The Watershed Research And Training Center

The Watershed Research And Training Center, doing business as Watershed Center, is a tax-exempt nonprofit organization located in Hayfork, California, that serves as a prime recipient of federal grant awards focused on natural resource management, watershed restoration, wildfire mitigation, and community protection. The organization has been registered in SAM.gov since 2003 and specializes in delivering conservation services, technical training, and collaborative restoration projects across California and the western United States. Through its federal funding relationships, the Watershed Center provides expertise in stream restoration, fish habitat enhancement, forest health improvement, and community wildfire adaptation initiatives that benefit both ecological systems and at-risk communities.

The Watershed Center has demonstrated substantial capacity in delivering federal grant-funded services across multiple programs and agencies. The organization has received cooperative agreements and project grants from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service for fish passage improvements, including the removal of concrete dams and installation of engineered roughened channels in West Tule Creek, as well as alternatives analysis for lamprey passage at the Hayfork Creek Fish Ladder. Through the Bureau of Land Management, the Watershed Center has executed fuels management and community fire assistance programs in California and Utah, including the Fire Adapted Communities Learning Network in collaboration with Utah State University. The U.S. Department of Agriculture Forest Service has awarded the organization significant funding under the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act Community Wildfire Defense Grants program, including the Middle Trinity Community Protection Project ($3.2 million) and the Hyampom Community Protection Project ($1.3 million), both focused on developing community wildfire protection plans and reducing hazardous fuels. Additionally, the Watershed Center received $203,413 through the Forest Stewardship Program for the California Forestry Technician Intensive Training Project to provide comprehensive technical training for forestry professionals. The U.S. Department of Agriculture Natural Resources Conservation Service awarded a $150,000 cooperative agreement for the Trinity County Conservation Program Technical Assistance, providing conservation planning and monitoring services. The organization has also served as a subrecipient on grants from The Nature Conservancy, the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation, and the University of Idaho, supporting projects ranging from salmonid habitat assessments and restoration design work in the Upper Hayfork Creek Watershed to wildfire recovery trajectory tools and community resilience research. These grants collectively demonstrate the Watershed Center's expertise in process-based restoration techniques, including beaver dam analogues, floodplain reconnection, and groundwater recharge enhancement for threatened species such as coho salmon and steelhead.

The Watershed Center holds a single-award Blanket Purchase Agreement with the U.S. Department of Agriculture Forest Service Pacific Southwest Region (Region 5) valued at $50 million over 10 years, effective from October 3, 2022, through October 3, 2032. This major contract vehicle, titled the Pacific Southwest Stewardship BPA, covers stewardship services across the Shasta-Trinity and Six Rivers National Forests in California and enables the agency to issue task orders for watershed restoration, forest health improvement, habitat enhancement, and other natural resource management activities. Under this BPA, the Watershed Center is positioned to deliver services including invasive species removal, erosion control projects, reforestation following wildfires, and collaborative initiatives with local stakeholders throughout the two national forests.