Montana/Dakotas Fisheries and Aquatic Resource Management | L20AS00095

Opportunity Information: Apply for L20AS00095

The Montana/Dakotas Fisheries and Aquatic Resource Management opportunity (Funding Opportunity Number L20AS00095) is a Bureau of Land Management (BLM) cooperative agreement program under the U.S. Department of the Interior focused on protecting, restoring, and improving aquatic ecosystems and fisheries resources on BLM-managed public lands. It sits within BLMs Aquatic Habitat Management mission area, which covers a massive footprint of streams and rivers, lakes and reservoirs, and wetlands. The central idea is that healthy instream, riparian, and wetland systems are essential for clean water, erosion control, reduced sedimentation, stronger habitat for fish and wildlife, and sustained recreation and local economic benefits. Projects supported by this funding are meant to strengthen the biological, chemical, and physical integrity of aquatic ecosystems while balancing BLMs multiple-use mandate.

This grant emphasizes practical, on-the-ground and in-the-water work that keeps aquatic systems functioning properly or brings them back toward natural conditions. A major theme is restoring stream and floodplain connectivity and improving overall stream function, including hydraulic and geomorphic conditions that influence channel stability, habitat complexity, and resilience during droughts and floods. Another strong focus is invasive species prevention and response, particularly aquatic invasive mussels like zebra and quagga mussels, along with other invasive plants and animals that threaten habitat quality and water delivery systems. The program highlights collaborative prevention strategies such as watercraft inspection and decontamination in coordination with state partners, reflecting broader federal commitments to improving interagency coordination on invasive mussels across the West.

Eligible project activities are broad and cover both planning and implementation. On the planning and coordination side, the opportunity supports developing and carrying out watershed management plans, building local capacity for long-term watershed protection, and creating forums where diverse stakeholders can communicate and coordinate actions across a watershed. On the implementation side, it supports habitat restoration and protection for rivers, streams, wetlands, lakes, and riparian areas, including stabilizing degraded sites, reconnecting habitats, reducing erosion and sediment inputs, and improving water quality. It also supports modernizing or replacing infrastructure that blocks aquatic organism passage, such as undersized culverts and diversion structures, with the goal of improving connectivity for fish and other aquatic species.

Monitoring, inventory, and data management are also central to the program. The BLM specifically calls out collecting and analyzing water resource data needed to protect and restore aquatic systems, monitoring both surface water and groundwater quality, and conducting baseline inventories and assessments that feed long-term management decisions. Projects may include geospatial and biometric data management, habitat condition monitoring, and research or directed monitoring that involves citizen-scientists and students. For invasive species work in particular, the opportunity explicitly includes mapping, control, prevention, education, data analysis, ecological modeling and risk assessment, biosecurity planning, and eDNA surveillance as eligible and encouraged components.

A distinct goal of the program is to maintain and improve fishing opportunities on public lands. The BLM frames fisheries habitat conservation and restoration as a way to increase the quality and quantity of angling opportunities while also supporting subsistence uses in certain communities. Funding can support work that improves public access and fishing-related infrastructure, such as fishing piers, as well as outreach, education, and job mentoring activities targeted toward youth, families, and veterans. The program also ties these recreation and access objectives to Department of the Interior priorities described in Secretarial Orders related to conservation stewardship, outdoor recreation, and expanding hunting and fishing opportunities in cooperation with states, tribes, and territories.

Expected outcomes span 20 specific result areas, but they generally cluster into a few main buckets: stronger watershed planning and collaboration; measurable improvements in habitat condition and stream function; better water quality and more stable aquatic and riparian areas; reduced impacts from erosion, sediment, and salinity; improved connectivity for fish and aquatic organisms through upgraded infrastructure; improved flow and temperature conditions in targeted locations; stronger monitoring and data systems to guide management; and rapid action against aquatic invasive species threats. The BLM also emphasizes that these actions can help sustain local economies tied to recreation and resource use, improve ecosystem and community resilience, and reduce the likelihood that species become imperiled enough to require listing under the Endangered Species Act, while still operating within Clean Water Act expectations for protecting water quality and quantity.

Administratively, this was a discretionary funding opportunity using a cooperative agreement instrument (meaning BLM expects substantial involvement and coordination during the project). The opportunity was listed under CFDA 15.244, and eligibility was described as unrestricted (open to any type of entity, subject to any additional eligibility language in the full notice). The posting date was May 11, 2020, with two submission rounds: Round One due June 9, 2020 at 4:30 PM EST and Round Two due July 9, 2020 at 4:30 PM EST. The award ceiling was $100,000, with an expectation of about three awards.

Overall, this opportunity is designed for partners who can help BLM deliver high-value aquatic habitat restoration, fisheries management, invasive species prevention, and water resource monitoring on public lands in Montana and the Dakotas region, while also improving public recreation benefits and building durable local partnerships that can carry watershed work forward over time.

• The Department of the Interior, Bureau of Land Management in the natural resources sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Montana/Dakotas Fisheries and Aquatic Resource Management" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 15.244.
• This funding opportunity was created on May 11, 2020.
• Applicants must submit their applications by Jul 09, 2020 Open from May 11, 2020 to July 9, 2020, 430 PM EST Round One Applications are due June 9, 2020, 430 PM EST Round Two Applications are due July 9, 2020, 430 PM EST. (Agency may still review applications by suitable applicants for the remaining/unused allocated funding in 2026.)
• Each selected applicant is eligible to receive up to $100,000.00 in funding.
• The number of recipients for this funding is limited to 3 candidate(s).
• Eligible applicants include: Unrestricted (i.e., open to any type of entity above), subject to any clarification in text field entitled Additional Information on Eligibility.

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