Large Grant

The Reservoir Fisheries Habitat Partnership (RFHP) is proud to announce our Request for Proposals for federal FY2025 funding of fish habitat enhancement projects in reservoirs. The RFHP is a nationwide partnership established to promote and facilitate the conservation of habitat for fish and other aquatic species in reservoirs and is one of 20 federally recognized National Fish Habitat Partnerships in the U.S. It is the only one dedicated to manmade reservoirs, which are products of society’s need for water and its many uses. Many habitat impairments come along with reservoirs, and RFHP seeks projects that address large-scale habitat issues, implement best practices, foster partnerships across the landscape, and enrich quality of life through fishing and reservoir improvement.

Available Funding

RFHP anticipates approximately $250,000 in funding for “on-the-ground” projects in FY2025. Grants will be capped at $75,000 but grants for lesser amounts will be considered.

Bear in mind that the grant request must be matched by a minimum of 1:1 nonfederal funds. RFHP anticipates funding 4-6 projects @ $10,000-$75,000 each. Given the amount of funding available at this time, RFHP grants should be considered as a partial funding source for projects with multiple funding sources and partners, and special consideration will be given to projects with more than the minimum match. All contributions (cash and/or in-kind) must be expended during the project period. Eligible costs will be paid for work done no earlier than contract approval.

We welcome multi-year projects, but do limit long-term funding of the same project year-after-year. Specifically, funding for a second year of the same/very similar work within the previous three years is capped at $50,000. Funding for a third year within the previous three years is capped at $30,000. A phase is characterized by unique objectives and methods relative to the previous phase. A new phase with unique scope is eligible for full funding.

Deadline

Applications are due by 11:59pm Central time on February 10, 2024.

Proposal Requirements: Review the grant requirements here or download the PDF directly at the bottom of this page. Grants must be submitted using the online submission form below. Timelines may use an April 1, 2025 starting date, but the actual start date will be determined by completion of the contract document.

Step 1 of 5 - Test New Grant Application

  • General Project Information

  • A "project" is a unique project, or a phase of a multi-stage project.
  • Reservoir must be open to public access to be eligible for this program.
  • Identify the location of the reservoir on Google Maps by right-clicking the reservoir and selecting the first option, which provides decimal-degree latitude and longitude. Then copy-paste the URL to the textbox here.
  • General location description to provide geographic context for the project
  • Accepted file types: pdf, jpg, Max. file size: 100 MB.
  • FOR membership provides bonus points that have been critical for project selection over the past several grant cycles. FOR members typically are local fishing/conservation clubs, municipalities, regional conservation organizations, etc. Contact the RFHP Coordinator or go to the Members Page https://www.friendsofreservoirs.com/members/ to see if any local group is a current member of Friends of Reservoirs. If not, joining is easy! Visit https://www.friendsofreservoirs.com/members/join-today/ for more information.

 

 

Download Request for Proposals

Last Updated 11/18/23