Western Washington Fish and Wildlife Conservation Office Fisheries Restoration Opportunities | F17AS00233

Opportunity Information: Apply for F17AS00233

The Western Washington Fish and Wildlife Conservation Office Fisheries Restoration Opportunities grant (Funding Opportunity Number F17AS00233) is a discretionary cooperative agreement offered by the U.S. Department of the Interior, Fish and Wildlife Service (CFDA 15.608). It was created on May 24, 2017, with an original application deadline of July 25, 2017. The program anticipated making about six awards, with a maximum award size (ceiling) of $36,800, indicating relatively small, targeted projects rather than large capital construction efforts.

This opportunity is geographically limited and only considers proposals taking place in western Washington State, with specific priority locations and topic areas identified by the agency. One major focus area is the Chehalis River watershed in southwest Washington, where eligible projects can include fish passage improvements, in-stream habitat work, riparian restoration, management of introduced species (including aquatic invasive species), and education or outreach tied to these conservation goals. The emphasis on passage and habitat suggests the agency is interested in practical actions that reduce barriers to fish movement, improve stream function, and strengthen watershed-scale conditions that support native fish and wildlife.

A second specifically named location is Lake Sammamish, with proposals expected to be directly connected to kokanee restoration and monitoring. This signals interest in work such as population assessment, habitat use and limiting-factor studies, monitoring plans or field surveys, and actions that support recovery efforts for kokanee in that lake system. Projects that clearly link monitoring results to restoration decisions or adaptive management would fit the stated intent.

The announcement also lists several specialized fisheries science and management priorities. These include support for Tribal Employment Rights Ordinance (TERO) employment at the Makah and Quinault National Fish Hatcheries, highlighting a workforce and compliance component tied to tribal employment provisions alongside hatchery operations. In addition, the opportunity invites proposals for analyzing migratory patterns of bull trout in western Washington, which could involve field tracking, tagging, or movement ecology analyses aimed at improving understanding of seasonal or life-history migrations relevant to conservation and management.

Beyond those topics, the agency is interested in status assessments of Olympic mudminnow, implying baseline surveys, distribution and abundance work, habitat characterization, and assessments of threats or trends needed to inform conservation status or management planning. Finally, the program includes analysis of scales and bony structures from anadromous fish, a technical area often used for age and growth, life-history reconstruction, stock identification support, or related fisheries biology analyses that help managers understand population dynamics.

Eligibility is described as unrestricted, meaning any applicant type may apply (such as tribes, state and local governments, nonprofits, universities, or other entities), though applicants would need to pay attention to any additional eligibility clarifications referenced in the full notice. Overall, this grant opportunity is best understood as a set of tightly defined, western-Washington-specific fisheries restoration and assessment needs, favoring proposals that are clearly aligned to the named watersheds, species, and analytical or restoration activities listed in the announcement, and that fit within a modest per-award funding limit under a cooperative agreement structure.

• The Department of the Interior, Fish and Wildlife Service in the environment, natural resources, regional development sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Western Washington Fish and Wildlife Conservation Office Fisheries Restoration Opportunities" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 15.608.
• This funding opportunity was created on May 24, 2017.
• Applicants must submit their applications by Jul 25, 2017. (Agency may still review applications by suitable applicants for the remaining/unused allocated funding in 2026.)
• Each selected applicant is eligible to receive up to $36,800.00 in funding.
• The number of recipients for this funding is limited to 6 candidate(s).
• Eligible applicants include: Unrestricted (i.e., open to any type of entity above), subject to any clarification in text field entitled Additional Information on Eligibility.

Apply for F17AS00233

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