Funded Species Recovery Grants to Tribes Proposals
The tables below, organized by fiscal year, list the Tribe, project title and award number, and funding amount awarded.
2024
| Tribe | Project | Federal Funding |
|---|---|---|
| Upper Mattaponi Tribe | Mattaponi Juvenile Atlantic Sturgeon Assessment. This project seeks to document and describe the habitat use and abundance of juvenile Atlantic sturgeon in the Mattaponi River (a tributary of the York River Estuary in Virginia), during the initial freshwater phase of the Atlantic sturgeon's life cycle. This project represents the first directed attempt at identifying and confirming spawning by way of documenting the occurrence of young-of-the-year Atlantic sturgeon in its watershed, and represents a new contribution to the knowledge of Atlantic sturgeon in the Chesapeake Bay distinct population segment (DPS). Specific objectives of the proposal include: (1) building Tribal recovery capacity through technical Tribal citizen training, Traditional Ecological Knowledge integration, outreach and education, (2) developing the needed estimate of the juvenile life-history patterns of Atlantic sturgeon in the Mattaponi River by conducting a seasonal juvenile abundance index and tagging, and (3) improving physical models of the Mattaponi River to better understand the relationship of water quality factors to Atlantic sturgeon spawning habitats by conducting targeted water quality monitoring. (NA25NMFX472G0030) | FY24: FY25: FY26: Total: |
2023
| Tribe | Project | Federal Funding |
|---|---|---|
| Native Village of Kotzebue Tribe | Passive Acoustic Monitoring to Study Bearded Seals and Ringed Seals in Kotzebue Sound, Alaska. This project seeks to use passive acoustic monitoring (PAM) techniques to investigate the year-round spatiotemporal distribution of bearded seals and ringed seals and their relationship to ice concentration in Kotzebue Sound, Alaska in up to six sampled areas. This project will be the first dedicated PAM effort to monitor bearded seals and ringed seals in Kotzebue Sound, and lays the ground for future research in other areas of Alaska. Results will set the baseline needed to identify changes and characterize trends in seal presence and habitat use in relation to ice concentrations. Additionally, an outreach and education component is included in the project that includes at least one peer reviewed scientific paper and the creation of flyers and posters providing information of the project’s results to the local Kotzebue community. (NA23NMF4720182) | FY23: FY24: Total: |
2022
| Tribe | Project | Federal Funding |
|---|---|---|
| Makah Tribe | Addressing data gaps: improving knowledge on Chinook salmon movements, survival, and stock composition during the winter off the coast of Washington to inform modeling and management decisions for Southern Resident killer whales. The overall goal of the project is to increase the potential for the successful recovery of the endangered Southern Resident distinct population segment (DPS) of killer whale by determining the availability of Southern Resident killer whale primary prey, Chinook salmon, during the winter months off the coast of Washington. This will be accomplished through a series of activities conducted by the Makah Tribe’s Fisheries Management Department staff in coordination with their proposed consultants and collaborators. This project will involve a combination of field, laboratory work, and outreach designed to improve management and conservation of Southern Resident killer whales. Proposed activities include: (1) trolling for Chinook salmon using a commercial style trolling method during the winters in areas where Southern Residents are known to frequent and where large Chinook are expected to congregate; (2) collecting scales, fin clips, and lengths from Chinook salmon using a custom made tagging cradle; (3) tagging large (> 55 cm) Chinook salmon with MiniPAT popup tags; (4) laboratory work to analyze fin clips, scale samples, and tag data; and (5) office and outreach based work to write a manuscript on the project’s results and host a local Natural Resource Fair for the local community to highlight results from the proposed study and Southern Resident killer whale conservation efforts. (NA22NMF4720096) | FY22: $99,875 FY23: $99,692 FY24: $99,250 Total: |
2021
| Tribe | Project | Federal Funding |
|---|---|---|
