The National Fish and Wildlife Foundation (NFWF)’s Bring Back the Natives/More Fish program recently announced its 2013 request for proposals to restore, protect, and enhance native populations of sensitive or listed fish species, especially on lands on or adjacent to federal agency lands. The complete RFP is available at: http://www.nfwf.org/Pages/bbnmorefish/rfp.aspx#.UZJgRMpvUtS .
NFWF has made special efforts to align this program with the priorities of Fish Habitat Partnerships and the National Fish Habitat Action Plan. Specifically, the RFP identifies several funding priorities that are aligned with the Atlantic Coastal Fish Habitat Partnership (ACFHP):
• Projects that address habitat alteration, lack of adequate instream flows, and invasive and/or non-native species threats
• Projects that protect coastal and marine habitats
• Projects benefitting one or more of the following fish species:
– Native Atlantic coast estuarine-dependent or anadromous species (alewife, blueback herring, Atlantic and shortnose sturgeon, American eel, and American shad)
– Native fish species identified by recognized and candidate National Fish Habitat Partnerships
There are also two criteria for competitive proposals that are aligned with ACFHP:
• If the project supports implementation of the National Fish Habitat Action Plan (NFHAP) and/or a recognized or candidate Fish Habitat Partnership, describe how the project meets one or more of the NFHAP goals and strategies and how the outcomes will be measured and reported consistent with NFHAP guidelines:
Goal 1: Protect and maintain intact and healthy aquatic systems
Goal 2: Prevent further degradation of fish habitats that have been adversely affected
Goal 3: Reverse declines in the quality and quantity of aquatic habitats to improve overall health of native fish and other aquatic organisms
Goal 4: Increase the quality and quantity of fish habitats that support a broad diversity of native fish and other aquatic species
• If the project has a NFHAP nexus, applicants are highly encouraged to include a letter of support from the relevant Fish Habitat Partnership with the full proposal.
We encourage you to develop a native fish habitat project that meets the priorities and criteria outlined in the RFP, particularly a habitat protection project that will benefit one or more of ACFHP’s Subregional Priority Habitats (see ACFHP Conservation Strategic Plan) and one or more of the species listed below. While these are not the only species that ACFHP considers, they are of particular interest for this RFP:
• American eel
• Atlantic Salmon
• Atlantic Sturgeon
• Black Sea Bass
• River Herring
• Scup
• Shad
• Shortnose Sturgeon
• Summer Flounder
• Weak Fish
• Winter Flounder
We would be happy to collaborate as you develop a project proposal, however regardless of our level of collaboration, we encourage you to apply to ACFHP for a letter of endorsement to include in your NFWF pre-proposal package. Endorsement application and guidelines can be found at: http://www.atlanticfishhabitat.org/project-endorsement/ .
In order to include a letter of endorsement from ACFHP in your pre-proposal package, we request a completed application by May 27 (a week in advance of the June 3 NFWF pre-proposal deadline). If you could let us know ASAP if you plan to develop a letter of endorsement, we would be greatly appreciative! This will enable us to review your application as quickly as possible.