NOAA's Restoring Fish Passage through Barrier Removal Grants Under the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law- Round 3

The principal objective of NOAA's Restoring Fish Passage through Barrier Removal Notice of Funding Opportunity is to provide federal financial and technical assistance to fish passage through the removal of dams and other in-stream barriers for native migratory or sea-run fish. Funding 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, especially in underserved communities, and improves economic vitality, including local employment. This funding opportunity announcement is authorized under the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL), Public Law 117-58). Applicants should address the following program priorities: 1. Achieving measurable and lasting benefits for migratory fish populations; 2. Enhancing community resilience to climate hazards and providing other co-benefits; 3. Fostering regionally important habitat restoration; and 4. Providing benefit to and engaging with underserved communities, including through partnerships with Indian tribes and other indigenous communities. Proposals submitted under this funding opportunity should describe how the proposed fish passage will: 1. Contribute to the recovery of threatened and endangered species listed under the Endangered Species Act; 2. Sustain or help rebuild fish stocks and their prey managed under the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act; 3. Improve passage to support native fish species of the Great Lakes; 4. Enhance the sustainability of saltwater recreational fisheries; 5. Enhance community resilience, especially in tribal, indigenous and underserved communities, to climate hazards by removing or improving aging infrastructure and supporting other co- benefits; or 6. Support hydroelectric license surrender to remove dams that are no longer economically viable or provide significant public benefits. 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, including in tribal, indigenous and underserved communities; building the capacity of new and existing restoration partners to manage multi-faceted project design and construction; and education and outreach. Applicants may apply for funding to support one or more of these activities. Priority will be given to activities with the highest certainty to occur within a 2-3 year award period. Proposals may include multiple locations throughout a watershed or other geographic area and should demonstrate how multiple locations collectively contribute to priorities within the 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. NOAA is committed to the goals of advancing equity and support for underserved communities. NOAA encourages applicants to include and demonstrate principles of diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility through proactive, meaningful, and equitable community engagement in the identification, design, and/or implementation of proposed projects. NOAA also encourages applicants to propose projects with benefits to tribal, indigenous or underserved communities and that appropriately consider and elevate local or indigenous knowledge in project design, implementation, and evaluation. Applicants should identify if the project is located within tribal or underserved communities and/or whether a portion of the resilience benefits from the proposed work will flow to tribal, indigenous or underserved communities. This program will advance the Biden-Harris Administration's Justice40 Initiative. Established by Executive Order 14008 on Tackling the Climate Crisis at Home and Abroad, the Justice40 Initiative set the goal that 40 percent of the overall benefits of certain federal investments, such as climate, clean energy, and other areas, flow to disadvantaged communities that are marginalized and overburdened by pollution and underinvestment. Proposals selected for funding through this funding opportunity will be funded through cooperative agreements. NOAA anticipates that the period of performance for most awards will be for three years. NOAA anticipates typical federal funding for awards will range from $3 million to $5 million over three years. NOAA will not accept proposals with a federal funding request of less than $750,000 or more than $8 million total. Funds will be administered by the Community-based Restoration Program within the NOAA Office of Habitat Conservation, as directed in the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law.