Restoring Tribal Priority Fish Passage Through Barrier Removal Notice of Funding Opportunity Under the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL) (Round 3) - FY 2025
| Agency: | U.S. Department of Commerce |
|---|---|
| CFDA: | 11.463 |
| Federal FON: | NOAA-NMFS-HCPO-2025-29044 |
| Office: | National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) |
| Multipart Grant: | No |
| Next Due: | 02/27/2025 (Application) |
|---|---|
| Solicitation Date: | 10/30/2024 |
| Match Required: | No |
| Actual Funds: | Unspecified |
| Range: | $20,000,000 (Max) |
| Award Range: | $300,000 (Min) / $6,000,000 (Max) |
Summary:
The purpose of this program is to remove barriers to fish passage for native migratory or sea-run fish. Awards will be used for fish passage that rebuilds productive and sustainable fisheries; contributes to the recovery and conservation of threatened and endangered species; enhances watershed health; promotes resilient ecosystems and communities; and increases tribal capacity to participate in fish passage barrier removal efforts while improving tribal commercial, recreational, subsistence, and cultural practice opportunities. Applicants must describe how their projects will support one or more of the following goals:
- Contribute to the recovery of threatened and endangered species listed under the Endangered Species Act
- Sustain or help rebuild fish stocks and their prey managed under the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act
- Improve passage to support native fish species of the Great Lakes
- Enhance the sustainability of saltwater recreational fisheries
- Enhance community resilience to climate hazards by removing or improving aging infrastructure and supporting other co-benefits
- Support hydroelectric license surrender to remove dams that are no longer economically viable or provide significant public benefits
Projects must address the following program priorities:
- Achieving measurable and lasting benefits for migratory fish populations
- Enhancing community resilience to extreme weather and climate hazards and providing other co-benefits
- Fostering tribally important barrier removal efforts that benefit migratory fish
- Increasing tribal organization fish passage capacity to support tribes in their role as managers and stewards of tribal trust resources for cultural, spiritual, economic, subsistence, and recreational purposes
Refer to pages 6-7 of the NOFA file for details regarding these priorities.
Proposed activities may include future project development and feasibility studies, engineering and design, permitting, on-the-ground fish passage restoration, pre- and post-removal implementation monitoring, community engagement, and outreach and education. This program will also support building tribal capacity to participate in developing current and future fish passage projects. Proposed projects may include multiple locations and should demonstrate how multiple locations collectively contribute to priorities within a watershed or geographic area.
Proposals that focus on the removal of barriers will score higher than proposals that install structures that require operations and maintenance.
Funds may be used for personnel costs, fringe benefits, travel, equipment, supplies, contractual costs, other direct costs, and indirect costs.
Optional webinars are scheduled for this program. Refer to the Application section for details.
Eligibility Notes:
Eligible applicants are Indian tribes and organizations that represent Indian tribes through formal legal agreements, such as tribal commissions, tribal consortia, tribal conservation districts, and tribal cooperatives.
Organizations that represent Indian tribes through formal legal agreements are encouraged to provide a clear description and supporting documentation in the application, demonstrating the relationship between the tribe(s) and organization.
Applicants proposing projects for the Great Lakes must propose work in the eight U.S. Great Lakes states within the Great Lakes basin.
Institutions of higher education, nonprofit organizations, commercial entities, U.S. territories, state and local governments, and other organizations that identify as Indian tribes but don't meet the definition provided on page 8 of the NOFA file can partner with eligible Indian tribes and organizations on projects, but may not submit applications directly.
Federal agencies are not eligible to apply, but are strongly encouraged to work with eligible applicants.
Eligible Applicants:
ConsortiaNative American Tribe
Tribal Organizations/Institutions
Application Notes:
Applications must be received by 11:59 p.m. ET on February 27, 2025.
Prior to submitting applications, applicants are strongly encouraged to contact the funding agency, using the information provided in the Contact section, to discuss projects.
Applications must be submitted online at www.ecivis.com/grants.gov.
