Deadline: 13-Jul-23
The National Fish and Wildlife Foundation (NFWF) is soliciting proposals for the Northeast Forests and Rivers Fund (NEFRF) (formerly known as the New England Forests and Rivers Fund) to restore and sustain healthy rivers, forests and grasslands that provide habitat for diverse fish and wildlife populations.
Goals
The program will advance this goal by investing in projects that:
- Restore the quality and connectivity of stream and riparian habitats with a focus on improving habitat for river herring, Atlantic salmon, eastern brook trout and wood turtles;
- Improve management of forest blocks to enhance age and structural diversity, resulting in improved forest conditions for native wildlife, with a focus on improving habitat for golden-winged warbler and New England cottontail; and,
- Promote hayfield management that allows for successful grassland bird breeding, with a specific focus on habitat for bobolink.
Program Priorities
- Proposals should strive to contribute to goals detailed in NFWF’s Northeast Watersheds Business Plan (March 2023), and specifically the strategies for Stream and Riparian Habitat, and Upland Forests and Grasslands.
- In addition, projects that incorporate outreach to communities, foster community engagement, and pursue collaborative management leading to measurable conservation benefits are encouraged. When possible, projects should be developed through community input and co-design processes and should consider traditional knowledge where relevant. Additionally, projects should engage community-level partners (e.g., municipalities, NGOs, community organizations, community leaders) to help design, implement, and maintain projects to secure maximum benefits for communities, maintenance, and sustainability post-grant award.
- Restore Stream and Riparian Habitats
- NFWF will invest in projects that strive to restore the quality and connectivity of stream and riparian habitats to enhance the long-term persistence of native aquatic species, with a focus on improving habitat for river herring, Atlantic salmon, and eastern brook trout.
- Priority watersheds include:
- Piscataquis River (ME) for Atlantic salmon
- St. Croix (Skutik) and Megunticook Rivers (ME) for river herring and brook trout
- Mattawamkeag/Baskahegan and Kennebec Rivers (ME) for river herring and Atlantic salmon
- Narraguagus and Sabattus Rivers (ME) for river herring, Atlantic salmon and brook trout
- Oyster (NH), Lamprey (NH), Merrimack (NH/MA) and Mystic Rivers (MA) for river herring
- Saranac River (NY) for eastern brook trout
- In upper Connecticut River basin for eastern brook trout — Halls Stream (VT/NH), First and Second Branch White River (VT), Mill Brook (VT/NH), Vernon Dam watershed (VT/NH) and the Manhan River (MA). NEFRF will only fund fish passage and large wood additions in these watersheds. Riparian restoration and agricultural runoff projects should apply to the Long Island Sound Futures Fund.
- Priority 1: Restore aquatic connectivity. Remove or replace under-sized or perched culverts and derelict or under-utilized dams that pose a safety risk, have community support and are barriers to aquatic organism passage and/or result in artificial impoundments and higher water temperatures. Projects should seek to connect native fish to key spawning, rearing, and refuge habitats. Projects may support on-the-ground restoration and stream barrier surveys to determine priorities for future connectivity restoration.
- Priority 2: Restore Riparian and In-stream Habitat. Restore riparian areas with native vegetation to reduce stream temperature, improve water quality and enhance in-stream habitat complexity through large wood additions (aka: large woody debris, strategic wood additions).
- Priority 3: Reduce Agricultural Runoff and Improve Soil Health. Provide technical and financial assistance to accelerate adoption of agricultural conservation practices that reduce polluted runoff and erosion, and improve soil health, including wetland and riparian restoration, livestock exclusion fencing, barnyard management, cover crops and conservation tillage, etc. Projects should implement conservation practices that meet or exceed the performance of related federal and state-approved methods and specifications, unless flexibility is necessary to demonstrate an innovative approach or technology.
- Improve Upland Forest Health
- NFWF will invest in the management of forest blocks to enhance age and structural diversity that demonstrates improved forest conditions for native wildlife, with a focus on improving habitat for golden-winged warbler and New England cottontail. Note that NFWF seeks to achieve its upland forest health goals without sacrificing or cutting late successional or old growth forest.
- Priority geographies include:
- For healthy forests, projects that contribute to large forest blocks (>5,000 acres) throughout the program boundary
- There are two priority areas for New England cottontail – one centered in western Connecticut and the other in southern Maine and eastern New Hampshire
- For golden-winged warbler, there are three priority areas – two in northern New York, and the other focused in the Lake Champlain basin. Projects are strongly encouraged that target private landowners within the project areas for golden-winged warbler under the Natural Resource Conservation Service’s Working Lands for Wildlife initiative.
- Priority 4: Forest Block Planning. Conduct planning at the landscape, forest block (5,000+acres) and parcel scale to support forest management that achieves a targeted mix of age and structural diversity that is adaptable to meeting the needs and interests of individual landowners, while providing vital fish and wildlife habitat.
- Priority 5: Young Forest Restoration: Within the context of large forest blocks, implement young forest management practices and prescriptions to create or enhance habitat for New England cottontail, golden-winged warbler and other young forest-dependent species. Projects that engage landowners with a range of property sizes and interests are strongly encouraged, including public lands, family-owned woodlands, commercial forests, utility rights-of-way, etc.
- Priority 6: Outreach and Technical Assistance: Execute innovative outreach and marketing strategies to engage target audiences (e.g., family woodland owners, consulting foresters, loggers), in adopting forest management practices that enhance habitat conditions. Proposals that include outreach approaches that address known public opinion impediments to forest management are encouraged.
- Increase Grassland Bird Habitat
- NFWF will invest in voluntary management of hayfields to allow for successful breeding of grassland birds, with a specific focus on habitat for bobolink.
- Priority geographies include:
- There are three priority areas – one in the Lake Champlain basin (NY, VT), one along the Connecticut River valley (MA, VT, NH), and one in central Maine.
- Priority 7: Grassland Management on Hayfields. Provide technical and financial assistance to private landowners to adjust the timing of hay harvest(s) that allow bobolink and other grassland birds to nest and fledge young before or between harvesting.
- Restore Stream and Riparian Habitats
Funding Information
- Availability: The New England Forests and Rivers Fund will award at least $2 million in grants this year. Grant requests must range from $75,000 to $300,000. Requests above or below that range will not be considered for funding.
- Grant Period: Projects should plan to start six months after the award date and be completed within three years. Notification of awards is expected to be mid-November.
Geographic Focus
- Projects are eligible from throughout the program boundary, which includes all of Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island and Vermont, as well as parts of New York.
- However, within the Long Island Sound and Connecticut River watershed, NEFRF will only consider fish passage projects, grassland projects and early successional forest projects. All other projects should apply to the Long Island Sound Futures Fund (LISFF).
Eligibility Criteria
- Eligible applicants include non-profit 501(c) organizations, state government agencies, local governments, municipal governments, Tribal governments and organizations, and educational institutions.
- Ineligible applicants include U.S. Federal government agencies, businesses, unincorporated individuals and international organizations.
For more information, visit National Fish and Wildlife Foundation.