historic, and environmental studies or assessments necessary to construct boating infrastructure
  • Equipment and structures for collecting, disposing of, or recycling liquid or solid waste from eligible vessels or for eligible users
  • Debris deflection structures or water hazard removal
  • Dredging necessary to fulfill the purpose and objectives of the project
  • Maintenance of facilities during the project period
  • Information and education materials specific to a funded project that credits the program as a source of funding
  • Administration, coordination, and monitoring of awards

Unless the following features are already part of a facility, or are funded through another source, at project completion a funded facility must:

  • Limit use of overnight docks and moorings to eligible vessels that are 26 feet or more in length staying no more than 15 consecutive days
  • Serve its intended purpose for its useful life as originally proposed or as extended, except in the case of a catastrophic event
  • Clearly designate eligible uses and inform the public of restrictions
  • Offer security, safety, and service for eligible users and vessels
  • Be open and accessible to eligible vessels on navigable waters that are at least six feet deep at the lowest tide or fluctuation, unless it can be shown that the facility will still serve its intended purpose for typical eligible users that visit that location
  • Allow public access
  • Provide pump-out service where such service is not located within two nautical miles if the facility allows overnight stays or as required by state or local laws

Award recipients are encouraged to prioritize projects in support of the celebration of America's 250th birthday. This may include projects that recognize and honor the nation's founding, history, and cultural heritage.

Funding will be provided for the following program components:

  • (Part A): Tier 1
  • (Part B): Tier 2

The purpose of the Tier 1 component is to provide non-competitive awards to support the construction, renovation, and maintenance of boating infrastructure facilities for transient recreational vessels at least 26 feet in length.

Eligibility Notes:

Eligible applicants are governor-designated state agencies in the United States, American Samoa, the commonwealths of the Northern Mariana Islands and Puerto Rico, the territory of Guam, the U.S. Virgin Islands, and the mayor-designated agency in the District of Columbia.

Applicants may submit one application with one project or multiple projects; however, the funding agency may ask a state with multiple projects to prepare a separate funding request for each project, as long as the total of all projects does not exceed the annual funding limit.

Previous award recipients include:

  • Georgia
  • Michigan
  • New York
  • North Carolina
  • South Carolina

Refer to the Award file for additional information regarding previous award recipients.

Eligible Applicants:
State Government
Application Notes:

Applications must be submitted by 11:59 p.m. ET on October 27, 2025.

Applications must be submitted online at www.ecivis.com/grants.gov or www.grantsolutions.gov.

Applications must include:

  • SF 424
  • SF 424A or SF 424C (as applicable)
  • SF LLL (if applicable)
  • Project abstract summary
  • Project narrative
  • Budget narrative
  • Maps, drawings, and images (if applicable)
  • Conflict of interest and unresolved matters disclosure (if applicable)
  • Overlap or duplication of effort statement
  • Uniform audit reporting statement
  • Indirect cost statement and copy of current negotiated indirect cost rate agreement (if applicable)

The following are required in order to submit an application:

  • Unique Entity Identifier (UEI) number
  • SAM (System for Award Management) registration
  • SPOC (state Single Point of Contact) notification

Applicants may obtain a UEI number and verify or renew SAM registration status at www.ecivis.com/sam. Applicants in states participating in the SPOC program must contact the relevant SPOC listed in the SPOC file before applying.

Applicants requesting assistance with an application are encouraged to contact the appropriate regional office listed on pages 3-4 of the NOFA file at least four weeks prior to the application deadline.

Refer to the NOFA file for additional application information.

Match Required: Yes
Match Type: Cash/In-Kind
Actual Funds: Unspecified
Range: $4,000,000 (Max)
Award Range: $300,000 (Max)
Number of Awards: 25 (Estimated)
Match Notes:

In general, applicants must provide at least 25 percent of the total project costs via nonfederal cash or in-kind contributions. The matching requirement is waived for applicants in American Samoa, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, Guam, and the U.S. Virgin Islands.

In general, matching contributions may include the value of a structure completed before the project period; however, the funding agency must approve the activity as a pre-award cost.

In their application, applicants must describe any relationship between the proposed project and other related work funded by federal awards that is planned, anticipated, or underway.

Matching contributions may not include the value of real property.

Funding Notes:

An unspecified amount of funding is available for this program overall, with an estimated $4 million available through this component to support an expected 25 awards of up to $300,000 each.

Award notifications are expected to be issued by March or April 2026.

The project period is expected to begin on March 20, 2026, and end on March 19, 2029. Award recipients may request a two-year extension in writing prior to the end of the original project period.

Applicants must proportionally allocate, or prorate, costs if a proposed facility will be used by anyone other than boaters operating transient recreational vessels at least 26 feet in length.

Contingency costs estimated using broadly accepted cost-estimating methodologies are allowable, but must be separately identified in the budget and must comply with federal cost principles, be necessary and reasonable for proper and efficient accomplishment of project or program objectives, and be verifiable from financial records.

Dredging is allowable if the federal portion of all costs associated with the dredging activity does not exceed $200,000 per award.

Funds may not be used for:

  • Services or structures for food service, retail, or lodging, including ship stores, food courts, and hotels
  • New construction or renovation of parking lots and access roads adjacent to boating facilities for transient, recreational vehicles
  • Acquisition of real property

For FY 2025, a total of $4,969,213 was distributed via 20 awards ranging from $17,149 to $300,000 through this component. For FY 2024, a total of $4,425,491 was distributed via 22 awards ranging from $17,755 to $300,000 through this component. For FY 2023, a total of $2,827,460 was distributed via 19 awards ranging from $16,727 to $200,000 through this component. Refer to the Award file for details.

Contacts:

Paul Van Ryzin
(720) 498-0335
Paul_VanRyzin@fws.gov

Agency Address
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
1849 C Street, NW
Washington, D.C. 20240

Contact Notes:

Questions should be directed to Paul Van Ryzin, or to the appropriate regional contact listed on pages 3-4 of the NOFA file.

Applications must be submitted online at www.ecivis.com/grants.gov or www.grantsolutions.gov.

Optional requests for assistance with applications must be submitted to the appropriate regional contact.

The agency address provided is for reference purposes only.

Files:
NOFA File: US4171A_NOFA_FY2026.pdf (236.4 Kb)
Other Pre-Award File: US4171A_Overview_FY2026.pdf (131.3 Kb)
Award File: US4171A_Award_FY2026.pdf (2.9 Mb)
Federal Forms:
SPOC (67.7 Kb)
File Notes:

The NOFA file contains the full solicitation for this component. The Overview file contains general program information, including a comparison of this program's components. The Award file contains information on previous award recipients. The SPOC file contains information on the state Single Point of Contact program.

Project: Oregon State Parks – Sandy Beach Transient Tie-Up Dock Retrofit (4.0 Mb)
Applicant: Oregon State Marine Board
Summary:

The purpose of this program is to support the construction, renovation, and maintenance of boating infrastructure facilities for transient recreational vessels that are at least 26 feet in length and that are operated, leased, rented, or chartered primarily for pleasure. Oregon State Marine Board requested $200,000 to retro fit the Sandy Beach transient tie-up dock. Project activities include retrofitting with Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA)-accessible bull rails; replacing wales with high-density polyethylene wale boards to provide better impact protection from boaters and to improve access to the thru-rods to help with maintenance of the structure; inspecting and replacing any damaged thru-rods and connector boards; and patching small areas of concrete deck spalling. The applicant provided $100,000 to match the remainder of the project costs.

 
Grant Keywords
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Grant Categories
Community Development
Environment/Natural Resources
Parks & Recreation
Transportation
Tourism and Hospitality