2023 Request for Applications: Puget Sound Action Agenda — Climate Resilient Riparian Systems Lead | EPA I R10 PS 2023 001

Opportunity Information: Apply for EPA I R10 PS 2023 001

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) issued this discretionary funding opportunity under the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) to select a single organization to serve as the Puget Sound Climate Resilient Riparian Systems Lead for the 2022-2026 Puget Sound Action Agenda. Structured as a cooperative agreement, the award is designed for an entity that can coordinate closely with EPA and the Puget Sound Partnership (PSP), while also working across the broader Puget Sound Management Conference, including federally recognized tribes, agricultural and working lands conservation leaders and funders, salmon recovery practitioners, and other key regional partners. The central idea is to create a coordinated, basin-wide approach for protecting and restoring riparian habitat in ways that measurably improve salmon recovery outcomes and increase resilience to climate-driven impacts such as warming waters, altered flows, erosion, and flooding.

The opportunity is rooted in the ecological importance of riparian areas, which are described broadly as the corridor from the water's edge through adjacent wetlands and into the vegetated upland terraces. These transitional zones link land and water systems and influence water temperature, sediment and nutrient movement, streambank stability, hydrology, habitat complexity, and overall watershed function. The RFA notes that when riparian systems are degraded, the results often include higher water temperatures, more sedimentation, increased nonpoint source pollution, invasive species spread, and disruptions to stream flows and salmon habitat quality across the Puget Sound basin. These stressors, in turn, have direct implications for natural resource health and for tribal treaty rights connected to salmon and other aquatic resources, with climate change expected to intensify many of these problems.

A major feature of the program is its emphasis on nature-based solutions, specifically riparian conservation as a practical climate adaptation and water quality strategy. Rather than relying solely on regulatory mechanisms, the RFA prioritizes voluntary, landowner-centered approaches on working lands. The lead is expected to work with local programs and rural landowners to permanently protect riparian areas and, where appropriate, restore them, concentrating investments within prioritized stream reaches and priority watersheds across Puget Sound. The RFA also highlights the use of compensation to landowners for providing ecosystem services that benefit climate resilience and water quality, reflecting a payment or incentive model that can make conservation feasible for producers and landowners while delivering public environmental benefits.

In terms of what the selected applicant would do, the role goes beyond running individual restoration projects. The successful applicant is expected to develop a shared, coordinated approach that multiple partners can align around to achieve durable riparian outcomes at scale, especially permanent protection paired with strategic restoration. That implies convening partners, aligning funding and implementation pathways, and supporting consistent prioritization so that conservation actions are concentrated where they can deliver the greatest benefit for salmon survival, flood risk reduction, erosion control, and broader watershed health. The work is explicitly tied to the Puget Sound Action Agenda's recovery framework and its "Vital Sign" recovery objectives, with particular relevance to Strategy 4 (Riparian Areas) and Strategy 20 (Climate Adaptation and Resilience), plus related implementation strategies.

Key administrative details include the funding opportunity number (EPA I R10 PS 2023 001), CFDA number 66.123, and an anticipated single award (Expected Awards: 1) with an award ceiling of $30,000,000. The opportunity was posted on December 15, 2022, with an original closing date of March 31, 2023 (with the announcement directing applicants to Section IV for close date specifics). Eligibility is listed as "Others," indicating that applicants needed to consult the Additional Information on Eligibility section in the full announcement for the precise list of eligible organization types and any constraints.

Overall, this RFA is essentially a region-wide leadership and implementation grant aimed at building and executing a coordinated riparian conservation strategy across Puget Sound. It is designed to move money into on-the-ground riparian protection and restoration in priority locations, while also building the collaborative infrastructure needed to work effectively across landowners, local programs, tribes, conservation and agricultural partners, and salmon recovery efforts. The intended result is healthier, cooler, more stable stream systems that support salmon recovery, improve water quality, and provide stronger resilience to climate impacts, while also creating a workable, incentive-based path for conservation on working lands.

• The Environmental Protection Agency in the environment, infrastructure investment and jobs act (iija) sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "2023 Request for Applications: Puget Sound Action Agenda — Climate Resilient Riparian Systems Lead" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 66.123.
• This funding opportunity was created on Dec 15, 2022.
• Applicants must submit their applications by Mar 31, 2023 See Section IV of the funding opportunity announcement for close date information.. (Agency may still review applications by suitable applicants for the remaining/unused allocated funding in 2026.)
• Each selected applicant is eligible to receive up to $30,000,000.00 in funding.
• The number of recipients for this funding is limited to 1 candidate(s).
• Eligible applicants include: Others (see text field entitled Additional Information on Eligibility for clarification).

Apply for EPA I R10 PS 2023 001

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