Western Native Trout Initiative

Western Native Trout Initiative Submits 2010 Slate of Projects to National Fish Habitat Board

Robin Knox, Coordinator of the Western Native Trout initiative, reports that the Western Native Trout Initiative Steering Committee has approved 10 projects for submission to the National Fish Habitat Board and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Director for their approval and funding in 2010.

The Initiative, started in 2006, has successfully acquired over $2,600,000 in funding for 50 native trout conservation enhancement projects across the western United States.

For the 2010 National Fish Habitat project year, the WNTI is projected to once again to receive $600,000 for project implementation. This matches the allocations of the past two years and is great news for WNTI and its project partners. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service western regional offices prepared project lists for the WNTI Steering Committee to consider in December 2009. The WNTI Steering Committee selected a final list of projects, 10 this year that is forwarded to the FWS Washington office and then considered by the National Fish Habitat Board for their stamp of approval.

The following projects were selected for funding this year:

1. Deep Creek and Crazy Creek Fish Passage and Habitat Restoration Project (Crooked River), OR
2. Stream-bank Stabilization and Fish Screen for BCT St. Charles Cr, ID.
3. Lower Wenatchee River in-stream Enhancement Project on 15 miles of stream, WA
4. Barrier construction and Gila trout restoration in West Fork Oak Creek, AZ
5. Renovation of Barrier to Protect Rio Grande Cutthroat Trout in Tio Grande Creek, NM
6. 2.7 miles of Bear Creek Habitat Improvement for Greenback Cutthroat Trout, CO
7. Restoring Bull Trout stream habitat In the Therriault Creek Drainage, MT
8. Riparian Fence Exclosure on Middle Thompson Cr. For Colorado River Cutthroat, CO
9. Barrier construction and resoration of Yellowstone cutthroat trout to Four Mile Cr, MT.
10. WNTI - Protecting stream Habitat for Coastal Cutthroat Trout Via Water Reservations in SE AK

The partner match Associated with these projects totaled just over $4,000,000.

The National Fish and Wildlife Foundation is Accepting Project Proposals for Funding from Funds Provided by the Jackson Hole One-Fly Foundation – Deadline February 19th, 2010

The National Fish and Wildlife Foundation (NFWF) is a tremendous WNTI Partner. Chartered by Congress, the Foundation leverages money from a variety of sources to fund projects that benefit western native trout. Since 2005, NFWF has funded over 255 projects with approximately $26,000,000 of Foundation funds matched to millions of other dollars.

NFWF receives money from a variety of sources, and serves as a clearing house for distributing money to qualified science and habitat projects. NFWF works with NOAA, FWS, USFS, BLM, TU and others to fund aquatic wildlife projects across the country, and they have several native trout focus areas.

The Jackson Hole One Fly Foundation Board (JHOFF) and the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation (NFWF) have entered into a conservation program partnership to co-fund stream improvement/native cutthroat trout conservation (protection, restoration, and enhancement) projects. We are requesting proposals for spring 2010 projects from eligible governmental, Tribal or non-governmental organizations. All proposed projects must advance the Jackson Hole One Fly Foundation and the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation’s missions of conservation of native trout and their habitat watersheds and must meet the specific criteria outlined below. Preference will be given to projects in the tributaries and main stem Snake and Yellowstone basins of Idaho, Wyoming and Montana, and Upper Colorado basin, especially those that have been ranked as high priority by the Western Native Trout Initiative. Other native trout habitat conservation projects in the intermountain west may also be considered as funds allow. All applications must be received by

Wednesday February 17, 2010 at 5:00 pm PST.

Applicants should log onto the Foundation’s website: www.nfwf.org, go to the home page and selection the Jackson Hole One-Fly Foundation link. Pre-proposals will be evaluated and ranked by the BBN Review Committee according to the priorities and criteria described. If invited for a full proposal, applicants may be required to solicit peer reviews of their proposal by up to five qualified and objective reviewers. The Foundation also retains the right to require additional peer review of proposals by external experts.
For more information or questions about the application process, please contact:
Barrett Bohnengel

806 SW Broadway, Suite 750

Portland, OR 97205

(503) 417-8700
barrett.bohnengel@nfwf.org

The NFWF has the specific details about applying for grants. If you are interested, please visit their site for more detailed information on the fish conservation programs.

