Request for Proposals: Caribou Habitat Restoration Fund (Canada)

Deadline: 01-Nov-2024

The Habitat Conservation Trust Foundation is inviting applications for its Caribou Habitat Restoration Fund (CHRF) to support projects that help reduce caribou mortality in the short-term by functionally restoring linear features, such as roads and seismic lines, and secondly by restoring linear features to their adjacent intact habitat types through ecological restoration.

The Caribou Habitat Restoration Fund (CHRF) is managed by the Habitat Conservation Trust Foundation for the purpose of restoring high-value habitat for caribou in BC using functional and ecological restoration methods. The CHRF is made possible by contributions from the Province of BC and Environment and Climate Change Canada.

Categories

• Functional Restoration: Functional restoration helps reduce predator and human access to caribou habitat. The objective is to reduce a competitive advantage for a predator arising from the disturbance, which provides increased speed along the corridor and increased line of sight.
• Ecological Restoration: In the longer-term, ecological restoration looks to return a disturbed site to its pre-disturbance condition, primarily by planting vegetation usually over a long period. Ecological restoration may require some site preparation such as ripping or mounding of the soil, as it is often challenged by things like soil compaction and hydrogeological conditions.

Types of Restoration Projects 

• Types of Restoration Projects Prioritized for Funding:
  • Focus on the functional restoration of roads or other linear features adjacent or leading to areas of intact, high-value caribou habitat.
  • Focus on treating disturbance features where natural vegetation recovery is not occurring, or is limited, with the treatment focused on the site-specific limiting factor.
  • Focus on reducing the suitability of matrix habitat for primary prey such as planting or treating areas with high shrub production.

Funding Information

• Seed Grant:
  • To assist in the development of a full technically sound proposal.
  • Grant amount: Up to $10,000
• Capacity Grant:
  • Provides funding to support capacity development to initiate actions to benefit caribou habitat conservation.
  • Grant amount: Up to $25,000
• Applicants can apply for grants up to 3 years in duration.

Eligible Activities

• Pre-treatment inventory and planning:
  • Pre-treatment inventory and development of treatment prescriptions for sites that have been identified as high priority for caribou habitat restoration.
  • Completion of documentation necessary to support permitting requirements.
  • Purchasing plant stock (trees and shrubs)
• Functional Restoration Treatments:
  • Designed to reduce the use of linear features by caribou predators and people. Activities can include:
    • Mounding/berming;
    • Ripping/scarification;
    • Roll back and placement of coarse woody material;
    • Tree felling;
    • Winter planting;
    • Sowing of native shrub and tree seed;
    • Tree bending;
    • Line blocking;
    • Bar mounding;
    • Angle slicing; and,
    • Constructing and installing fences.
  • Public education signage to explain access control measures
• Ecological Restoration Treatments:
  • Designed to return disturbed ecosystems back to their pre-disturbed state. Activities can include:
    • Winter planting;
    • Sowing of native shrub and tree seed;
    • Lichen transplants;
    • Control of herbaceous or other competing plant species;
    • Fertilization to increase rate of re-establishment of target vegetation; and,
    • Site preparation activities and earthworks deemed necessary for successful revegetation of target species prior to planting. May include soil inversion, ripping, scarification, re- contouring, etc.
  • Operational oversight of restoration activities.

Ineligible Activities

• Ineligible activities include, but are not limited to:
  • Project Types:
    • High-level landscape or range plans, including planning strategic coordination and prioritization of restoration efforts (development of restoration plans/site prescriptions for areas identified as being high priority for caribou habitat restoration by the Province are eligible).
    • Mapping projects that are not essential to site-specific caribou habitat restoration activities.
    • Purchase or acquisition of land.
  • Rehabilitation and Rearing Activities:
    • Rehabilitation, captive breeding, feeding or control of wildlife species.
    • Maternal penning.
  • Communications and Events:
    • Development or production of hunting, tour, or curriculum guidebooks or publication materials.
    • Conferences, lecture series, or conventions.
    • Production or sponsorship of commercial programs.
    • Organizational fundraising.
    • Creation or management of electronic databases, websites or file systems.
  • Training, Wages and Materials:
    • Training costs for contractors for activities not directly related to the project.
    • Salaries for regular government employees (Employee time should be listed as in-kind)
  • Other:
• Legal Fees and Insurance costs.
  • Activities to fulfil statutory or legal requirements.
  • Law enforcement activities and general patrols.
  • Regulatory signage or information projects on regulations.
  • Archeological assessments.
  • Capital Assets (item per unit over $1,000).

Eligibility Criteria

• Any individual or organization capable of restoring caribou habitat can apply to the fund. There is no limit to the amount you can apply for, but priority is given to projects that can secure significant partner contributions.
• Projects that restore linear features adjacent to or leading to intact high-value caribou habitat will be given priority.
• The Province of BC has identified medium and high priority herds where funding can be applied.

For more information, visit HCTF.