New Mexico Fish and Wildlife Conservation Office Fish and Aquatic Conservation | F18AS00332

Opportunity Information: Apply for F18AS00332

The grant opportunity titled "New Mexico Fish and Wildlife Conservation Office Fish and Aquatic Conservation" (Funding Opportunity Number F18AS00332) is a U.S. Department of the Interior, Fish and Wildlife Service discretionary program offering support through a cooperative agreement for natural resource work. It is specifically aimed at federally recognized Native American tribal governments, and in this instance it centers on the Jicarilla Apache Nation's Amargo Creek Connectivity and Habitat Enhancement Project in New Mexico. The opportunity was created on September 4, 2018, with an original application closing date of September 11, 2018. The anticipated award structure is a single award (Expected Awards: 1) with a maximum funding level (Award Ceiling) of $47,762, and it is associated with CFDA number 15.608.

The core purpose of the project is to reverse declines in the quality and quantity of desert fish habitat, improving the overall status of desert fishes and other aquatic organisms while increasing habitat that can support a broad range of native aquatic species. The work focuses on restoring ecological function and habitat availability in Amargo Creek by improving connectivity between the middle reach of Amargo Creek (around latitude 36.945477, longitude -107.062862) and the main stem of the Navajo River. Reconnecting these waters is intended to strengthen instream conditions needed for key life stages of native fish, including spawning, rearing of young fish, and foraging, all of which contribute to establishing and maintaining healthier native fish populations.

The proposal builds on prior progress and existing ecological signals that the area can support native fish if habitat and passage are improved. The description notes that native fish presence in Amargo Creek has been limited in recent documentation, but outcomes improved after a 2013 habitat project restored the confluence to a more natural channel. Since that earlier work, sampling has consistently documented young-of-year and juvenile Roundtail Chub using the area, suggesting the creek can function as habitat when connected and physically suitable. The project also leverages on-the-ground changes resulting from active beaver reintroduction in the middle reaches of Amargo Creek. Beaver activity has helped create large pools and maintain more perennial water conditions extending to the confluence with the Navajo River, which can be especially important in desert or semi-arid stream systems where seasonal drying and limited refuge habitat can constrain native fish survival.

Implementation is organized around three main objectives. First, the project will restore approximately 0.5 stream miles of natural channel morphology on Amargo Creek. This is intended to enable fish passage into habitats the species historically occupied, while also allowing the channel to function more naturally over time so that passage is sustained rather than requiring constant intervention. Second, it will create higher-quality instream habitat within the same roughly 0.5-mile reach, which generally implies improvements to habitat complexity and suitability (such as pools, cover, and appropriate flow and substrate conditions) that support fish across life stages. Third, the project will monitor seasonal movement patterns into and through the restored reach, generating information on whether fish are using the reconnected corridor as intended and how movement changes across seasons and flow conditions.

A major expected outcome is a substantial increase in accessible habitat for native fishes. The project narrative estimates that, once completed, approximately 50 additional river miles would become available to these fishes. That scale of regained access is framed as potentially the largest native fish repatriation area available on the Jicarilla Apache Nation's lands, meaning the project is positioned not just as a localized restoration action but as a connectivity improvement that could open up a much larger network of habitat upstream or within connected reaches. In practical conservation terms, that kind of access can improve resilience by expanding spawning and rearing areas, increasing refuge options during stress periods (like drought or high temperatures), and supporting more stable, connected populations rather than isolated pockets.

Overall, the opportunity supports a targeted, place-based aquatic restoration effort that combines channel restoration, habitat enhancement, and monitoring, with the broader conservation aim of restoring desert fish habitat function and enabling native species to recolonize and persist in waters they historically used. The cooperative agreement structure indicates close coordination with the Fish and Wildlife Service during implementation, consistent with the program's natural resource conservation mission and the project emphasis on measurable habitat and connectivity outcomes.

• The Department of the Interior, Fish and Wildlife Service in the natural resources sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "New Mexico Fish and Wildlife Conservation Office Fish and Aquatic Conservation" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 15.608.
• This funding opportunity was created on Sep 04, 2018.
• Applicants must submit their applications by Sep 11, 2018. (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 $47,762.00 in funding.
• The number of recipients for this funding is limited to 1 candidate(s).
• Eligible applicants include: Native American tribal governments (Federally recognized).

Apply for F18AS00332

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