Grant Programs

Coastal Incentive Grant Program

Georgia's Coastal Management Program (GCMP) is administered under authority of the Georgia Coastal Management Act, OCGA 12-5-320 et. seq. In accordance with that statute, the Georgia Department of Natural Resources (GDNR) is designated as the lead agency to cooperate with other agencies in implementing the GCMP through a networked process. The mission of the GCMP is to balance economic development in Georgia's coastal area with preservation of natural, environmental, historic, archaeological and recreational resources for the benefit of Georgia's present and future generations. The GDNR Coastal Resources Division (CRD) administers the GCMP and carries out a number of programs in direct support of GCMP objectives, including the administration of the Coastal Incentive Grant (CIG) Program.

The CIG Program is a competitive pass-through subgrant program made possible by a grant to GDNR from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) through Congressional funding pursuant to the Coastal Zone Management Act. Each year, the GCMP allocates a portion of its federal funding to the Coastal Incentive Grants. These subgrants may be awarded to qualified county and municipal governments, regional commissions, state-affiliated research or educational institutions, or state agencies (except GDNR), provided the project takes place entirely within the eleven-county service area of the program. The CIG Program service area includes Brantley, Bryan, Camden, Chatham, Charlton, Effingham, Glynn, Liberty, Long, McIntosh and Wayne counties. The program cycle that makes this opportunity possible is indicated below, however the CIG Public Notice should be read every year when advertised for program specific details.

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The CIG Program Cycle

July: Coastal Advisory Council Annual Meeting (establishes CIG themes and conditions)
August: GDNR Board of Natural Resources approves CIG Public Notice
September: Advertisement of CIG Public Notice
December: CIG Pre-Application Due (competitive)
January: CIG Pre-Application Review Team Meeting
February: CIG Full Application Due (by invitation only)
March: CIG Technical Review Committee Meeting (full application ranking)
April: GDNR grant application due to NOAA (including recommended CIG subgrants)
July/August: NOAA approves GDNR application
August/September: GDNR and CIG applicant sign subgrant award contracts for start date of October 1st

Click here to be redirected to the CIG Program Application webpage.

Coastal Incentive Grant Awards

Click here to be redirected to the GCMP Grants Database webpage.

Coastal and Estuarine Land Conservation Program

The federal Coastal and Estuarine Land Conservation Program (CELCP) was established in 2002 to protect coastal and estuarine lands considered important for their ecological, conservation, recreational, historical or aesthetic values. CELCP, administered by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), provides state Coastal Management Programs funds to purchase significant coastal and estuarine lands, or conservation easements on such lands, from willing sellers. Lands or conservation easements acquired with CELCP funds are protected in perpetuity so that they may be enjoyed by future generations. To guide the State's participation in this program, Georgia developed the Georgia Coastal and Estuarine Land Conservation Program Plan in 2005 that includes coastal conservation priorities and project areas to compliment existing land protection efforts in the coastal region. The Plan identifies conservation priorities for land acquisition that tailors the national program to the State’s coastal conservation needs. Georgia’s CELCP Plan also gives clear guidance for the nomination and selection of land conservation projects within the State’s coastal boundary. Click here to view the Georgia Coastal and Estuarine Land Conservation Program Plan.

Georgia's CELCP Projects

In October 2007, the Georgia Coastal Management Program received $1,149,271 from the NOAA Coastal and Estuarine Land Conservation Program to assist with the acquisition of a 4,100+ acre tract along the Altamaha River in McIntosh County. The Altamaha Sand Ridges property is a landscape of sand hills and bottom lands, and is home to the long-leaf pine, gopher tortoises, and the globally-imperiled Radford Dicerandra (Dicerandra radfordiana) which is found only in the Altamaha River sand ridges. The property was purchased by the state of Georgia on May 20, 2008.

In July 2010, the Georgia Coastal Management Program received $1,537,425 from the NOAA Coastal and Estuarine Land Conservation Program to assist with the acquisition of a 6,860-acre+ tract along the Altamaha River in Long County. The property stretches for 10-miles adjacent to the lower Altamaha River and floodplain, one of the most valuable ecological corridors in Georgia, and is a landscape of sand hills and bottom lands. On September 28, 2010, the State of Georgia purchased this property in its entirety from The Nature Conservancy who purchased it from Rayonier.

Both tracts are now operated as part of the State’s Townsend Wildlife Management Area (WMA) and are under the management of the Department of Natural Resources for the purposes of ecological restoration, stream and wetland protection, wildlife habitat, and public access for hunting, fishing, hiking, canoeing, and camping.

Both of these projects are the result of a partnership between the NOAA/CELCP, Georgia Department of Natural Resources, US Fish and Wildlife Service, US Department of Defense (Navy/Marine Corps), The Nature Conservancy, Georgia Land Conservation Partnership, and others.