Reese Creek Watershed Enhancement | NOIP17AC00260

Opportunity Information: Apply for NOIP17AC00260

The Reese Creek Watershed Enhancement opportunity is a National Park Service (NPS) Notice of Intent to Award, meaning it is not open for competition and is not asking the public to submit applications. Instead, NPS is publicly documenting its plan to make a single, non-competitive cooperative agreement award to Trout Unlimited, Inc. (a 501(c)(3) nonprofit). The funding announcement number is NOIP17AC00260 under CFDA 15.954. The anticipated federal funding listed is $42,800 with an $11,000 non-federal cost share, and the period of performance is expected to run from March 2017 through March 2021. The award is structured as a cooperative agreement, reflecting active participation by NPS alongside the recipient. The cited legal authorities include provisions for NPS cooperative agreements (54 U.S.C. 101702), plus broader authorities such as the Organic Act, the Clean Water Act, the Endangered Species Act, and the Wilderness Act.

At the core, the project targets a specific water management and habitat problem in the Reese Creek watershed in the Gardiner Basin area of Yellowstone National Park. Reese Creek is described as unusual within Yellowstone because it is the only watershed where the park does not own all water rights; privately held deeded irrigation rights can reduce in-stream flow each year, creating periodic dewatering that threatens native Yellowstone cutthroat trout and associated riparian habitat. Yellowstone contains an extensive network of cold-water streams that support native fish important to ecosystem function, wildlife, and visitor recreation, including angling. NPS frames the project as part of a broader strategy to maintain the long-term viability of these aquatic resources within the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem.

The primary on-the-ground objective is straightforward: reduce irrigation water lost to infiltration and evaporation by replacing an open, unlined irrigation ditch with a closed, flow-metered pipeline system. By improving delivery efficiency, the project is designed to keep more water in the Reese Creek channel, reduce or eliminate dewatering events, and increase water availability for native trout, riparian vegetation, and an ongoing USDA Forest Service restoration effort tied to the same system. The flow-metering component also supports better water accounting and is intended to provide near real-time awareness of delivery conditions that could lead to low-flow or dewatering events, benefiting both park staff and private water rights holders. NPS also notes the project could be used as a public/private conservation case study for education and outreach.

The scope of work lays out a division of responsibilities between Trout Unlimited and NPS, with joint administration. Trout Unlimiteds responsibilities include surveying the existing irrigation infrastructure and elevations, arranging a professional review and certification of student-developed engineering plans by a licensed civil engineer, and taking the lead as the permit applicant for a suite of required authorizations. The permits explicitly mentioned include a 124 permit, Clean Water Act Section 404 permitting, a 318 authorization, water right permitting and change authorization, and stormwater discharge permits. Trout Unlimited is also responsible for purchasing supplies and materials needed for pipeline installation and serving as a co-lead with NPS on construction oversight and coordination.

NPS responsibilities include providing substantial project support through funding, staff time, and in-kind contributions, as well as leading key compliance and program elements. NPS states it will manage environmental and cultural compliance under NEPA and NHPA, direct and engage student involvement to develop project alternatives and draft designs and presentations, co-lead overall project oversight with Trout Unlimited, and lead post-construction site restoration and monitoring. In addition to the construction-focused tasks, the agreement emphasizes broader program goals that include protecting and restoring riparian and aquatic ecosystems for cold-water fisheries, preserving indigenous cutthroat trout and other native species through cooperative habitat and watershed projects, and delivering education programs to raise awareness of native fisheries values and threats (including impacts from non-native species), improve stakeholder understanding of habitat protection needs, and promote public involvement and enjoyment of regional fisheries.

The justification for making this a single-source, non-competitive award rests on two main points: it is characterized as an unsolicited proposal and as a continuation of ongoing work where competition could disrupt continuity and completion. NPS explains that Yellowstone staff are already engaged in Reese Creek enhancement planning and implementation, and because the work spans park and private lands and intersects Montana water rights, the park needs a partner with specialized capabilities in public/private collaboration, state water rights, permitting, and watershed project delivery. Trout Unlimited is presented as uniquely qualified due to its long-running Montana water and habitat program, extensive experience securing and administering instream flow protections and water leases, in-house technical and legal capacity (including attorneys and engineers), and a history of completing complex, stakeholder-driven projects. NPS also notes an existing relationship and formal agreements between Yellowstone and the Montana Trout Unlimited office, and identifies a key staff lead with deep permitting and water policy background as central to the projects success. The notice lists Tina Holland (tinaholland@nps.gov, 307-344-2082) as the point of contact for the award notice.

• The Department of the Interior, National Park Service in the science and technology and other research and development sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Reese Creek Watershed Enhancement" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 15.954.
• This funding opportunity was created on Mar 16, 2017.
• Applicants must submit their applications by Mar 30, 2017. (Agency may still review applications by suitable applicants for the remaining/unused allocated funding in 2026.)
• The number of recipients for this funding is limited to 1 candidate(s).
• Eligible applicants include: Nonprofits having a 501(c)(3) status with the IRS, other than institutions of higher education.

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