Alternative Analysis for the North Fork Battle Creek Winter-run Chinook Salmon Fish Culture Facility | F21AS00329

Opportunity Information: Apply for F21AS00329

The grant opportunity titled "Alternative Analysis for the North Fork Battle Creek Winter-run Chinook Salmon Fish Culture Facility" is a U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service discretionary grant focused on planning and decision support for reintroducing Sacramento River winter-run Chinook salmon (SRWCS) into North Fork Battle Creek. It is tied to the broader Battle Creek Salmon and Steelhead Restoration Project and responds to a key problem identified during restoration planning: despite major habitat and passage improvements, winter-run Chinook have not naturally recolonized Battle Creek on their own. Because natural colonization has not occurred, managers are moving toward an active reintroduction strategy rather than waiting for fish to establish themselves without help.

The project is grounded in the Winter-run Chinook Salmon Reintroduction Plan developed by ICF International in 2016 under contract with the California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW). A central idea in that plan is that successful reintroduction depends on producing juveniles that are not only physically capable of surviving but are also behaviorally and physiologically "imprinted" to North Fork Battle Creek water. Imprinting is important because salmon rely heavily on chemical cues to navigate back to their natal waters as adults. If juveniles are reared and released in a way that strengthens their association with North Fork Battle Creek, the odds improve that they will return to this specific stream reach to spawn, which is essential for establishing a self-sustaining run rather than a program that requires continuous stocking.

Because the Fish and Wildlife Service does not currently have a facility on North Fork Battle Creek, the purpose of this grant is to conduct an alternatives analysis to figure out how best to provide the rearing and imprinting function described in the reintroduction plan. In practical terms, the funded work is meant to identify and assess feasible options, including the possibility of using existing facilities (if any can meet the biological and operational needs) as well as siting and developing new facilities on or near North Fork Battle Creek. The grant is not framed as immediate construction money; it is aimed at the analytical and planning steps needed to compare options, develop a set of alternatives, and ultimately select a preferred alternative that can move forward into design, permitting, and implementation.

The opportunity is listed under Funding Opportunity Number F21AS00329, with the activity category of Natural Resources and CFDA number 15.608. The funding instrument is a grant, the opportunity category is discretionary, and eligibility is described as unrestricted, meaning a wide range of applicants could potentially apply (for example, state agencies, tribes, local governments, nonprofits, or other qualified entities, depending on standard federal grant requirements). The posting date (creation date) is May 14, 2021, and the original application closing date was June 10, 2021. The maximum award amount (award ceiling) is $225,000, and the notice does not specify an expected number of awards in the provided source text.

Overall, this grant is best understood as a targeted planning effort that supports a major restoration and species recovery objective: making winter-run Chinook salmon reintroduction in Battle Creek more likely to succeed by ensuring juveniles experience North Fork Battle Creek water during rearing and release. The deliverable implied by the description is a structured evaluation of facility and location alternatives and a defensible selection of a preferred option, which would then guide the next phase of work needed to actually establish the rearing and imprinting capability on North Fork Battle Creek.

• The Fish and Wildlife Service in the natural resources sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Alternative Analysis for the North Fork Battle Creek Winter-run Chinook Salmon Fish Culture Facility" 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 2021-05-14.
• Applicants must submit their applications by 2021-06-10. (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 $225,000.00 in funding.
• Eligible applicants include: Unrestricted.

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