CFR > Title 50 - Wildlife and Fisheries > CHAPTER I—UNITED STATES FISH AND WILDLIFE SERVICE, DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR > SUBCHAPTER F—FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE—WILDLIFE SPORT FISH RESTORATION PROGRAM (Parts 80–86) > PART 86—BOATING INFRASTRUCTURE GRANT (BIG) PROGRAM > SUBPART E—How States Apply for Grants (§86.50 to §86.55) > 86.53—What are funding tiers?

86.53—What are funding tiers?

(a) This grant program will consist of two tiers of funding.
(i) You may apply for one or both tiers.
(ii) The two tiers will allow all States some certainty of base level funding.
(b) Tier One funding will ensure broad geographical distribution to meet the needs of transient nontrailerable recreational vessels.
(c) Tier Two funding will allow States with large projects to compete with other States with large projects based on individual project merits.
(d) We describe the two tiers as follows:
(1) Tier One Projects. (i) You may submit a proposal with an unlimited number of projects within this tier. However, your total request cannot exceed $100,000 of Federal funds for any given fiscal year.
(ii) Tier One projects must meet the eligibility requirements in §§ 86.14 and 86.20.
(2) Tier Two Projects. (i) While we expect available funds for Tier Two proposals to be between $3 million and $4 million per grant cycle, we have no dollar limit for Tier Two proposals. You may submit any number of projects, which we will score and rank separately according to the criteria in § 86.60.
(ii) Each project will compete nationally against every other project in Tier Two.
(iii) Tier Two projects must also meet the eligibility requirements in §§ 86.14 and 86.20.