NOAA Opens $1.5M Salmon Habitat Grants with March 31 Deadline
March 3, 2026 · 2 min read
David Almeida
The Atlantic salmon population in the Gulf of Maine remains critically endangered, and NOAA Fisheries is putting real money behind the recovery effort.
The agency's Atlantic Salmon Habitat Restoration Partnership Grants program is accepting FY2026 applications through March 31, 2026, with individual awards ranging from $100,000 to $1.5 million over a three-year period.
What NOAA Is Funding
The grants target a specific ecological crisis: the Gulf of Maine Distinct Population Segment (DPS) of Atlantic salmon, a federally listed endangered species whose wild population has dwindled to critically low numbers in rivers across central and eastern Maine.
Funded projects must contribute directly to species recovery. That means removing or modifying dams, culverts, and other barriers that block salmon from reaching spawning and rearing habitats. It also includes restoring the structure and function of degraded streams — reconnecting floodplains, stabilizing banks, and improving water quality in watersheds essential to the species' survival.
NOAA has previously awarded nearly $1.2 million through this program in a single cycle, and the $1.5 million ceiling for FY2026 represents one of the larger individual award sizes available for habitat restoration work in the region.
Who Can Apply
Eligibility is broad. Institutions of higher education, nonprofit organizations, commercial entities, state and local governments, and Native American tribal governments can all submit proposals. U.S. territories are also eligible.
How to Apply Before the Deadline
All applications must go through Grants.gov using the SF-424 form family. Applicants should review the full Federal Funding Opportunity posting for technical requirements, budget guidance, and evaluation criteria.
The geographic scope is narrow — projects must target rivers in the New England and Mid-Atlantic region, with priority given to Maine watersheds where remnant salmon populations persist. But for organizations already working in aquatic habitat restoration, fisheries management, or endangered species recovery in that corridor, this is one of the most substantial single-grant opportunities available this spring.
For broader coverage of federal environmental and conservation grant opportunities, grantedai.com tracks deadlines and funding trends across agencies.