Freshwater Flow Restoration Accounting Fund, 2019

ABOUT NFWFThe National Fish and Wildlife Foundation (NFWF) protects and restores our nation’s fish and wild-life and their habitats. Created by Congress in 1984, NFWF directs public conservation dollars to the most pressing environmental needs and matches those invest-ments with private funds. Learn more at www.nfwf.org

NATIONAL HEADQUARTERS 1133 15th Street NWSuite 1000Washington, DC 20005 202-857-0166

OVERVIEWThe National Fish and Wildlife Foundation (NFWF) announced a 2019-year round of funding for Freshwater Flow Restoration Accounting Fund projects. Five new freshwater flow restoration grants totaling $289,981 were awarded. The five awards announced generated $344,130 in match from the grantees, providing a total conservation impact of $634,111.

The Freshwater Flow Restoration Account Fund seeks to develop monitoring and accounting of flow restoration projects in priority stream reaches in order to improve the efficacy of voluntary water transactions for enhancing streamflow. The goal is to develop technical capacity and provide monitoring support for organizations, agencies and funders to effectively account for the impacts of flow enhancement projects on stream discharge, habitat, water quality and survival of native fish and wildlife. This program expands upon the 2018 California Flow Restoration Accounting Fund by including new geographies including Idaho, Colorado and Arizona.

Monitoring Streamflow Restoration and Ecological Response in the Teton Watershed (ID)Grantee: . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Friends of the Teton RiverGrant Amount: . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $72,853Matching Funds: . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $102,203Total: . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $175,056Conduct compliance monitoring in the Upper Teton Watershed for water transaction projects, using various flow monitoring methods, temperature monitoring, and a watershed-wide yellowstone cutthroat trout population assessment. Project will maintain and strengthen water transaction compliance monitoring efforts in the watershed, while determining how hydrologic changes resulting from flow restoration efforts impact habitat, water quality and ecological response in the trout fishery.

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Yellowstone cutthroat trout

NFWF CONTACTSFemke FreibergManager, California Water ProgramsFemke.Freiberg@nfwf.org415-243-3104

Kate MorganCoordinator, Water InvestmentsKatherine.Morgan@nfwf.org202-595-2469

FUNDING PARTNER• S.D. Bechtel, Jr. Foundation

Implementing Stewardship and Monitoring in Colorado Rivers (CO)Grantee: . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Colorado Water TrustGrant Amount: . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $69,275Matching Funds: . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $70,000Total: . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .$139,275Increase staff and organizational capacity to monitor compliance, hydrology and aquatic habitat response for six permanent water acquisition projects. Staff will also launch environmental monitoring efforts at two new projects to hone strategies for improving streamflow to benefit aquatic species throughout the Colorado River Basin.

Monitoring Little Shasta River Instream Flow Enhancement (CA)Grantee: . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . University of California DavisGrant Amount: . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $17,056Matching Funds: . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $11,000Total: . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $28,056Install equipment to monitor flows in a reach of the Little Shasta River, part of the Klamath River watershed, before and after 1.5 cubic feet per second of voluntary instream flow enhancement. The project is part of a larger collaboration to enhance streamflow in the Little Shasta to promote salmonid recovery. The project will ensure compliance and account for changes in streamflow as the transferred water moves through downstream reaches.

Freshwater Flow Restoration Accounting Fund, 2019

Restoring and Monitoring Navarro River Watershed Streamflow (CA)Grantee: . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . The Nature ConservancyGrant Amount: . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $60,927Matching Funds: . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $60,927Total: . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .$121,854Develop and implement flow restoration projects to support new and existing flow data collection efforts in the Navarro River Watershed. The project will support the planning, permitting, implementation and flow accounting of dry season baseflow restoration projects to improve rearing habitat for juvenile coho and steelhead in priority reaches.

Establishing a Baseline for Fishes and Farmers through an Upper Gila Flow Assessment (AZ)Grantee: . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Arizona Land and Water TrustGrant Amount: . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $69,870Matching Funds: . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $100,000Total: . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .$169,870Perform two hydrologic seepage runs to develop a critical baseline of flow data for an under-studied 35-mile reach of the Gila River, a primary tributary to the Colorado River. The grantee will collaborate with Gila Valley Irrigation District to include flow restoration priorities into irrigation modernization plans. Strategic infrastructure improvements are expected to increase flow through the intermittent reach of river and support critical habitat for endangered Razorback sucker.

Steelhead trout