NOAA's Restoring Fish Passage through Barrier Removal Grants Under the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law- Round 3 | NOAA NMFS HCPO 2025 29043

Opportunity Information: Apply for NOAA NMFS HCPO 2025 29043

NOAA's Restoring Fish Passage through Barrier Removal Grants (Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, Round 3) is a discretionary federal funding opportunity focused on reopening rivers and streams for native migratory and sea-run fish by removing dams and other in-stream barriers. The core purpose is to restore fish passage in a way that produces durable, measurable biological results while also improving watershed health, supporting resilient ecosystems and communities, and strengthening local economies, including job creation tied to restoration work. This opportunity is funded under the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, Public Law 117-58) and is administered by NOAA's Office of Habitat Conservation through the Community-based Restoration Program. Projects are expected to directly benefit U.S. migratory fish populations as defined by the program's objective.

NOAA is looking for proposals that clearly align with four program priorities: delivering measurable and lasting benefits for migratory fish populations; improving community resilience to climate-related hazards while generating additional co-benefits; advancing regionally important habitat restoration goals; and providing benefits to, and meaningfully engaging, underserved communities, including through partnerships with Indian tribes and other Indigenous communities. Competitive proposals should explain how the work advances at least one of NOAA's highlighted outcomes, such as helping recover threatened or endangered species under the Endangered Species Act, sustaining or rebuilding fish stocks and prey species managed under the Magnuson-Stevens Act, improving passage for native Great Lakes fish, supporting the sustainability of saltwater recreational fisheries, boosting climate resilience by addressing aging infrastructure and delivering related co-benefits (especially for tribal, Indigenous, and underserved communities), or enabling hydroelectric license surrender leading to removal of dams that are no longer economically viable or do not provide significant public benefits.

The range of eligible activities spans the full project pipeline. Applicants can request support for early-phase development (such as feasibility studies), technical preparation (engineering and design), permitting, and on-the-ground implementation for barrier removal or fish passage restoration. Proposals may also include pre- and post-removal monitoring to document ecological outcomes, robust community engagement processes (explicitly including tribal, Indigenous, and underserved communities), capacity-building for new or existing restoration partners who may need added support to manage complex multi-partner construction efforts, and education and outreach. NOAA signals a preference for actions most likely to be completed within a 2 to 3 year window, and proposals with a high certainty of execution during the award period are prioritized. Applicants can propose work at multiple sites across a watershed or defined geographic area, but they should make a clear case that the set of sites works together toward larger watershed-scale outcomes. In scoring, projects centered on full barrier removal are favored over projects that install structures requiring ongoing operations and maintenance.

Equity, community benefit, and meaningful participation are built into the program's expectations rather than treated as optional add-ons. NOAA emphasizes diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility principles and encourages proactive, fair, and genuine engagement in identifying, designing, and implementing projects. Applicants are encouraged to describe how benefits will flow to tribal, Indigenous, and underserved communities, to identify whether the project occurs within those communities, and to show how local or Indigenous knowledge will be appropriately elevated in design, implementation, and evaluation. The opportunity also connects directly to the Justice40 Initiative (Executive Order 14008), which sets a government-wide goal that 40 percent of the overall benefits of certain federal investments flow to disadvantaged communities that have been historically overburdened by pollution and underinvestment.

Awards will be made as cooperative agreements, reflecting NOAA's intent to remain substantially involved during project implementation. NOAA anticipates most projects will have a three-year period of performance. Typical federal funding levels are expected to fall between $3 million and $5 million over three years, with a minimum request of $750,000 and a maximum (award ceiling) of $8 million. NOAA expects to make about 25 awards under this round. The opportunity is listed under CFDA 11.463, with Funding Opportunity Number NOAA NMFS HCPO 2025 29043, and the original closing date is February 10, 2025.

Eligibility is broad and includes state, county, and city or township governments; special district governments; public and private institutions of higher education; federally recognized tribal governments and other tribal organizations; nonprofits (both 501(c)(3) and non-501(c)(3)); for-profit organizations (including small businesses); and U.S. territories. Federal agencies and federal employees cannot apply directly, but NOAA encourages federal partners to collaborate with eligible applicants. Proposed work must benefit U.S. migratory fish, and there are specific geographic constraints for certain regions: Great Lakes proposals must be located within the Great Lakes basin and within one of the eight U.S. Great Lakes states (New York, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Michigan, Indiana, Illinois, Wisconsin, or Minnesota), and proposals from U.S. commonwealths and territories must be located in American Samoa, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands, the U.S. Virgin Islands, or Puerto Rico.

• The DOC NOAA - ERA Production in the environment, natural resources sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "NOAA's Restoring Fish Passage through Barrier Removal Grants 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 2025-02-10. (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 $8,000,000.00 in funding.
• The number of recipients for this funding is limited to 25 candidate(s).
• Eligible applicants include: State governments, County governments, City or township governments, Special district governments, Public and State controlled institutions of higher education, Native American tribal governments (Federally recognized), Native American tribal organizations (other than Federally recognized tribal governments), Nonprofits having a 501 (c) (3) status with the IRS, other than institutions of higher education, Nonprofits that do not have a 501 (c) (3) status with the IRS, other than institutions of higher education, Private institutions of higher education, For-profit organizations other than small businesses, Small businesses.

Apply for NOAA NMFS HCPO 2025 29043

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