Notice of Intent to Award Only | BOR LC 17 N003

Opportunity Information: Apply for BOR LC 17 N003

This grant opportunity is a continuation cooperative agreement from the Bureau of Reclamation focused on conserving native fishes in the Gila River basin, especially five species that are federally listed under the Endangered Species Act: spikedace, loach minnow, Gila chub, Gila topminnow, and razorback sucker. The work is tied directly to U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service biological opinions associated with operation of the Central Arizona Project canal, meaning the project supports actions needed to avoid or reduce harm to these species and to meet the terms and conditions laid out in those opinions. In practical terms, the funding supports on-the-ground conservation actions that help keep the canal system in compliance while improving the long-term outlook for imperiled fish populations across the basin.

The project is carried out through the Gila River Basin Native Fishes Conservation Program (GRBNFCP), a multi-agency partnership created to coordinate and oversee implementation of those biological opinion requirements. Under this opportunity, the GRBNFCP has identified specific tasks for the Arizona Game and Fish Department to perform. These tasks are designed to serve two purposes at once: first, to fulfill the Department's fish and wildlife management responsibilities under Arizona state authorities, and second, to help the broader GRBNFCP meet its basin-wide conservation objectives. The centerpiece priority described here is population replication, meaning taking remaining wild populations that are at risk and establishing additional, secure populations in waters where they can persist without the same threats.

A major near-term need is to obtain individuals from rare or vulnerable populations, with particular emphasis on loach minnow and spikedace. The intent is to bring these fish into secure holding and propagation facilities, primarily the Aquatic Research and Conservation Center (ARCC) or other suitable hatcheries, where they can be maintained, bred, and increased in number. The opportunity lays out an urgent approach: intensive and directed collection efforts in the immediate future, either by capturing fish in the wild or by acquiring fish from partners such as Native American Nations or sources in New Mexico. Once obtained, fish are transported alive to ARCC to establish or bolster broodstock and preserve genetic and demographic diversity needed for successful propagation.

Field collection is expected to occur whenever conditions allow the safe and effective use of traditional sampling gear, but the opportunity notes that efforts will be especially robust in the autumn, particularly following significant spring floods. That timing reflects how flow events can reshape habitat and influence fish distribution and detectability, and it signals that the program is planning for adaptive field operations rather than a fixed seasonal schedule. After source stocks are stabilized in protected refuges and propagation efforts have produced adequate numbers, the program aims to repatriate fish by stocking or otherwise establishing populations into stream sites selected through coordination among Reclamation, the Arizona Game and Fish Department, and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. This implies a managed, interagency decision process to choose recipient waters that are suitable, defensible from a regulatory standpoint, and more likely to support long-term persistence.

Although loach minnow and spikedace are highlighted as the immediate focus, the same overall strategy is also positioned as a contingency for Gila chub if its status continues to decline. In other words, the grant is not only about maintaining current holdings but also about building a scalable framework for rapid response propagation and re-establishment when wild populations show further signs of collapse. The broader conservation intent is to create multiple secure populations across the basin, reducing extinction risk by spreading fish across protected waters and ensuring that propagation, refuge management, and reintroduction can be sustained as a coordinated program.

Administratively, the opportunity is listed as a Notice of Intent to Award Only, indicating it is not a typical open competition and is instead aimed at making a specific continuation award. It is categorized under Environment, uses a Cooperative Agreement instrument (which usually means substantial federal involvement or coordination is expected), and is open to state governments, aligning with the Arizona Game and Fish Department as the anticipated recipient. The listing shows one expected award with an award ceiling of $1,259,805. The funding opportunity number is BOR LC 17 N003, under CFDA 15.517, with an original closing date of 2017-04-26 and a creation date of 2017-04-12.

• The Bureau of Reclamation in the environment sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Notice of Intent to Award Only" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 15.517.
• This funding opportunity was created on 2017-04-12.
• Applicants must submit their applications by 2017-04-26. (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 $1,259,805.00 in funding.
• The number of recipients for this funding is limited to 1 candidate(s).
• Eligible applicants include: State governments.

Apply for BOR LC 17 N003

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