FY25 RFP now open
2025 Project Request for Proposals (RFP). Deadline 2/9/2024
The Eastern Brook Trout Joint Venture (EBTJV), as one of the 20 partnerships under the National Fish Habitat Partnership, is requesting project proposals that are focused on Brook Trout conservation actions. Federal funding is available through the National Fish Habitat Partnership as outlined under the America’s Conservation Enhancement Act of 2020. You can find the full Act here.
This RFP opens on November 20, 2022. The deadline for submitting your Brook Trout conservation project proposal is 5:00 pm (Eastern Time) on February 9, 2024. Incomplete applications will not be considered, and late applications will only be considered in rare circumstances. Funding for FY2025 projects will likely not be appropriated by Congress until after January 2025 and will likely not be available to project leaders until March 2025 or later.
The maximum award amount for an individual project is $50,000. EBTJV expects to fund 3-5 projects for FY25. These funds can only be used for on-the-ground brook trout conservation and restoration projects in the native eastern range, and related design and short-term monitoring activities; they may not be used for research projects. If you have a question about an eligible activity, please contact the Coordinator or your state agency representative (see below).
To ensure available funding is being directed most effectively, proposed projects must be geared toward meeting the EBTJV’s range-wide habitat goals and objectives, as well as its key conservation actions. Projects must also fall under at least one of the NFHAP National Conservation Priorities. EBTJV prioritizes projects that are most likely to be fully implemented in the 2-year EBTJV/NFHAP project performance period. Additionally, the ACE Act places an emphasis on projects that increase recreational fishing opportunities through habitat improvements, that benefit the local economy, and that have a public educational component. EBTJV projects have historically incorporated each of these elements.
Examples of eligible projects include (but are not limited to):
- restoring aquatic connectivity by removing small dams and replacing undersized culverts;
- executing strategies that eliminate competition from non-native species (including removal);
- planting native shrubs and trees in riparian zones to provide shade and stream bank stabilization;
- adding large woody material to streams to add complexity, improve sediment sorting, and reconnect groundwater;
- restoring native brook trout to watersheds where it has been extirpated.
- implementing watershed conservation practices that reduce sediment and nutrient pollution
This is not a complete list, and furthermore, specific project actions may be deemed appropriate in one location and not in another. Projects are evaluated in context of whether the root causes of brook trout decline have been or will be addressed as a first step, and if available physical and biological data have been considered: e.g. data on population genetics, invasive species, stream temperatures, and available habitat and watershed variables. Additionally, efforts to maintain or improve public access, educate the public and other stakeholders about the conservation actions, and monitor project outcomes should ideally be included as components of a successful project (but are not eligible as a stand alone project).
We also strongly encourage you to look at the EBTJV’s 2024 Project Scoring Criteria. This outlines how applications will be scored, and should help you know if your project will rank well. Consultation with your state biologist is also meant to help you in this process.
Eligible applicants:
State, county, and local governments
Private, Public, and State controlled institutions of higher education
Nonprofits having a 501 (c)(3) status with the IRS
Native American tribal governments (Federally recognized)
Native American tribal organizations (other than Federally recognized)
Please carefully read the application and scoring criteria to ensure you can meet the requirements by the deadline. Successful applications are well thought out with input from partners and state and/or federal agency biologists.
Thank you for your interest in partnering with EBTJV to help us fulfill our mission to secure resilient populations of wild Brook Trout by protecting, enhancing, and restoring aquatic habitat and increasing human connections to, and stewardship of, our natural environment.
For questions, please contact:
Lori Maloney, Coordinator
Eastern Brook Trout Joint Venture
Email: lori.maloney@canaanvi.org
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