As we begin the new year, we have three updates regarding the 2024 Yakima Basin Salmon Recovery Funding Board (SRFB) grant round.
Riparian Grant Program: The first is the SRFB’s new riparian grant opportunity, which will be included as part of the annual SRFB grant round. The SRFB received $25 million to scale-up riparian projects statewide, with an expected allocation of at least $1.6 million for the Yakima Basin. Our committees will evaluate and rank riparian projects during the 2024 grant round using the same process, schedule, and criteria as other SRFB projects to produce a ranked list of riparian projects. At its December meeting, the SRFB approved the riparian funding policy developed by RCO staff, to be included as an appendix to RCO Manual 18.
Large Projects: Second, at the December meeting, SRFB initiated a Targeted Investment large projects grant round in 2024 for projects with SRFB requests between $1 million and $5 million. Please see the Request for Proposals. RCO requested $20 million in supplemental funding for large projects, and the Governor included $25 million in his proposed budget; the legislator will decide whether to support this request by the end of March. While funding for this program has not yet been secured, the SRFB is soliciting proposals for this grant opportunity since the grant round will begin ahead of the decision by the legislature. Again, our committees will evaluate and rank large projects using the same procedure, schedule, and criteria as other SRFB projects to produce a ranked list of up to six projects to submit up to the state review panel for final ranking, with the top-ranked ones eligible for funding from the 2024 supplemental funds if approved. Unfunded projects will be included on a ranked list to be submitted to the legislature for consideration in the 2025 state legislative session.
We will hold a meeting January 16 at 10 AM to discuss the large grant opportunity with the sponsors as well as a meeting on January 17 at 1 PM to discuss the riparian grant program. If you would like to join either meeting, please let Michael Horner, YBFWRB Lead Entity Program Coordinator, know.
Match Requirement: Finally, at its December meeting the SRFB decided to replace the match requirement with a requirement to report on outside funding at the time of the application and final report. This applies to all project types except for acquisitions including more than 50% uplands and riparian planting projects that do not meet Manual 18, Appendix K buffer criteria. This decision will be implemented during the 2025 grant round at the earliest. The SRFB will review this approach after two grant rounds. This decision is in response to significant advocacy by lead entities, sponsors, and the vast majority of stakeholders who provided comments to the SRFB.