NT-22-01: Capacity Building and Collaboration with the Aquinnah and Mashpee Wampanoag Tribes | M22AS00404

Opportunity Information: Apply for M22AS00404

NT-22-01, titled "Capacity Building and Collaboration with the Aquinnah and Mashpee Wampanoag Tribes," is a discretionary federal grant opportunity administered by the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) through a cooperative agreement. The purpose is to strengthen the ability of the Aquinnah Wampanoag Tribe and the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe to handle the environmental and cultural-resource information that offshore wind developers must provide as part of federal review and permitting. In practical terms, the award is meant to help the Tribes build the technical and organizational capacity to receive, manage, interpret, and use complex datasets tied to offshore wind planning, so consultation and coordination with BOEM can be more informed, timely, and effective.

The core focus of the project is on cultural and archaeological resources that could be affected by offshore renewable energy development, especially ancient submerged landforms and areas with traditional cultural importance. Offshore wind developers submit detailed technical studies in support of Construction and Operations Plans (COPs). This opportunity supports tribal review and analysis of those submissions for projects located offshore of Aquinnah and Mashpee lands. The intended result is that the Tribes are better positioned to inventory sensitive areas, monitor potential impacts, and help identify or evaluate adverse effects that BOEM is required to consider when making decisions about offshore wind activities.

A major objective is the development of proactive best practices for managing data and information related to culturally significant places. That includes creating workable methods and protocols for organizing, storing, sharing, and interpreting sensitive information about cultural sites and archaeological indicators. Because some cultural and location-specific information can be sensitive, best practices also typically imply clearer procedures for confidentiality, access controls, and careful handling of tribal knowledge while still supporting regulatory review and environmental compliance.

Another key objective is to bring Indigenous knowledge and language into technical analyses that often rely heavily on remote sensing and seafloor mapping. The opportunity explicitly points to integrating Indigenous knowledge with remote-sensing and bathymetry data to build a model that depicts the preservation potential of submerged ancient cultural landforms and associated archaeological resources, where appropriate. In other words, the project is not only about reading developer reports; it is also about developing a more culturally grounded and scientifically informed way to predict where important submerged landscapes and archaeological materials may exist and how likely they are to be preserved, which can guide future surveys, monitoring strategies, and impact avoidance measures.

The opportunity also emphasizes hands-on training and collaboration so the Tribes can actively monitor and document offshore cultural and archaeological resources that may be affected by BOEM-approved activities. This training component is meant to move beyond passive consultation and toward sustained tribal capability, including developing skills to evaluate ongoing activity, track changes or disturbances, and contribute documentation that supports protection and decision-making over time.

Structurally, this is a cooperative agreement, which generally indicates substantial involvement by the federal agency during performance, not just a one-time grant with minimal federal interaction. The project is described as a single-source cooperative agreement specifically intended for the Aquinnah and Mashpee Wampanoag Tribes, with the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe serving as the lead tribe. Eligible applicants are federally recognized tribal governments and others, but the description makes clear the intended award structure is centered on these two Tribes and their collaboration with BOEM.

Key administrative details include the funding opportunity number M22AS00404, a program focus in the environmental category, and CFDA number 15.444. The award ceiling listed is $490,000, with an original closing date of 2023-04-25, and the opportunity was created on 2022-08-23. Overall, the opportunity is designed to improve tribal capacity, strengthen government-to-government collaboration, and ensure that offshore wind development planning and oversight more effectively accounts for submerged cultural landscapes and archaeological resources of significance to the Aquinnah and Mashpee Wampanoag communities.

• The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management in the environment sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "NT-22-01: Capacity Building and Collaboration with the Aquinnah and Mashpee Wampanoag Tribes" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 15.444.
• This funding opportunity was created on 2022-08-23.
• Applicants must submit their applications by 2023-04-25. (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 $490,000.00 in funding.
• Eligible applicants include: Native American tribal governments (Federally recognized), Others.

Apply for M22AS00404

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