Technical Assistance in the Wenatchee, Entiat, and Methow Sub-basins | BOR PN 19 N006

Opportunity Information: Apply for BOR PN 19 N006

The grant opportunity titled "Technical Assistance in the Wenatchee, Entiat, and Methow Sub-basins" is a discretionary cooperative agreement offered by the U.S. Department of the Interior's Bureau of Reclamation (BOR), under CFDA 15.517, focused on natural resources work in key Upper Columbia River tributary watersheds in Washington State. The core purpose is to fund technical assistance from the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) so that Reclamation's habitat improvement projects in the Wenatchee, Entiat, and Methow sub-basins are guided by strong biological science, coordinated regional planning, and practical field monitoring. Rather than paying for a single construction project, this opportunity supports the scientific and technical backbone that helps select the right projects, design them effectively, permit them correctly, and track whether they actually benefit fish and habitat over time.

A central theme of the opportunity is WDFW participation in established regional coordination and decision-making groups, specifically the Upper Columbia Regional Technical Team and the Grant and Chelan County Tributary Habitat Committees. Through these forums, WDFW biologists and research scientists contribute agency expertise, local knowledge of fish populations and habitat conditions, and an ability to identify and address knowledge gaps that can limit habitat project effectiveness. The grant description emphasizes that WDFW's technical input is critical to the overall success of Reclamation's habitat work, implying that project outcomes depend not only on implementation funding but also on rigorous ecological understanding and consistent technical oversight during planning and execution.

The funded work is organized around several practical tasks that together span the project lifecycle. One major task is integrating existing biological knowledge into the development of habitat improvement projects across the three watersheds. In practice, this means using the best available information on species presence, life-history timing, habitat use, limiting factors, and restoration techniques to shape what projects are pursued and how they are designed. This type of technical assistance can influence choices such as which reaches are most important for spawning or rearing, what physical habitat attributes are most limiting, and what design elements are most likely to produce durable benefits under local flow and sediment conditions.

Another major component is providing biological expertise to prioritize, develop, and implement monitoring strategies for habitat improvement projects. The emphasis on monitoring signals that Reclamation and partners are looking for more than short-term construction outputs; they need credible measures of biological and habitat response. WDFW's role here involves helping decide what should be monitored, where and when data should be collected, and what methods are appropriate to detect change. Monitoring support can cover designing baseline data collection before implementation, selecting performance metrics tied to restoration objectives, and ensuring post-project monitoring is aligned with fish life stages and seasonal windows so that results can inform adaptive management.

The opportunity also targets a specific geographic and programmatic focus within the Entiat basin: the Middle Entiat habitat improvement projects. WDFW is expected to assist with development, permitting, and implementation by participating directly in the Middle Entiat Tech Team and Design Team. This indicates hands-on involvement with project plans and regulatory pathways, helping ensure designs meet biological objectives while also navigating permitting considerations that often apply to in-water or floodplain work. Participation on technical and design teams typically includes reviewing conceptual and final designs, providing input on timing restrictions to protect fish, advising on minimizing short-term construction impacts, and ensuring consistency with watershed-scale priorities.

A final task focuses on field surveys that directly address potential construction risks to fish reproduction. WDFW staff will perform steelhead redd (spawning nest) surveys in project areas where construction could affect egg-to-fry survival. In addition, the project will use spring Chinook redd survey data to evaluate potential construction impacts on egg-to-fry survival. This reflects an explicit concern for protecting sensitive life stages during habitat work, since disturbance, sedimentation, or altered flow patterns during incubation can reduce survival from eggs to emerging fry. By collecting redd location and timing information and integrating it into construction planning and impact assessment, WDFW helps Reclamation and partners avoid or reduce harm, choose appropriate work windows, and better understand tradeoffs between short-term disturbance and long-term habitat gains.

Administratively, the opportunity is identified as Funding Opportunity Number BOR PN 19 N006. It was created on August 14, 2019, with an original closing date of August 28, 2019. The eligible applicants are limited to state governments, which aligns with WDFW being the intended technical assistance provider. The award ceiling listed is $125,056, indicating a relatively targeted funding amount consistent with staff time, coordination, planning support, and field survey work rather than large-scale capital construction. The funding instrument is a cooperative agreement, which typically implies active involvement by the federal agency in the project, ongoing coordination, and shared responsibility for outcomes rather than a more hands-off grant structure.

Overall, this opportunity is best understood as funding for specialized scientific and technical capacity to strengthen habitat restoration decision-making in the Wenatchee, Entiat, and Methow watersheds. By supporting WDFW participation in regional teams, integration of biological knowledge into project selection and design, development of robust monitoring strategies, assistance with Middle Entiat project permitting and implementation, and redd surveys to protect steelhead and spring Chinook reproduction, the award is designed to improve both the effectiveness and the accountability of Reclamation-supported habitat investments in these Upper Columbia tributaries.

• The Bureau of Reclamation in the natural resources sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Technical Assistance in the Wenatchee, Entiat, and Methow Sub-basins" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 15.517.
• This funding opportunity was created on 2019-08-14.
• Applicants must submit their applications by 2019-08-28. (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 $125,056.00 in funding.
• Eligible applicants include: State governments.

Apply for BOR PN 19 N006

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