Bureau of Reclamation Klamath Coho Habitat Restoration Program

Since 2015, NFWF and Reclamation have administered over $3 million for the grant program.  We will administer an additional $2.7 million in grant funding through 2024 to enhance the survival and recovery of the SONCC coho salmon. 

Funded by Reclamation, the grant program is closely coordinated among other federal and state partners including the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) and the California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW). 

NFWF will solicit a new round of grant program proposals in spring 2022. Projects must have a direct benefit to SONCC coho salmon within the Klamath River Basin. These projects may be design, planning or monitoring projects that can demonstrate a clear and direct benefit for SONCC coho salmon, meet the objectives of the grant program as required by the 2019 Biological Opinion for Klamath Project Operations issued by NMFS.

Project types that will be given the highest priority include:

•    Access improvement and barrier removal projects;
•    Projects that improve habitat and access to coldwater refugia;
•    Instream flow and habitat enhancement and protection projects; and
•    Water conservation projects.

Since the grant program’s inception, NFWF and Reclamation have worked together to award more than $3 million to 25 projects aimed at conserving SONCC coho salmon in the Klamath River Basin. To date, the funded projects are on track to restore 350 acres of watershed habitat, install nearly 50 instream habitat structures and open more than 15 miles of stream habitat, among other accomplishments.