Restoring Tribal Priority Fish Passage through Barrier Removal Notice of Funding Opportunity under the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law Round 3 | NOAA NMFS HCPO 2025 29044

Opportunity Information: Apply for NOAA NMFS HCPO 2025 29044

The Restoring Tribal Priority Fish Passage through Barrier Removal Notice of Funding Opportunity (Bipartisan Infrastructure Law Round 3) is a NOAA-led grant program designed to help federally recognized Indian tribes, and tribal organizations that formally represent tribes, remove or fix barriers that block native migratory or sea-run fish from reaching critical habitat. The core purpose is practical and outcomes-focused: reopen fish passage so fisheries can rebuild and stay productive over time, support recovery of threatened and endangered species, improve overall watershed health, and strengthen ecosystem and community resilience. A major theme throughout the opportunity is also capacity building, meaning the program is intended not only to fund on-the-ground construction but also to increase tribal ability to plan, deliver, and manage fish passage projects now and in the future in ways that support commercial, recreational, subsistence, and cultural uses tied to fishing and aquatic resources.

This funding is authorized under the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, Public Law 117-58) and is administered through NOAA's Office of Habitat Conservation, Community-based Restoration Program. Projects are expected to align with one or more program priorities: delivering measurable and lasting gains for migratory fish populations; improving resilience to extreme weather and climate hazards while generating co-benefits; advancing tribally important barrier removal efforts that benefit migratory fish; and building fish passage capacity within tribal organizations so tribes can better carry out their responsibilities as managers and stewards of tribal trust resources for cultural, spiritual, economic, subsistence, and recreational purposes. In practice, that means applicants should not only describe what will be built or removed, but also make a clear case for the biological and community outcomes that will result and why those outcomes will endure.

NOAA is looking for proposals that connect barrier removal to specific fish and fishery conservation goals. Competitive applications should explain how the work will contribute to Endangered Species Act recovery for listed species, help sustain or rebuild fish stocks (and their prey) managed under the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act, improve passage for native Great Lakes fish where relevant, enhance the sustainability of saltwater recreational fisheries, and/or reduce climate and infrastructure risks by addressing aging structures in ways that provide broader benefits (for example, reducing flood risk, improving public safety, and restoring natural stream function). The opportunity also allows projects that support hydroelectric license surrender when it enables removal of dams that no longer make economic sense or no longer provide meaningful public benefits, which reflects NOAA's preference for long-term, low-maintenance solutions that restore natural connectivity.

The program supports a wide range of project phases, so applicants can request funds for early-stage planning or for full implementation depending on readiness. Eligible activities include feasibility studies and project development, engineering and design, permitting, on-the-ground restoration and construction associated with fish passage, and monitoring before and after barrier removal to document results. It also explicitly supports community engagement, outreach, and education, along with efforts that build tribal capacity to participate in current and future fish passage work. Even though the scope can be broad, NOAA signals that it favors proposals with a high likelihood of being completed within the award window, and it will give preference to projects that are ready enough to deliver results within roughly a two- to three-year period.

A key scoring signal is that barrier removal is preferred over building passage structures that require continuous operation and maintenance. In other words, removing a culvert, dam, or other obstruction and restoring a natural channel condition is generally viewed as a higher-value, more durable investment than installing a fish ladder or other engineered structure that needs ongoing upkeep. Proposals can cover multiple locations, and NOAA allows bundling several barriers into one application when the applicant can show that the sites work together to achieve larger, watershed-scale outcomes. A strong multi-site proposal would typically explain how each barrier contributes to overall connectivity, habitat access, and population recovery, and why the combined approach is more effective than isolated fixes.

Awards will be made as cooperative agreements, which generally means NOAA expects to have substantial involvement during the project period (for example, coordination on milestones, reporting, technical input, and compliance steps). NOAA anticipates a typical period of performance of three years for most projects. Funding levels are expected to commonly fall between $500,000 and $4 million over three years, with NOAA setting a hard floor and ceiling: applications must request at least $300,000 and no more than $6 million in total federal funding for the entire award. The published award ceiling is $6,000,000, and NOAA expects to make around 12 awards under this round.

Eligibility is narrowly defined and centered on federally recognized tribal entities. Eligible applicants include Indian tribes as defined in 25 U.S.C. 5304(e), and organizations that represent Indian tribes through formal legal agreements, such as tribal commissions, tribal consortia, tribal conservation districts, and tribal cooperatives. Because representation must be formal, tribal organizations are encouraged to submit clear documentation demonstrating the relationship with the tribe or tribes involved (for example, letters of support and memoranda of understanding), consistent with the application requirements referenced in the notice. Other entities such as universities, nonprofits, for-profit firms, states, local governments, U.S. territories, and groups that identify as tribes but do not meet the federal definition (including state-recognized tribes) are not eligible to apply directly under this specific opportunity, but they may participate as partners through subawards, contracts, or other collaborations with eligible tribal applicants. Federal agencies and federal employees are not eligible applicants, and NOAA encourages federal partners to support eligible applicants instead of applying.

Geographically, projects must benefit U.S. migratory fish consistent with the program's objective. For Great Lakes-focused proposals, the work must be located within the Great Lakes basin in one of the eight U.S. Great Lakes states: New York, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Michigan, Indiana, Illinois, Wisconsin, or Minnesota. The opportunity is listed as discretionary funding through the Department of Commerce, NOAA (DOC NOAA - ERA Production), under Funding Opportunity Number NOAA NMFS HCPO 2025 29044 and CFDA 11.463, with an application deadline of February 27, 2025.

• The DOC NOAA - ERA Production in the environment, natural resources sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Restoring Tribal Priority Fish Passage through Barrier Removal Notice of Funding Opportunity under the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law Round 3" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 11.463.
• This funding opportunity was created on 2024-10-30.
• Applicants must submit their applications by 2025-02-27. (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 $6,000,000.00 in funding.
• The number of recipients for this funding is limited to 12 candidate(s).
• Eligible applicants include: Native American tribal governments (Federally recognized), Native American tribal organizations (other than Federally recognized tribal governments).

Apply for NOAA NMFS HCPO 2025 29044

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