For decades, NOAA’s Office of Habitat Conservation has supported habitat restoration efforts across the country through large-scale competitive funding opportunities and expert technical assistance. With funding under the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and Inflation Reduction Act, we are continuing our work to support fisheries and communities through habitat restoration and coastal resilience efforts. This includes:
- Fish passage projects that restore access to healthy habitat for migratory fish
- Habitat restoration projects that support fisheries and protected species while also strengthening the resilience of coastal ecosystems and communities
- Capacity building and on-the-ground restoration projects that advance the coastal habitat restoration priorities of tribes and underserved communities
Open Habitat Restoration Funding Opportunities
- Restoring Fish Passage through Barrier Removal Grants (Applications due by February 10, 2025)
- Restoring Tribal Priority Fish Passage through Barrier Removal Grants (Applications due by February 27, 2025)
Results to Date
The Office of Habitat Conservation has run four funding opportunities under the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and Inflation Reduction Act. To date, we have funded 214 awards totaling $985 million through two rounds of funding. Explore the awards through our interactive map.
Learn about our most recent awards from the second round of competitions:
- More than $45 million for 27 grants selected through the Coastal Habitat Restoration and Resilience Grants for Tribes and Underserved Communities funding opportunity
- Nearly $220 million for 32 grants selected through the Transformational Habitat Restoration and Coastal Resilience funding opportunity
- More than $81 million for 19 grants selected through the Restoring Tribal Priority Fish Passage through Barrier Removal funding opportunity
- More than $158 million for 27 grants selected through the Restoring Fish Passage through Barrier Removal funding opportunity
Learn about the awards from the first round of each competition:
- More than $16 million for 13 awards selected through the Restoring Tribal Priority Fish Passage through Barrier Removal funding opportunity
- More than $87 million for 23 awards selected through the Restoring Fish Passage through Barrier Removal funding opportunity
- More than $265 million for 38 awards selected through the Transformational Habitat Restoration and Coastal Resilience funding opportunity
- Nearly $25 million for 35 awards selected through the Coastal Habitat Restoration and Resilience Grants for Underserved Communities funding opportunity
News and Project Updates
Learn more about how these projects are helping to recover threatened species, reduce the impact of coastal flooding and land loss, and empower underserved communities by reading our latest feature stories and project updates:
- Reestablishing Connections for Fish and Tribes on Oregon’s North Santiam River
- NOAA-Funded Program Helps Miami Teens from Under-Resourced Schools Enter Marine Science Field
- World’s Biggest Dam Removal Project to Open 420 Miles of Salmon Habitat this Fall
- Ambitious Living Shoreline Project Combats Coastal Land Loss in South Carolina
- Largest Salt Marsh Restoration in the Northeast to Bring Back Cape Cod River Herring
- Supporting the Long-Term Survival of Copper River Salmon and Alaska Native Traditions
See all of our content about efforts funded under the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and Inflation Reduction Act.
Fish Passage
With this funding, NOAA is continuing our work to reopen migratory pathways and restore access to healthy habitat for fish. A portion of this funding is specifically dedicated to support tribes and organizations that represent tribes in implementing fish passage projects and building tribal organizational capacity.
Every year, millions of fish migrate to their spawning and rearing habitats to reproduce. Some fish need to swim thousands of miles through oceans and rivers to reach their destinations. They are often blocked from completing their journey by barriers like dams and culverts. When fish can’t reach their habitat, they can’t reproduce and maintain or grow their populations. As a result, many fish populations have declined. NOAA works to reopen these migratory pathways, restoring access to healthy habitat for fish. These efforts also provide community and economic benefits, like increased opportunities for fishing and boating and reduced risk of flooding.
Fish Passage Awards
To date, NOAA has announced funding for 82 fish passage awards under the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and Inflation Reduction Act. Learn more about these efforts:
Habitat Restoration and Coastal Resilience
NOAA is using this funding to invest in transformational habitat restoration and coastal resilience projects across the country. NOAA has dedicated a portion of this funding specifically to advancing the coastal habitat restoration priorities of tribes and underserved communities, to provide capacity for these communities to more fully participate in restoration activities.
Communities, businesses, and infrastructure in coastal areas are under increasing pressure from the impacts of flooding, climate change, and sea level rise. Habitat restoration provides a safe, effective, and affordable approach to coastal protection. Efforts like restoring coastal wetlands and reopening rivers to migration help strengthen the resilience of coastal communities and ecosystems while also supporting our nation’s fisheries and protected species. Capacity building and on-the-ground restoration activities in tribal and underserved communities help to ensure their needs and priorities are at the center of habitat restoration efforts in their communities.
Habitat Restoration and Coastal Resilience Awards
To date, NOAA has announced funding for 73 habitat restoration and coastal resilience awards under the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law with funding leveraged from the Inflation Reduction Act. Learn more about these efforts:
- Transformational habitat restoration and coastal resilience awards
- Coastal habitat restoration and resilience grant awards for underserved communities
Past Funding Opportunities
- Transformational Habitat Restoration and Coastal Resilience Grants
- Coastal Habitat Restoration and Resilience Grants for Tribes and Underserved Communities
Habitat Restoration and NOAA
The NOAA Fisheries Office of Habitat Conservation has a long history conducting habitat restoration efforts with large-scale competitive funding opportunities and expert technical assistance through our Community-based Restoration Program. Since 1996, the program has partnered with more than 2,600 organizations to take on more than 2,200 projects. These efforts have restored more than 94,000 acres of habitat and opened up more than 4,400 miles of streams and rivers to fish migration.
