2020 READINESS AND ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION INTEGRATION (REPI) PROGRAM CHALLENGE

2020 Readiness and Environmental Protection Integration (REPI) Program Challenge

January 24, 2020 Pre-Proposal Deadline

U.S. Endowment for Forestry and Communities, Greenville, SC

For IMMEDIATE RELEASE (November 11, 2019)

The U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) today announced that it is accepting pre-proposals for the 2020 Readiness and Environmental Protection Integration (REPI) Program Challenge. The Request for Pre-Proposals and the downloadable PDF pre-proposal form are available on the U.S. Endowment for Forestry and Communities’ webpage or by contacting Peter@runslikeclock.work. The deadline for pre-proposal submission is 8 p.m. EST, Friday, January 24, 2020. Up to $15 million is available for one or multiple awards. Final awards are planned to be announced in June or July of 2020.

The REPI Challenge, established in 2012, is a competitive process to seek projects that accelerate land conservation and military mission protection through innovative partnerships and shared financing.

The 2020 REPI Challenge may provide up to $15 million in FY20 funding for land conservation or management activities that limit incompatible development in the vicinity of DoD installations and ranges, maintain or improve military installation resilience, or relieve current or anticipated environmental restrictions in support of key capabilities identified in the National Defense Strategy. Additional consideration will be given to those projects that leverage multiple authorities to accomplish project goals. Selected projects will support the rebuilding of military readiness by protecting investments toward strategic power projection platforms deemed vital to the Department’s establishment of an unmatched innovation base.

Partners are strongly encouraged to coordinate closely with local installation or range staff to verify the presence of key National Defense Strategy capabilities prior to proposal development.

The REPI Challenge seeks to engage the private sector to access and tap unconventional and high-leverage sources of funding, attract additional philanthropic support, and take advantage of market-based approaches to advance program goals.

Last year, the 2019 REPI Program awarded $8 million that attracted $32.6 million in non-DoD partner funding at Naval Submarine Kings Bay to meet the FY19 REPI Challenge goals to:

Limit incompatible development, enhance military installation resilience, and relieve current and anticipated environmental restrictions operations near military installations that may inhibit training, testing, and operations; and
Focus on supporting key capabilities outlined in the National Defense Strategy, such as nuclear and ballistic missile defense technologies.

The Navy at Kings Bay, Georgia will use $8 million of the REPI Challenge award to leverage more than $32 million in funding from The Nature Conservancy, the Georgia Department of Natural Resources, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the USDA Forest Service, Open Space Institute, and private donors to protect Cabin Bluff, an 11,000 acre coastal property that was otherwise zoned for 10,000 homes and 1 million square feet of commercial space. The goal of the Kings Bay project will be to ensure compatible development within the Cabin Bluff property while simultaneously improving fire management, enhancing coastal resilience, and protecting critical gopher tortoise habitat, all while mitigating maritime and airspace operational impacts to the base.

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For more information contact:
Peter Stangel, 404-915-2763, peter@runslikeclock.work
The U.S. Endowment for Forestry and Communities (the Endowment) is a not-for-profit public charity working collaboratively with partners in the public and private sectors to advance systemic, transformative, and sustainable change for the health and vitality of the nation’s working forests and forest-reliant communities – www.usendowment.org