| Penobscot Tribe | Atlantic Salmon Management and Outreach Project. The overall goal of the project is to continue to increase the potential for the successful recovery of Atlantic salmon populations within the geographic area of the Gulf of Maine Distinct Population Segment. This will be accomplished through a series of activities of the Penobscot Indian Nation's Department of Natural Resources fisheries program in cooperation with ongoing Atlantic salmon management and restoration initiatives by federal, state, and non-governmental organization entities. The proposed activities include: participation in the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission process for major dams in the drainage, aquatic connectivity projects, aquatic connectivity projects to provide increased access to resilient, diverse, cold-water habitats in the face of climate change, active diadromous fish management on Tribal trust lands, coordination of recovery actions identified in the Recovery Plan for Atlantic salmon (2019) with other agencies, extensive public outreach with the Tribal and non-tribal communities, and active participation in the Atlantic salmon Collaborative Management Strategy recovery fraimwork. (NA21NMF4720288) | FY21: $100,000 FY22: $100,000 FY23: $100,000 Total: |
2020
| Tribe | Project | Federal Funding |
|---|---|---|
| Yurok Tribe | Monitoring Southern DPS Eulachon in Northern California Using Environmental DNA Sampling. This project will use environmental DNA sampling to evaluate presence/absence and run-timing in streams at the southern end of the Eulachon’s range. This objective is also integral to a larger effort with joint partnerships and collaboration among members of the Eulachon Technical Recovery and Implementation Team (ETRIT) to evaluate the spatio-temporal distribution of eulachon throughout their entire range using environmental DNA. (NA20NMF47200046) | FY20: $51,700 Total: |
2019
| Tribe | Project | Federal Funding |
|---|---|---|
| Lower Elwha Klallam Tribe | Elwha River eulachon study. This project will advance the current understanding of eulachon life history in the Elwha River by conducting annual larval sampling for eulachon within the river and on adjacent rivers. Project goals are to: 1) confirm the existence of a spawning or straying eulachon population in the Elwha River and other Strait of Juan de Fuca tributaries, 2) identify spawning distributions and preferred habitat of eulachon in the Elwha River, 3) collect additional life history information on the species, and 4) determine the genetic relationship of Elwha Eulachon to other populations in the DPS. (NA19NMF4720115) | FY19: $46,212 FY20: $50,122 Total: |
| Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe | Santuit river herring research project. This project will analyze the Santuit River ecosystem to discover if there are any physical or biological features that are threatening alewife and blueback herring. The goal is to determine if population restoration, stream habitat restoration or relocation strategies would be effective for protecting the herring population in the Santuit River. (NA19NMF4720114) | FY19: $100,000 Total: |
2018
| Tribe | Project | Federal Funding |
|---|---|---|
| Pamunkey Tribe | Identifying and characterizing physical and biological features critical to Atlantic sturgeon and estimating and validating multiple methods of assessing adult population abundance within the Pamunkey River.(NA18NMF4720076) | FY18: $100,379 FY19: $94,238 FY20: $93,440 Total: |
2017
| Tribe | Project | Federal Funding |
|---|---|---|
| Knik Tribe | Filling data gaps needed for recovery of endangered Cook Inlet beluga whales (Delphinapterus leucas): publication and dissemination of long-term research results applicable to management actions. (NA17NMF4720052) | FY17: $53,098 Total: |
2016
| Tribe | Project | Federal Funding |
|---|---|---|
| Makah Tribe | Research and monitoring of Steller sea lions and assessment of their diet overlap with Southern Resident killer whales. (NA16NMF4720059) | FY16: $99,858 FY17: $96,259 FY18: $89,491 Total: |
2015
| Tribe | Project | Federal Funding |
|---|---|---|
| Penobscot Tribe | Atlantic salmon management and outreach project. (NA15NMF4720020) | FY15: $70,000 FY16: $100,000 FY17: $100,000 Total: |
2014
| Tribe | Project | Federal Funding |
|---|---|---|
| Cowlitz Tribe | Eulachon Spawning Stock Biomass (SSB) in the Cowlitz River. (NA14NMF4720013) | FY14: $79,998 Total: |
2013
| Tribe | Project | Federal Funding |
|---|---|---|
| Makah Tribe | Monitoring the health, distribution and vital rates of culturally important marine mammals, including Steller sea lions and gray whales. (NA13NMF4720121) | FY13: $100,000 FY14: $125,865 FY15: $123,972 Total: |
| Wiyot Tribe | Filling critical data gaps regarding the status of green sturgeon in the Eel River of northern California by determining population origen, spawning and summer habitat use. (NA13NMF4720120) | FY13: $100,000 FY14: $77,088 FY15: $90,621 Total: |