Deadline: 3-Nov-22
The National Fish and Wildlife Foundation (NFWF) is requesting proposals to restore, protect and enhance aquatic and riparian species of conservation concern and their habitats in the headwaters of the Colorado River and Rio Grande watersheds.
Up to $1.2 million in funding is expected to be available through support from the U.S. Bureau of Land Management (BLM), U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS), U.S. Forest Service (USFS), the Walton Family Foundation, and the Trinchera Blanca Foundation, an affiliate of The Moore Charitable Foundation.
Funding Priorities
- Priority projects will address the leading factors in aquatic and riparian species decline such as loss of natural processes and habitat, environmental change and invasive species through process-based methods of wetlands and riparian restoration. Maintaining healthy headwater wetlands and riparian areas can help store water upstream and provide security for water users, fish and wildlife downstream. Projects benefiting one or more of the following species and their habitats are priorities for funding.
- Priority species in the Rio Grande focal area include Rio Grande cutthroat trout, Rio Grande chub, Rio Grande sucker, North American beaver and southwestern willow flycatcher.
- Priority species in the Colorado River focal area include Apache trout, bluehead sucker, desert sucker, Chiricahua leopard frog, Colorado River cutthroat trout, desert sucker, flannelmouth sucker, Gila chub, Gila topminnow, Gila trout, Lewis’s woodpecker, Little Colorado spinedace, loach minnow, narrow-headed garter snake, northern Mexican garter snake, New Mexico meadow jumping mouse, North American beaver, roundtail chub, Sonora sucker, southwestern willow flycatcher, speckled dace, spikedace, Virgin River chub, Virgin spinedace.
Funding Information
- Up to $1.4 million in grant funds is available. They anticipate making 7-9 grant awards in this cycle.
- Applicants must provide at least $1 in non-federal matching funds for every $1 of NFWF grant funds requested. Eligible matching sources can include cash, in-kind donations, and/or volunteer labor which are directly related to the project proposed for funding. Applicants must distinguish between federal and non-federal matching fund sources.
Eligible Activities
- Priority restoration activities that address key limiting factors for focal species in the Colorado River and Rio Grande headwaters include:
- Process-based wetland, riparian and instream habitat restoration and enhancement – Restore natural fluvial process that increase floodplain connectivity, dynamic channel processes and recruitment of native riparian vegetation. Activities may include beaver mimicry structures, livestock exclusion fencing and riparian vegetation planting, removal of channel stabilizing structures, and grants may support science-based design and analysis for process-based restoration projects.
- Increase water availability for species and their habitats and/or remove barriers to flow – Make available more water for environmental flows that are necessary to drive process-based restoration and sustain species and their habitats through voluntary leasing or acquisition of water rights in the focal geographies. Remove or improve infrastructure at road crossings, culverts and check dams that act as barriers to the movement of aquatic species or stabilize natural dynamic processes to ensure habitat connectivity and fluvial development of the whole valley bottom.
- Reintroduction and translocation of focal species – Translocation of priority aquatic species to stream reaches with improved habitat and protection from invasive species. Reintroduction of or attraction projects benefitting North American beaver in a manner compatible with ongoing agricultural use and irrigation and land management objectives, and which benefits other priority species dependent on the habitat created by beaver activity.
Geographic Focus
- This year the Headwaters Fund expands its priority watersheds to include all tributaries and headwaters of the Colorado River in Arizona, Nevada, New Mexico, Utah, and Wyoming. Projects located in the Colorado River watershed on Colorado’s Western Slope should be submitted to the concurrent RESTORE Colorado 2023 RFP.
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, educational institutions.
- Ineligible applicants include: international organizations, businesses or unincorporated individuals.
For more information, visit https://www.nfwf.org/programs/southwest-rivers-program/southwest-rivers-headwaters-fund/southwest-rivers-headwaters-fund-2023-request-proposals