The Pacific Marine & Estuarine Fish Habitat Partnership (PMEP) and the Nestucca, Neskowin & Sand Lake Watersheds Council are pleased to announce that the Neskowin Fish Passage Improvement Project has been named to the National Fish Habitat Partnership 2022 Waters to Watch list. The Waters to Watch Program annually highlights ten outstanding fish habitat restoration projects nationwide to focus attention on rivers, streams and shores that will be cleaner and healthier habitats for the many fish and wildlife species and people who call these areas home.

The Neskowin Fish Passage Improvement Project project included a strong partnership with the Tillamook County Public Works Department and restored fish passage within the Neskowin Estuary-Wetland complex benefiting multiple species including ESA listed Coho salmon at the same time providing emergency egress to the local community during flooding events. The project increased access to 250 acres of riverine estuary, tidal scrub/shrub and tidal forest wetland rearing habitat and 5 miles of spawning habitat for Coho salmon, Chinook salmon, Chum salmon, Steelhead trout, Pacific lamprey, and Cutthroat trout. The project replaced three undersized culverts and two tidegates with two 32’ bridges sized to meet federal and state fish passage requirements.

The Pacific Marine and Estuarine Fish Habitat Partnership (PMEP) requests proposals for projects that will advance fish habitat conservation and restoration along the West Coast. PMEP is seeking project proposals that restore, enhance, or protect habitats for PMEP focal species within nearshore marine and estuarine systems (with an emphasis on habitat connectivity) or proposals that increase our understanding of fish habitats in estuarine and nearshore marine waters.

The project, or portion of a project, that PMEP funds must be completed within two years of receipt of funding and all PMEP funding and matching funds should be spent during that time. Project sponsors should assume that funding will be received in Summer of 2024.

Strong project proposals that request less than $100,000 will be given precedence in an effort to fund a diverse portfolio of projects. However, proposals of particular merit may be funded at a higher level at the discretion of the review panel. Please refer to the full RFP for more details.

All projects must show 1:1 non-federal financial match with the exception of projects proposed by tribal sponsors.

How to Apply

To apply for funding, interested applicants should complete and submit the online application. Please read the full RFP for instructions regarding what information to include and the preferred format for information. Incomplete or late applications will not be considered. The deadline for project proposal submissions is 5:00PM Pacific Time, Friday, February 17, 2023.

Find the Request for Proposals with application instructions HERE.

PMEP is pleased to announce the award of over $230,000 to the following five fish habitat restoration projects for 2022.

• Sequalitchew Creek Estuary Restoration Design Alternatives
• Polnell Point Armor Removal and Restoration
• Aiston Preserve Nearshore Restoration
• Eelgrass restoration in Washington & Oregon
• Zangle Cove Restoration

These projects represent important conservation priorities of PMEP, restoring eelgrass, nearshore sediment transport processes, and habitat connectivity. The projects were evaluated by a PMEP review panel and the PMEP Steering Committee and the board of the National Fish Habitat Partnership against PMEP and national conservation priorities. Funding comes from the National Fish Habitat Partnership and will be managed through the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

For more detailed descriptions of the funded projects check out our funded projects page, or take a look at our interactive story map.

Since 2006, the National Fish Habitat Partnership has supported over 1,000 projects benefiting fish habitats in all 50 states. The National Fish Habitat Partnership works to conserve fish habitats nationwide; leveraging federal, state, tribal, and private funding resources to achieve the greatest impact on fish populations through priority conservation projects of 20 regionally-based Fish Habitat Partnerships.

Make sure you’re subscribed to our newsletter to keep up to date with future funding opportunity announcements!

The Pacific Marine and Estuarine Fish Habitat Partnership is now accepting proposals for funding for fish habitat restoration and protection projects for its FY2023 funding cycle. PMEP will award an estimated $100,000-$350,000 in 2023 for projects that advance its mission.

Please access the full Request for Proposal (RFP) and application instructions HERE.

The deadline for proposals is 5PM PST February 25, 2022.  

NOTE: IF YOU HAD TROUBLE ACCESSING THE JOTFORM APPLICATION, PLEASE TRY AGAIN. THE PROBLEM HAS BEEN FIXED.

NOAA is funding four projects sponsored by National Fish Habitat Partnerships designed to enhance recreational fisheries engagement and restore habitat through the coastal National Fish Habitat Partnerships. PMEP is supporting the restoration of tidal influence to the Point No Point Estuary in Kitsap County, Washington. The Mid Sound Fisheries Enhancement Group is collaborating with the Kitsap County Parks Department to remove a malfunctioning tide gate to convert freshwater wetlands back into salt marsh habitat. Restoring tidal connectivity in this 32-acre area will provide critical nearshore habitat for juvenile Chinook salmon by restoring ecosystem processes at a key site along migratory salmon routes in and out of Puget Sound. the project also engages the local North Kitsap Puget Sound Anglers and other local fishers to collect data before and after restoration. Local engagement efforts will include education and outreach around the project and its importance. The project supports the NOAA Fisheries Puget Sound Chinook Recovery Plan, is integrated with regional salmon recovery efforts and helps PMEP reach its goal to improve connectivity within estuarine and nearshore fish habitat.

PMEP, in collaboration with the California Fish Passage Forum and the Pacific Lamprey Conservation Initiative, has launched a new Barriers to Tidal Connectivity data hub of resources developed through a collaborative project to improve our understanding of tidal connectivity issues along the US West Coast.

