Bluff Wetland 60% Design | R25AS00295

Opportunity Information: Apply for R25AS00295

The Bluff Wetland 60% Design grant opportunity (Funding Opportunity Number R25AS00295) is a discretionary cooperative agreement offered by the Bureau of Reclamation under CFDA 15.529. It supports the next phase of engineering and design work for a wetland project on the San Juan River immediately south of Bluff, Utah. The project sits within the broader mission of the San Juan River Basin Endangered Fish Recovery Program, a partnership formed in 1992 that brings together federal, state, and tribal entities to recover two endangered native fishes in the basin: the Colorado pikeminnow and the razorback sucker.

The core problem this funding addresses is a bottleneck in razorback sucker recovery: not enough suitable rearing habitat for young fish. The Recovery Program has identified the shortage of nursery and rearing areas as the key factor limiting recruitment of razorback suckers into the juvenile stage, which in turn slows population recovery. In a natural system, certain river flow patterns can create and maintain side channels, backwaters, and floodplain wetlands that function as productive, sheltered nurseries for larval and juvenile fish. However, the program notes that releases from Navajo Reservoir have not provided enough water to consistently build and sustain these habitats. Because the ideal flow-based solution has not been feasible, the Recovery Program has determined that non-flow alternatives are necessary, meaning habitat creation or enhancement projects that can provide rearing conditions without relying on large reservoir releases.

This specific wetland project is intended to entrain and rear larval razorback sucker. In practical terms, the wetland is being designed to capture (entrain) larvae from the river during the right seasonal conditions and provide a protected, food-rich environment where they can grow beyond the most vulnerable early life stages. The Recovery Program has already funded and supported the conceptual design stage, described as a 30% design, which generally represents an early but defined concept showing feasibility, key features, preliminary layout, and major assumptions. The purpose of this new award is to advance that work to a 60% design level. A 60% design typically means a much more developed set of plans and engineering details, such as refined site layouts, more complete hydraulic and geomorphic concepts, preliminary structural and civil details, clearer quantities and specifications, improved cost estimates, and identification of permitting needs and implementation considerations. The emphasis is on taking the elements from the existing 30% concept and developing them far enough that the project is substantially de-risked and positioned for later final design, permitting, and construction decisions.

The opportunity is open to non-federal entities (listed under Eligible Applicants as "Others"), signaling that the Bureau of Reclamation expects to partner with an outside recipient rather than execute all work internally. Because the instrument is a cooperative agreement, the agency anticipates having substantial involvement during the project, which often means coordination on technical direction, deliverables, milestones, and alignment with Recovery Program objectives. The notice lists an award ceiling of $300,000. The opportunity was created on 2025-08-13, and the original closing date is 2025-10-17. The listing indicates expected awards, but the number is not provided in the source text.

Overall, the grant funds design advancement for a targeted habitat project meant to overcome a major limiting factor in endangered fish recovery in the San Juan River Basin. By moving the Bluff-area wetland from a conceptual 30% design to a more actionable 60% design, the program is investing in a non-flow habitat solution that can help larval razorback suckers survive and grow in a controlled wetland environment when natural flow conditions cannot reliably create those nursery habitats on their own.

• The Bureau of Reclamation in the other sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Bluff Wetland 60% Design" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 15.529.
• This funding opportunity was created on 2025-08-13.
• Applicants must submit their applications by 2025-10-17. (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 $300,000.00 in funding.
• Eligible applicants include: Others.

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