American Rivers Inc.

American Rivers Inc., a tax-exempt nonprofit environmental organization headquartered in Washington, DC, operates exclusively as a federal grant recipient (85% of recent awards as prime recipient, 15% as sub-recipient) delivering river restoration, dam removal planning and implementation, habitat connectivity, and coastal resilience technical assistance to interior and commerce agencies. The organization does not hold federal contracts and does not compete under set-aside categories.

American Rivers' federal footprint centers on fish habitat restoration and dam removal across multiple river systems. Representative prime grant work includes a $1.65 million NOAA Congressionally Identified Awards and Projects award (CFDA 11.469) effective October 1, 2026, to expand technical assistance for permitting salmon recovery and coastal resilience projects in Washington State; a $3.556932 million NOAA Habitat Conservation Federal Grant Program cooperative agreement (CFDA 11.463) effective September 1, 2024, for design and permitting of Daniels Dam removal on the Patapsco River in Maryland; and a $15 million NOAA cooperative agreement effective April 1, 2023, for design, permitting, and pre-construction activities for Kellogg Creek Dam removal in Oregon. Other significant awards include a $1.203550 million U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) National Fish Passage Program (CFDA 15.685) grant effective July 1, 2024, for dam removal and habitat restoration in Pennsylvania's Ohio and Susquehanna River basins, and a $7.395464 million NOAA cooperative agreement effective April 1, 2023, for Cape Fear watershed habitat restoration and three-dam removal project in North Carolina. In its sub-recipient role, American Rivers manages sub-awards from the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation and University of Maine System for specific dam removal and fish passage projects, including a sub-award from NFWF for restoration planning at Pickel Meadow on the West Walker River in California and oversight of Royal River dam removal in Maine coordinated through University of Maine.

Customer concentration is driven by interior and natural-resource agencies. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) dominates American Rivers' portfolio by volume — USFWS Region 5, the national USFWS office, and USFWS Region 4 together account for 34 awards across the prime and sub footprint — alongside the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (14 awards). The National Park Service, Environmental Protection Agency, and Bureau of Reclamation round out the active customer set. Collectively, these five agencies account for 58% of recent awards. No single parent vehicle or recurring contracting mechanism anchors the work; awards arrive as project-specific cooperative agreements, cooperative agreements, and project grants under various CFDA authorities, primarily CFDA 15.685 (National Fish Passage), CFDA 11.463 (Habitat Conservation), CFDA 15.686 (National Fish Habitat Partnership), CFDA 97.045 (FEMA Cooperating Technical Partners), and CFDA 15.608 (Fish and Wildlife Management Assistance).

Activity has remained steady at 5 to 11 awards annually over the past five years, with six awards added in 2025 and five in 2026 year-to-date. Four awards face completion within the next twenty-four months, representing recompete or renewal opportunity. The organization's capability portfolio is narrowly specialized: dam removal planning, engineering design, and permitting; habitat connectivity and aquatic organism passage restoration; floodplain and riparian restoration; technical assistance for coastal resilience and flood risk mapping under FEMA's Risk MAP initiative; and coordination of multi-stakeholder fish habitat partnerships. Work is geographically distributed across regions prioritized for salmon recovery (Pacific Northwest and California), endangered and threatened fish recovery (Atlantic coast, Appalachia), and multi-benefit restoration (middle Atlantic, Ohio River basin). Teaming relationships with sub-recipients include partnerships with the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation, The Nature Conservancy, California Trout, Yurok Tribe, and state agencies including New Hampshire Fish and Game and the Pennsylvania Department of Conservation.