Fish Passage Funding Opportunity

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The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is making $38 million in funding available from President Biden’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law for fish passage projects across the nation that address outdated, unsafe or obsolete dams, culverts, levees and other barriers fragmenting our nation’s rivers and streams. In 2022, the Service’s National Fish Passage Program provided an initial $38 million Bipartisan Infrastructure Law investment to fund 40 projects in 23 states and Puerto Rico, which brought big wins for fish passage and local communities. These funds build on the nearly $2 billion in funding for fish passage projects under the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law across the Departments of the Interior, Transportation, Agriculture, and Commerce.

The program — in partnership with complementary programs at the Federal Highway Administration and NOAA Fisheries — is now looking to identify projects and partners for the next round of funding.

The National Fish Passage Program prioritizes projects that will:

  • maximize benefits to priority species and habitats;
  • provide sustainable fish passage;
  • leverage regional or watershed priorities for habitat restoration, fish passage, or aquatic connectivity;
  • enhance community resilience to climate change, address public safety hazards and provide other benefits such as job creation or recreational fishing opportunities;
  • support or engage with underserved and indigenous communities; and
  • be supported by partners, affected stakeholders, and the local community

Interested parties should submit a Letter of Intent to the appropriate National Fish Passage Program regional coordinator, via email, by December 16, 2022. Letters of Intent should include basic project information and a statement of interest. More information, including a list of National Fish Passage regional coordinators, may be found at Grants.Gov or by visiting the program’s informational website.

Please contact NFHP Program Manager Ryan Roberts if you need more information.

Ryan Roberts
National Fish Habitat Partnership Program Manager

Association of Fish & Wildlife Agencies
1100 First Street, NE (Suite 825)
Washington, DC 20002
PH: 202-838-3466
Fax: 202-350-9869
www.fishhabitat.org