F24AS00190 - Yukon River Salmon Research and Management Assistance FY 2024 | F24AS00190

Opportunity Information: Apply for F24AS00190

The F24AS00190 Yukon River Salmon Research and Management Assistance FY 2024 grant is a competitive funding opportunity run by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS), Region 7 Fisheries Program, using funds tied to the Yukon River Salmon Agreement of 2000 between the United States and Canada. The purpose of the funding is to support cooperative research, management, studies, and related events on the Alaska portion of the Yukon River that strengthen scientific understanding and practical management of Yukon River salmon, with particular emphasis on Chinook and Chum salmon stocks. USFWS is requesting detailed project proposals for work that lasts one year, with activities starting around May 2024 and wrapping up by 2025.

The program is designed to fund projects that directly help managers make better decisions and help communities stay meaningfully involved in salmon conservation. Applicants are encouraged to build local capacity by involving people from Yukon River communities in the work itself, not just as observers or meeting attendees. Coordination with state and federal regulatory agencies is recommended to keep projects aligned with ongoing management needs and data systems, but it is not a strict requirement.

Proposals are evaluated using four ranked priority categories established by the U.S. Delegation of the Yukon River Panel, and these categories act as the main scoring framework. The highest priority (Priority 1) is "Assess and achieve fishery management objectives." This category emphasizes practical, management-facing science such as improving in-season run-size and stock-specific estimates at the Yukon River mouth, adopting or developing new methods that improve research and management capability, expanding and refining genetic baselines for Yukon Basin stocks in Alaska, using genetic stock identification to determine stock composition in mixed runs, and monitoring escapements using Alaskan genetic groupings. In plain terms, the strongest proposals in this category are likely to be the ones that help answer the urgent questions managers face each season: how many fish are coming, which stocks they belong to, and how escapement is tracking relative to goals.

The second priority category (Priority 2) focuses on building and maintaining public support and meaningful participation in salmon management. The Panel is looking for work that strengthens community capacity, improves shared understanding between agencies and the public (ideally with credible facilitation or third-party involvement), promotes conservation and stewardship principles, and elevates the public values tied to salmon resources. This category recognizes that management outcomes depend heavily on trust, communication, and the ability of local residents to engage with technical information, planning processes, and conservation actions in ways that reflect community realities.

The third priority (Priority 3) is improving understanding of salmon biology and ecology. Projects under this category can include evaluating escapement quality (such as age, size, sex composition, and general condition/health), developing population estimates for Alaska Yukon Basin stocks, and studying how salmon interact with their physical environment (for example, flow, temperature, or habitat conditions) and with other organisms. This category is more research-oriented but still expected to produce information that helps explain trends and supports better long-term management.

The fourth priority (Priority 4) addresses habitat assessment, conservation, and restoration. This includes habitat monitoring, identifying and characterizing spawning and rearing areas, evaluating potential impacts to habitat, establishing or maintaining monitoring of key spawning streams or index areas, and identifying and implementing restoration opportunities. While ranked lower than the management and participation categories, habitat work is still eligible and can be important, especially when it clearly connects to salmon productivity, survival, or management decisions.

In addition to the four general categories, the Panel identified two near-term focused priorities that receive extra points in review when proposals clearly align with them. The first is Yukon River fall Chum salmon stock assessment and genetics. With Chinook declines influencing harvest patterns and community reliance, fall Chum have become increasingly important, especially for communities with limited options to harvest other salmon species through the year. Even though recent fall Chum run sizes have been relatively healthy, the Panel is specifically seeking genetics-based work that improves mixed-stock analysis of fall Chum in harvests and/or strengthens stock assessment for fall Chum returning to the Teedriinjik (Chandalar) and Porcupine rivers. Competitive proposals here would typically show a clear plan for collecting samples, applying genetic tools appropriately, integrating results into assessment or management discussions, and producing outputs that improve how these stocks are understood and managed.

The second focused priority is Yukon River salmon management awareness and participation. The Alaska portion of the Yukon River basin includes more than 42 communities, and while needs differ, salmon are widely central for food security and cultural continuity. The Panel is looking to build on prior efforts by funding projects that increase awareness, education, and public participation in management and conservation. This can include public education initiatives and multi-stakeholder planning efforts aimed at developing locally supported management approaches that can be sustained over time. Proposals in this area tend to be stronger when they show a practical strategy for engagement (who is involved, how information will be shared, what participation looks like), and when they connect participation to real management questions or conservation actions rather than limiting the work to general outreach.

Eligibility for this opportunity is broad (listed as "unrestricted") and includes commercial entities, individuals, universities and other institutions of higher education, hospitals, nonprofit organizations, state and local governments, federally recognized Tribal governments, Native American tribal organizations, and CESU Network entities. Nonprofit, non-governmental applicants in the United States must provide documentation of IRS 501(c)(3) or 501(c)(4) status. Applicants also need to be properly registered in SAM.gov and appear in the Assistance Listing profile for CFDA 15.671.

Key administrative details include that this is a discretionary grant opportunity under the natural resources activity category. The original application closing date listed is 2024-01-06. The award ceiling is $120,000, and the expected number of awards is not specified in the provided listing. Overall, the opportunity is aimed at one-year projects that can deliver near-term value for Yukon River salmon management, with particular enthusiasm for proposals that combine strong technical work (especially genetics and stock assessment) with meaningful community involvement and practical pathways for results to be used by managers and stakeholders.

• The Fish and Wildlife Service in the natural resources sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "F24AS00190 - Yukon River Salmon Research and Management Assistance FY 2024" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 15.671.
• This funding opportunity was created on 2023-11-22.
• Applicants must submit their applications by 2024-01-06. (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 $120,000.00 in funding.
• Eligible applicants include: Unrestricted.

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