The data hub includes a data catalog of West Coast datasets of culverts, tide gates, levees and dikes, railways, and roads as well as maps identifying tidally restricted areas. This innovative data catalog assembles datasets managed by a variety of agencies including California’s Passage Assessment Database (PAD), Oregon’s Fish Passage Barriers, Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife Fish Passage Inventory, and the Washington Levee Inventory. Viewers can access all these datasets and visualize the extent of barriers to tidal connectivity for purposes of restoration, research, and planning.

Through the data hub, you can also access copies and recordings of presentations given at the recent Barriers to Tidal Connectivity Symposium held October 28, 2020. And other resources and reports can be accessed through the hub.

This data hub is a product of a collaborative effort by the three fish habitat partnerships made possible with generous support from the Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies.

You can find out more on Barriers to Tidal Connectivity on the PMEP website by clicking on the projects tab, or you can head directly to the data hub here. 

We want to give a warm welcome to our newest PMEP steering committee member, Irma Lagomarsino! Irma is a Senior Policy Advisor for the Oregon/Washington Coastal Office of NOAA Fisheries in Portland, Oregon, helping to build strategic collaborative solutions for salmon recovery with a particular emphasis in western Oregon. Previously, Irma served as the Assistant Regional Administrator for NOAA Fisheries California Coastal Office and as the Northern California Office Supervisor where she oversaw Endangered Species Act programs for listed salmon and steelhead. In 2014, Irma received the Bureau of Reclamation’s John W. Keys, III Award for Building Partnerships and Strengthening Relationships for her collaborative work with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and Reclamation. As a key leader for NOAA Fisheries, she helped forage the precedent-setting Klamath Agreements with agricultural, tribal and fishing communities, conservation organizations, states and other federal agencies. With 30 years of experience in the public sector, Irma focuses on building effective partnerships across-sectors to find innovative approaches for advancing the conservation of NOAA trust resources while supporting sustainable land use and communities. A native of California, she received her B.S. Degree in Marine Biology at the University of California at Berkeley and a M.S. Degree in Marine Environmental Science from the State University of New York at Stony Brook.

The America’s Conservation Enhancement Act, was enacted into law on October 30^th, 2020, and reauthorizes the North American Wetlands Conservation Act (NAWCA) and codifies the National Fish Habitat Partnership (NFHP), which represent two of the most successful voluntary conservation efforts in the United States.

The NFHP is comprised of 20 individual Fish Habitat Partnerships, each focusing on improving fish habitat and aquatic communities at regional and local levels. The NFHP has supported over 1,000 projects supporting fish habitat in all 50 states since 2006. Annually, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service provides funding and technical assistance to the partnerships to implement aquatic conservation projects nationwide and is also supported by many federal, state, and local agencies as well as regional and national conservation organizations.

With the signing of the bill into law, the National Fish Habitat Partnership is authorized for the next five fiscal years (2021-2025) at $7.2 million annually. The National Fish Habitat Board will report to Congress, particularly the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation and the Committee on Environment and Public Works of the Senate, and the Committee on Natural Resources of the House of Representatives.  The law will also expand the NFHPB to 26 members to include representatives from private landowners, agricultural production, representative involved in fish habitat restoration, corporate industries, and a member of an active FHP.

Technical and Scientific Assistance funds are authorized to be appropriated for up to $400,000 annually to each of the following agencies: National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, U.S. Forest Service, and U.S. Geological Survey in support of the National Fish Habitat Partnership. Within one year of enactment, the agencies receiving Technical and Scientific Assistance funds, led by the Department of the Interior, will develop an interagency operational plan outlining the implementation needs and interagency agreements.

A coalition of conservation organizations commended the sponsors of this bipartisan legislation for their commitment to fish and wildlife conservation: Sen. John Barrasso (R-WY), Sen. Thomas Carper (D-DE), Sen. John Boozman (R-AR), Sen. Benjamin Cardin (D-MD), and Sen. Martin Heinrich (D-NM) as well as Rep. Mike Thompson (D-CA), Rep. Robert Wittman (R-VA), Rep. Joe Cunningham (D-SC), Rep. Marc Veasey (D-TX), and Rep. Debbie Dingell (D-MI) in getting it to the President’s desk for signature during this Congressional session.

We’re happy to welcome Carrie Byron, Puget Sound Acquisition and Restoration (PSAR) Program Manager at the Puget Sound Partnership, to the PMEP Steering Committee! Carrie manages a salmon habitat protection and restoration grant program that supports local priority and regional large capacity salmon recovery projects throughout Puget Sound. Before coming to the Partnership, she worked at the Washington State Department of Ecology, where she managed the Watershed Protection and Restoration Lead Organization grant from EPA’s National Estuary Program. Carrie has also served as the Marine and Nearshore Lead for EPA’s Puget Sound Team and coordinated the Department of Ecology’s Coastal Zone Management Program for five years, where she oversaw the state’s Shoreline Master Program Grants program. She has a Master of Marine Affairs and a Master of Public Administration from the University of Washington’s School of Marine Affairs and Evans School of Public Affairs, respectively, and a B.A. in English from Whitman College. Carrie lives in Seattle and enjoys practicing yoga, hiking, camping, and exploring the outdoors with her family in her spare time.

The National Fish Habitat Partnership released its 2019 Annual Report highlighting progress on its mission to “protect, restore, and enhance the nation’s fish and aquatic communities through partnerships that foster fish habitat conservation and improve the quality of life for the American people.” Through the National Fish Habitat Partnership program, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and its partners provided more than $18 million to support 83 fish habitat conservation projects in 34 states. The Service provided $4 million in 2019, with state resource agencies, non-governmental organizations, and other partners contributing an additional $14 million. read the report here.