Sacramento River Monitoring and Restoration of Juvenile Habitat | AFRP N01

Opportunity Information: Apply for AFRP N01

The Sacramento River Monitoring and Restoration of Juvenile Habitat opportunity is a discretionary grant from the U.S. Department of the Interior, Fish and Wildlife Service, offered through the Anadromous Fish Restoration Program (AFRP) under CFDA 15.648. The focus is on improving habitat conditions for juvenile salmonids (including threatened and endangered runs) along the mainstem Sacramento River in Shasta and Tehama Counties. The targeted river reach spans roughly 70 miles, from River Mile 230 to River Mile 300, an area heavily influenced by dam and flow operations associated with the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation Central Valley Project. Because flow fluctuations can strand or stress young fish during their early life stages, the project is built around understanding how this dynamic river channel changes over time and then shaping restoration actions to reduce risk to juveniles.

The work described is not starting from scratch. The project has been in development for several years, with ongoing monitoring and mapping already completed to characterize the river system and identify problem areas. The grant supports the next phases, which continue and build on that technical foundation. A core element is continued monitoring to refine site selection and guide designs that function under variable flows. The habitat concept highlighted is creating or modifying riverbank and nearshore features with a downward slope so that juvenile fish can more easily move off rearing areas and exit safely with outgoing flows, reducing the chance of being trapped as water levels drop. In practice, this points to engineered or nature-based grading and connectivity improvements that keep shallow-water habitat linked to the main channel across changing river stages.

A major operational reality for this reach is that it is fragmented among many landowners, each controlling relatively small segments of river frontage. For that reason, the opportunity emphasizes partnership-building as a primary near-term task. The intent is to work with willing landowners to identify specific sites where restoration can be designed and later implemented, meaning coordination, access agreements, and collaboration are central to success. This also implies that early project progress may be incremental and site-by-site rather than a single large construction footprint, with designs tailored to local conditions and ownership constraints.

The grant also anticipates the need to complete environmental compliance steps required for restoration on a regulated, ecologically sensitive river corridor. While the notice does not list specific statutes, the language clearly signals tasks such as environmental review, permitting, and documentation needed before construction can occur. As a result, allowable or expected project components include planning and technical design, compliance and permitting support, project management, and, when funded, construction activities to restore juvenile habitat features.

In terms of funding structure, the posting lists an award ceiling of $129,000 and expects one award under this specific opportunity (Funding Opportunity Number AFRP N01). It also notes that funds were expected to be available within a few months of the announcement and, importantly, flags the likelihood of additional future funding for implementation at additional sites. The notice cites a potential follow-on level of roughly $300,000 per year for the next two years, suggesting the initial award may function as a bridge from monitoring and concept development into readiness for on-the-ground implementation, with subsequent increments supporting expansion to more landowner sites and full build-out. Overall, the grant is framed as a high-priority effort under both the Central Valley Project Improvement Act and the AFRP, reflecting a programmatic emphasis on recovering and protecting anadromous fish populations by improving juvenile rearing and survival conditions in a flow-managed river system.

• The Department of the Interior, Fish and Wildlife Service in the environment sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Sacramento River Monitoring and Restoration of Juvenile Habitat" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 15.648.
• This funding opportunity was created on Jul 12, 2017.
• Applicants must submit their applications by Jul 19, 2017. (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 $129,000.00 in funding.
• The number of recipients for this funding is limited to 1 candidate(s).
• Eligible applicants include: Others (see text field entitled Additional Information on Eligibility for clarification).

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