Announcements
Adopt a fish passage to help increase the pace and scale that barriers to fish passage on Washington’s waterways are removed
See a list of projects proposed for funding through the Climate Commitment Act.
Watch the Videos
Fish Passage: A Sense of Urgency
It’s Your Community: Listen to a MIXX 96 radio interview with former RCO director Kaleen Cottingham and Tom Jameson, the division manager for the Department of Fish and Wildlife’s Fish Passage program talking about completion of the first project funded by this grant program.
Typical Projects
- Removing a culvert or bridge
- Planning for a project to remove a barrier
Who May Apply?
- Local agencies
- Native American tribes
- Nonprofit organizations
- Private landowners
- Regional fisheries enhancement organizations
- Special purpose districts such as port, park and recreation, conservation, and school districts
- State agencies
Planning Requirement
For restoration projects requesting $500,000 or more, preliminary designs must be submitted with the application package. RCO Manual 22: Fish Passage Barrier Removal Board Grant Program, Appendix C-2 provides the approved format for this design level.
Funding
Funding is awarded every two years and comes from the sale of bonds.
This grant program also is supported with funding from Washington’s Climate Commitment Act. The Act supports Washington’s climate action efforts by putting cap-and-invest dollars to work reducing climate pollution, creating jobs, and improving public health. Information about the Climate Commitment Act is available at www.climate.wa.gov. See a list of projects proposed for funding through the Act.
Grant Limits
None for most projects. Design-only projects have a $350,000 grant limit.
Match Details
| Project Type | Match Requirement |
| Planning grants less than or equal to $350,000 | None, if final design is completed within two years of funding approval |
| Planning grants exceeding $350,000 | 15 percent and grants may exceed two years |
| Restoration (construction) | 15 percent of the grant total |
Match may include the following:
- Appropriations, cash, and bonds
- Donations of cash, land, labor, equipment, and materials
- Other grants
- Applicant’s labor, equipment, and materials
Eligible Projects
Restoration (construction) includes activities that provide or improve fish migration upstream and downstream of road crossings, dams, and other in-stream barriers. Passage projects may include replacing barrier culverts with fish passable culverts or bridges, removing barriers (small dams, logjams), or constructing fishways. May include final design and permitting activities.
Planning (design-only) must result in final project design.
Ineligible Projects
- Acquisition of property through full fee interest or permanent easement
- Capital facilities and public works projects, such as sewer treatment facilities, surface and storm water management systems, and water supply systems
- Costs to apply for a Brian Abbott Fish Barrier Removal Board grant
- Effectiveness monitoring costs associated with a project, including purchase of equipment to monitor a Salmon Recovery Funding Board restoration or acquisition project
- Forest practices (Road Maintenance and Abandonment Plans) covered by the Forest Practices Act or the Forest and Fish Agreement, except when they are on forested lands owned by small private landowners
- Leasing of land
- Lobbying or legislative activities
- Mitigation projects, activities, or funds
- Monitoring, maintenance, and stewardship as stand-alone projects
- Operation or construction of fish hatcheries
- Projects identified as mitigation as part of a habitat conservation plan approved by the federal government for incidental take of endangered or threatened species
- Projects that do not address a fish barrier
The Process
The board is facilitated by the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife.
Board members, with technical oversight from Department of Fish and Wildlife’s fish passage and engineering staff, evaluate and rank grant applications and submit a a prioritized list of projects to the state Legislature for funding consideration biennially.
RCO manages grant agreements for all projects that receive funding.
Long-term Commitment
Barrier removal projects are monitored by RCO for ten years after construction is completed. RCO Manual 7: Long-Term Obligations provides details of the compliance requirements.
About Brian Abbott
Brian Abbott was the executive coordinator of the Governor’s Salmon Recovery Office and a life-long fisherman and advocate for salmon recovery.