WNTI 2008 Project Completion Reports Are Posted on WNTI Web Page

WNTI recently received final project reports from 3 projects that were funded from the WNTI multi-state grant in 2008. The projects were a) updating the Westslope cutthroat trout Status Review; b) developing a redband trout status and data protocol evaluation in select areas of Washington State; and c) developing a coastal cutthroat trout web-based interactive database using the StreamNet technology. The final reports from these projects will be posted at www.westernnativetrout.org in the individual species projects list.

Data Management for Western Native Trout

In 2009, WNTI signed a contract with Shannon Albeke and Seam Biometrics to look at ways to improve the compatibility of cutthroat population information that is used to develop conservation and enhancement actions for native trout. That effort is fully underway. The upgrading and maintaining of databases has consistently been one of the un-funded high priority actions. WNTI appreciates your cooperation in this effort as WNTI works to help with cutthroat trout data management and up-keep.

That project is fully underway. WNTI is planning on hosting a native cutthroat data meeting just prior to the start of the Western Division of the American Fisheries Society meeting in Salt Lake City in April.

The tentative date of the workshop is April 19th, and the purpose will be to review the progress on the cutthroat data protocols, discuss future data needs of WNTI partners, and to learn about the role of WNTI in the National Fish Habitat assessment that is currently underway and scheduled to be completed in 2010.

Details about the data meeting will be posted on the WNTI web page as soon as they are completed.
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The National Fish and Wildlife Foundation requests proposals for native trout projects in the northern rocky mountain region.

The Jackson Hole One Fly Foundation Board (JHOFF) and the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation (NFWF) have entered into a conservation program partnership to co-fund stream improvement/native cutthroat trout conservation (protection, restoration, and enhancement) projects. We are requesting proposals for spring 2010 projects from eligible governmental, Tribal or non-governmental organizations. All proposed projects must advance the Jackson Hole One Fly Foundation and the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation’s missions of conservation of native trout and their habitat watersheds and must meet the specific criteria outlined below. Preference will be given to projects in the tributaries and main stem Snake and Yellowstone basins of Idaho, Wyoming and Montana, and Upper Colorado basin, especially those that have been ranked as high priority by the Western Native Trout Initiative. Other native trout habitat conservation projects in the intermountain west may also be considered as funds allow.

The Stream Improvement Program of the JHOFF/NFWF Conservation Partnership focuses on providing support for “on the ground” type projects that protect, enhance and/or restore flows/ and instream habitat for native cutthroat trout species; however, applied research projects may be considered if it can be demonstrated how results will inform benefit to natural resources management agencies leading to a specific measurable conservation outcome within a 3 year period.

II. PROJECT EVALUATION

Proposals will be reviewed and evaluated by the Stream Improvement Committee comprised of NFWF staff, JHOFF volunteer representatives and scientific advisors. Representatives of the Western Native Trout Initiative and the National Fish Habitat Board and if needed other experts will also be asked to review projects. Final funding decisions are made by the Stream Improvement Committee, NFWF Board and the JHOFF Board of Directors.

Grant applications are evaluated according to the merit of proposal, the adequacy and clarity of application information, and at a minimum, must address the questions regarding scope, methods/analyses, significance, feasibility, measureable outcomes, and cost. Without this basic information, the Committee cannot evaluate the application.

III. Deadline and Schedule

All applications must be received by

Wednesday February 17, 2010 at 5:00 pm PST.

Please note that extensions will not be granted since the Committee will meet in early March to make grant decisions. Applicants will use NFWF’s online application interface: EasyGrants. To start an application, please click on the following link: http://www.nfwf.org/easygrants. New users to the system will be prompted to register before starting their application. After clicking on “Start a new application,” select the Jackson Hole One Fly Funding Opportunity. Once you have started the application, you can save it and return at a later point to complete it, up until the application deadline. Please be sure to disable the pop-up blocker on your Internet browser prior to beginning the application process.

