Deadline: 07-Feb-23
In support of the conservation goals in the Basin, NFWF in cooperation with the Bureau of Reclamation (Reclamation) and the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) is pleased to announce the Klamath Basin Salmon Restoration Request for Proposals (RFP).
The National Fish and Wildlife Foundation (NFWF) has been active in habitat restoration activities throughout the Klamath Basin for nearly 20 years, awarding both federal and private funds to help stabilize and increase the populations of native and anadromous fish populations in particular. This RFP focuses on funding conservation projects which will restore salmon habitat in the Klamath River mainstem and key tributaries.
The Klamath River Program is a partnership with Reclamation’s Klamath Basin Area Office and supports local and regional on-the-ground activities that improve degraded habitat and assist in enhancing natural populations of Southern Oregon Northern California Coast (SONCC) coho salmon (Oncorhynchus kisutch) specifically within the mainstem Klamath River and tributaries between Iron Gate Dam (IGD) at river mile (RM) 190 to the Klamath River mouth excluding the Trinity River.
Priorities
- To be eligible for funding for the Klamath River Program, proposed projects must directly benefit SONCC coho salmon and/or be a design, planning, or monitoring project that can demonstrate that it will provide a direct benefit to SONCC coho salmon. For the Trinity River Program, proposed projects must directly benefit or be designed to benefit anadromous fish as outlined in the Trinity River ROD. For the Shasta Valley Program, proposed projects must directly benefit SONCC coho salmon and/or be a land management, design, planning, or monitoring project that can demonstrate that it will provide measurable instream flow benefits to SONCC coho salmon. The examples of potential projects discussed below are not intended to limit types of potential projects being considered. Applicants are also strongly encouraged to reference NFWF’s California Forests and Watersheds Business Plan for opportunities to enhance project competitiveness by linking Business Plan strategies and work in focal areas for priority species whenever possible.
- for both Klamath and Trinity river:
- Access improvement and barrier removal projects:
- These include projects to:
- Remove and address existing fish passage barriers to create permanent access to spawning and rearing habitat
- Maintain and improve access to existing habitat
- Examples of projects undertaken to remove existing fish passage barriers or maintain and improve fish access would include: Barrier removals caused by road crossings (e.g., culverts); Permanent or seasonal barriers that impede fish passage; Maintenance or modifications to tributary mouths to ensure access.
- These include projects to:
- Projects that improve coho salmon habitat and access to coldwater refugia:
- These include projects to:
- Improve connectivity, habitat cover and complexity or maintain habitat cover and complexity (if already suitable) at coldwater refugia sites
- Increase the extent and/or duration of coldwater refugia
- Enhance rearing habitat in key rearing sites
- Projects to improve or maintain cover and the complexity of cover in refugia can include riparian planting and placements of boulders, large wood, and brush bundles. Projects to increase the extent and/or duration of refugia sites can include improving connection of flow from tributaries that feed refugia and adding natural structures or deepening refugia sites to increase the duration and extent of the coldwater plume.
- These include projects to:
- Instream habitat enhancement and protection projects:
- These projects are necessary to provide rearing habitat for both over-summering and over-wintering coho salmon. Connectivity-related projects include in-channel enhancements and improvements to eliminate flow and thermal barriers (e.g., removal or functional upgrades of diversion structures or screens, channel modifications or impediment removal to improve flow and access). Projects to enhance rearing habitat in tributaries include:
- Channel reconstruction
- Floodplain connection
- Off-channel habitat creation and connection to increase available habitats provided by tributary channels
- Side channels, alcoves, and ponds
- Projects to protect summer rearing habitat could include:
- Riparian fencing and planting and instream structure placement (e.g., large wood features, beaver dam analogues, post assisted wood structures, etc.)
- Riparian leasing, and conservation easements or acquisitions to protect riparian areas and streambanks along reaches that provide important summer rearing habitat
- These projects are necessary to provide rearing habitat for both over-summering and over-wintering coho salmon. Connectivity-related projects include in-channel enhancements and improvements to eliminate flow and thermal barriers (e.g., removal or functional upgrades of diversion structures or screens, channel modifications or impediment removal to improve flow and access). Projects to enhance rearing habitat in tributaries include:
- Water transactions and conservation projects:
- Projects should help prevent seasonal and temporary flow-related fish passage barriers and improve water quality in key rearing and spawning areas. Water transaction projects include funding of water transactions to provide flow augmentation in reaches used for coho salmon spawning and juvenile rearing.
- Access improvement and barrier removal projects:
Funding Information
- In 2023, NFWF is expected to award up to $500,000 for Klamath River Program projects.
Eligible Projects
Project types that will be given the highest priority for Reclamation funding on the Klamath and Trinity watersheds include:
- Projects that improve access to habitat for fish;
- Barrier removal projects;
- Projects that improve habitat and access to coldwater refugia;
- Instream habitat enhancement and protection projects;
- Water conservation projects; and,
Geographic Areas
- For the Klamath River Program: Projects must be located in the mainstem Klamath River Basin and tributaries between IGD at RM 190 and the Klamath River mouth. With the exclusion of the Trinity River, all tributaries between IGD and the Klamath River mouth are eligible for funding through the Klamath Program.
Eligibility Criteria
- Eligible applicants include: local, state, federal, and Tribal governments and agencies (e.g., townships, cities, boroughs), special districts (e.g., conservation districts, planning districts, utility districts), non-profit 501(c) organizations, and educational institutions.
- Ineligible applicants include: international organizations, businesses, or unincorporated individuals.
For more information, visit NFWF.