The 2025 Fisheries Restoration Grant Program's Mitigated Negative Declaration Project

This project, funded by grant money approved by the California Legislature, aims to restore habitat for salmon and steelhead trout across coastal regions of the state through targeted in-stream and riparian interventions. The initiative is administrated by the California Department of Fish and Wildlife’s Wildlife and Fisheries Division in Sacramento under the 2025 Fisheries Restoration Grant Program, with work scheduled from 2026 through 2030 and subject to seasonal constraints that limit in-water activities to June 15 through October 31 annually. Performance occurs in multiple coastal counties including Mendocino, Monterey, and San Luis Obispo, with activities including instream habitat feature installation, coffer dam construction, stream dewatering, erosion control, and fish exclusion measures—all guided by the California Salmonid Stream Habitat Restoration Manual and other state-specific protocols. Compliance with environmental regulations is mandatory, with requirements tied to CEQA, the Lake and Streambed Alteration Agreement, and federal permits including USACE Section 404 and Water Quality Certification. The project mandates adherence to strict operational constraints such as no work before specified dates to protect nesting birds, no equipment maintenance within 100 feet of streams, and mandatory decontamination of gear to prevent aquatic invasive species spread. The contractor must deliver阶段性 design phases totaling 35%, 65%, 90%, and 100% completion—each accompanied by technical reports, as-built plans, photo documentation, cost estimates in Excel and PDF formats, and design drawings in .dwg and PDF. Final deliverables include quarterly progress reports, annual and final comprehensive reports, executed subcontracts with audit rights, landowner access agreements, and water quality monitoring data, all submitted to CDFW by deadlines extending through March 2030. Inspection and acceptance are conducted on-site by the state agency, with final approval contingent upon verification of compliance with all mitigation measures and regulatory requirements. The award is based on a Lowest Price Technically Acceptable model under which responsive and responsible bidders are selected based on meeting all technical criteria at the lowest cost. While no formal Federal Acquisition Regulation clauses are incorporated, the project includes specialized contractual requirements covering labor (prevailing wage compliance), cultural resource coordination with the Karuk Tribe, and mandatory agency coordination with NOAA Fisheries and the State Historic Preservation Office. No contract value is disclosed, nor are federal financial accountability codes or payment details provided, reflecting the grant-based nature of the funding and its alignment with California’s environmental restoration priorities rather than traditional federal procurement.