Applications must include:
- SF 424
- SF 424A
- SF 424B
- CD-511
- SF LLL (if applicable)
- Additional file 1: project summary and project narrative (20 pages max):
- Project summary (2 pages max)
- Project narrative (18 pages max)
- Additional file 2: budget narrative (10 pages max)
- Additional file 3: supplemental materials and project designs (45 pages max)
Each additional file must be submitted as a single flattened .pdf file. The three additional files may not exceed 75 pages combined, using 11- or 12-point font on pages with one-inch margins.
The following are required in order to submit an application:
- Unique Entity Identifier (UEI) number
- SAM (System for Award Management) registration
Applicants may obtain a UEI number and verify or renew SAM registration status at www.ecivis.com/sam.
Optional webinars for this program are scheduled as follows:
General Webinar:
November 20, 2024
3:00 p.m. - 4:00 p.m. ET
Registration: register.gotowebinar.com
General Webinar:
December 3, 2024
2:00 p.m. - 3:00 p.m. ET
Registration: register.gotowebinar.com
Tribal-Focused Webinar:
December 12, 2024
3:00 p.m. - 4:00 p.m. ET
Registration: register.gotowebinar.com
Additional webinars may be scheduled for this program. Additional information will be available online at www.fisheries.noaa.gov.
Applications will be evaluated using the following criteria:
- Importance and applicability (35 points)
- Technical and scientific merit (25 points)
- Overall qualifications of the applicant (10 points)
- Project costs (15 points)
- Outreach and education (15 points)
Refer to the NOFA and Webinars files for additional application information.
| Match Required: | No |
|---|---|
| Actual Funds: | Unspecified |
| Range: | $20,000,000 (Max) |
| Award Range: | $300,000 (Min) / $6,000,000 (Max) |
|---|
Match Notes:
Matching funds are not required for this program, and the provision of matching contributions will not be considered during the application evaluation process. The funding agency encourages the provision of matching contributions to encourage partnerships among government, community, industry, and academia. Applicants are also encouraged to supplement award funds with complementary federal funding. Nonfederal matching contributions may also be optionally included in applications to demonstrate community support.
Award recipients will be bound by the proposed matching contributions proposed in their applications.
Funding Notes:
Up to an estimated $20 million is expected to be available to support cooperative agreements ranging from $300,000 to $6 million through this program. Typical awards will range from $500,000 to $4 million.
Award announcements will likely be issued prior to January 1, 2026.
Most awards are expected to have a project period of two to three years, and priority will be given to activities with the highest certainty to occur with a two- to three-year period. The earliest anticipated start date is January 1, 2026. Award periods may be extended, at the funding agency's discretion, up to a total of five years.
The funding agency may authorize award recipients to incur pre-award costs up to 90 days prior to the project period start date, as detailed on page 23 of the NOFA file.
Complex barrier removal projects that include both project development and implementation activities within the same project period will not be competitive.
Funds may not be used for:
- Application preparation costs
- Activities that are required by a separate local, state, or federal consent decree, court order, Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) exemption or license condition, statute, or regulation
- Projects solely focused on effectiveness monitoring and research
Contacts:
Janine Harris
(301) 427-8635
infrastructure.tribal@noaa.gov
Agency Address
U.S. Department of Commerce
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)
1401 Constitution Avenue, NW, Room 5128
Washington, D.C. 20230
Contact Notes:
Questions should be directed to Janine Harris. Answers to frequently asked questions will be posted online at www.fisheries.noaa.gov after the program's pre-application webinars are held.
Applications must be submitted online at www.ecivis.com/grants.gov.
The agency address provided is for reference purposes only.
Files:
NOFA File: US18335_NOFA_FY2025.pdf (712.9 Kb)Other Pre-Award File: US18335_Webinars_FY2025.pdf (145.1 Kb)
File Notes:
The NOFA file contains the full solicitation for this program. The Webinars file contains information regarding the optional webinars scheduled for this program.