This article originally appeared in the PA Council of Trout Unlimited Fall newsletter--

Funding for brook trout habitat projects through the National Fish Habitat Partnership is now open and accepting applications for Brook Trout Habitat Improvement Project Grants grants.  The deadline for applications is January 21.

The Eastern Brook Trout Joint Venture (EBTJV) is requesting project proposals that are focused on Brook Trout conservation actions. Federal funding is available through the National Fish Habitat Partnership as outlined under the America’s Conservation Enhancement Act of 2020.

EBTJV will score and rank proposals for consideration by the NFHAP board and the Department of the Interior.

Funding for FY2023 projects will likely not be appropriated by Congress until after January 2023 and will likely not be available to project leaders until March 2023 or later.

Actual project start date will be the date grant agreement funding documents are signed. Project objectives must be met within the program timeline once the grant agreement is executed.

The maximum award amount for an individual project is $50,000. These funds can only be used for on-the-ground brook trout habitat conservation and restoration projects in the native eastern range, and related design and monitoring activities.

To ensure available funding is being directed most effectively, proposed projects must be geared toward meeting the EBTJV’s range-wide habitat goals and objectives, as well as its key conservation actions.

Projects must also fall under at least one of the NFHAP National Conservation Priorities.

EBTJV prioritizes projects that are most likely to be fully implemented in the two year EBTJV/NFHAP project performance period.

Additionally, the ACE Act places an emphasis on projects that increase recreational fishing opportunities through habitat improvements, that benefit the local economy, and that have a public educational component.

EBTJV projects have historically incorporated each of these elements. New requirements under the ACE act include a 1:1 nonfederal match and an evaluation plan for assessing the results of the project and for measuring the associated improvements to fish populations, recreational fishing opportunities, and the local economy.

Please contact the EBTJV Coordinator [below] if you have a project on Tribal land or if you have a project request that includes real property acquisition, as we are awaiting more guidance on these.

Applicants will be notified of their project’s ranking and funding status as that information becomes available. Successful applicants will be required to complete a separate series of documents to receive the funds, in coordination with the US Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS).

Applicants are strongly encouraged to contact their state EBTJV representative early in the process.  Pennsylvania’s contact is Jason Detar, Fish and Boat Commission, 814-359-5118 or send email to jdetar@state.pa.us.

Thank you for your interest in partnering with EBTJV to help us fulfill our mission to secure resilient populations of wild Brook Trout by protecting, enhancing, and restoring aquatic habitat and increasing human connections to, and stewardship of, our natural environment.

For all the details, visit the Brook Trout Habitat Improvement Project Grants webpage.

For questions, please contact: Lori Maloney, Eastern Brook Trout Joint Venture coordinator, by sending email to: lori.maloney@canaanvi.org

(Reprinted from the PA Council of Trout Unlimited Fall newsletter.  Click Here to sign up for your own copy.)

Related Article This Week:

-- NFWF Central Appalachia Habitat Stewardship Program Announces $1.7 Million In Grants;  $1.4 Million To Benefit PA

[Posted: January 4, 2022]

1/10/2022