Conduct Fall Chinook Salmon Spawning Escapement Enumeration Projects | F18AS00171

Opportunity Information: Apply for F18AS00171

The grant opportunity titled "Conduct Fall Chinook Salmon Spawning Escapement Enumeration Projects" (Funding Opportunity Number F18AS00171) is a U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) discretionary grant under the Department of the Interior focused on natural resources monitoring in the Klamath River basin. It supports the continuation of a long-running effort, started in FY 1989, to monitor anadromous salmonid runs in Blue Creek, a critical tributary in the lower Klamath sub-basin. Blue Creek is described as the only remaining drainage in that sub-basin that still supports sizable runs of Chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha) and coho salmon (O. kisutch). The core purpose is to maintain consistent, comparable monitoring over time so resource managers can track whether populations are increasing, stable, or declining and respond with better-informed conservation and management decisions.

The work funded by this opportunity centers on collecting adult escapement data, meaning estimates or counts of adult salmon that successfully return from the ocean and "escape" harvest to reach spawning areas. These escapement numbers are used to evaluate long-term population trends within the Blue Creek basin and to refine understanding of where fish are distributed throughout the drainage, when they enter and move through the system (immigration timing), and how they use habitats across the watershed. Because the project has been running for decades, it provides a valuable time series that improves trend detection and makes year-to-year comparisons more meaningful, which is especially important in variable systems where flow conditions, ocean survival, and habitat changes can strongly influence returns.

A major stated value of the data is its role in the "Mega-Table," which is referenced as a basinwide assessment framework used to compile and interpret wild salmonid population information across the Klamath Basin. By contributing reliable escapement and distribution data from one of the most important remaining lower-basin refuges for these fish, the project helps improve overall estimates of wild salmonid numbers. Better estimates, in turn, support more accurate predictions of future Chinook run sizes and the setting of allowable harvest numbers, tying this monitoring directly to fisheries management and allocation decisions.

Beyond fisheries forecasting, the information gathered is also intended to inform land management and watershed restoration. Monitoring results can be used to evaluate how changes in habitat conditions, sediment loads, riparian practices, and restoration actions affect fish use of the drainage and spawning success. In practice, this kind of project often serves as a feedback loop for restoration and management: consistent field observations and escapement tracking help identify priority reaches, detect shifts in spawning distribution, and provide evidence for whether restoration investments are producing measurable biological responses.

Administratively, the opportunity falls under CFDA 15.608 and lists federally recognized Native American tribal governments as eligible applicants. However, the posting is explicitly a notice of intent rather than an open competition, and it states that the opportunity has already been awarded to the Yurok Tribe. The expected number of awards is one, with an award ceiling of $90,609. The notice was created on June 25, 2018, and reflects a targeted continuation of an established monitoring partnership rather than a broad solicitation for new applicants.

• The Department of the Interior, Fish and Wildlife Service in the natural resources sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Conduct Fall Chinook Salmon Spawning Escapement Enumeration Projects" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 15.608.
• This funding opportunity was created on Jun 25, 2018.
• Applicants must submit their applications by This is a notice of intent. The opportunity has been awarded to the Yurok Tribe.. (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 $90,609.00 in funding.
• The number of recipients for this funding is limited to 1 candidate(s).
• Eligible applicants include: Native American tribal governments (Federally recognized).

Apply for F18AS00171

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