Applicants will be notified of the status of their proposal by April 30, 2010.

For more information go to the NFWF Home page- www.nfwf.org/Home - and look in the highlights area for the Jacksonhole 1-Fly Foundation link.

For questions or clarifications on the application process, please contact Barrett Bohnengel at barrett.bohnengel@nfwf.org or 503-417-8700 ext. 6007.

Just a reminder that the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation is requesting project proposals for 2010 funding of the "Bring Back the Natives" program. Please visit their website for details.

Applicants should log onto the Foundation’s website: www.nfwf.org, go to Special Grant Programs and select the Bring Back the Natives opportunity, and use the online process to submit a pre-proposal (the Bring Back the Natives program webpage can also be found at http://www.nfwf.org/bbn). Pre-proposals will be evaluated and ranked by the BBN Review Committee according to the priorities and criteria outlined above. In December 2009, the strongest pre-proposals will be invited to submit a full proposal due in February 2010. If invited for a full proposal, applicants may be required to solicit peer reviews of their proposal by up to five qualified and objective reviewers. The Foundation also retains the right to require additional peer review of proposals by external experts. Full proposal applicants will be notified of grant awards by June 2010.

For more information or questions about the application process, please contact:

Barrett Bohnengel
806 SW Broadway, Suite 750
Portland, OR 97205
(503) 417-8700
barrett.bohnengel@nfwf.org

Contact: Robin Knox
Coordinator, Western Native Trout Initiative
rknox@westernnativetrout.org
21 October 2009 Denver Colorado

BRING BACK THE NATIVES REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS

WNTI POTENTIAL NFHAP ALLOCATION

Bring Back the Natives Funding Available

Bring Back the Natives, A National Fish and Wildlife Foundation Public-Private Partnership for Restoring, Protecting, and Enhancing Populations of Native Aquatic Species is requesting project proposals for 2010 funding.

Application Procedure

Pre-proposal Due Date: December 1, 2009

Full Proposal Due Date: February 1, 2010

Applicants should log onto the Foundation’s website: www.nfwf.org, go to Special Grant Programs and select the Bring Back the Natives opportunity, and use the online process to submit a pre-proposal (the Bring Back the Natives program webpage can also be found at http://www.nfwf.org/bbn). Pre-proposals will be evaluated and ranked by the BBN Review Committee according to the priorities and criteria outlined above. In December 2009, the strongest pre-proposals will be invited to submit a full proposal due in February 2010. If invited for a full proposal, applicants may be required to solicit peer reviews of their proposal by up to five qualified and objective reviewers. The Foundation also retains the right to require additional peer review of proposals by external experts. Full proposal applicants will be notified of grant awards by June 2010.

For more information or questions about the application process, please contact:

Barrett Bohnengel
806 SW Broadway, Suite 750
Portland, OR 97205
(503) 417-8700
barrett.bohnengel@nfwf.org

Other Project news

1. US FWS 2010 proposed funding allocation for the National Fish Habitat Action Plan – This item is always of interest, because it gives a preview of the funding that may be available to the national fish habitat partnerships for project implementation. For the 2010 fiscal year (already started but not yet officially authorized) the WNTI is slated to once again to receive $600,000 for project implementation. This matches the allocations of the past two years and is great news for WNTI and its project partners. The FWS regional offices are preparing project lists for the WNTI Steering Committee to consider later this year. The WNTI Steering Committee will select a final list of projects, usually 8 to 10, that is forwarded to the FWS Washington office and then considered by the National Fish Habitat Board for their stamp of approval.

Yesterday you may have received a WNTI Newsletter notification that was difficult to read due to some formatting difficulties we experienced.

My apologies for that.

You can view the WNTI Happenings-July 2009 Newsletter on the WNTI web page - www.westernnativetrout.org

Click on the News tab.