Snake River Adjudication Instream Flow Monitoring Program | BOR PN 17 N020

Opportunity Information: Apply for BOR PN 17 N020

The Snake River Adjudication Instream Flow Monitoring Program is a discretionary grant opportunity from the U.S. Department of the Interior, Bureau of Reclamation (CFDA 15.517), designed to help the Nez Perce Tribe (a federally recognized tribal government and the eligible applicant type listed) begin on-the-ground monitoring needed to verify whether legally decreed minimum instream flows are being met in tributaries within the Snake River Basin. The underlying backdrop is the Snake River Basin Adjudication (SRBA), a long-running administrative and legal process that started in 1987 to define and confirm water rights across the basin, culminating in a Final Unified Decree signed on August 25, 2014. As part of that broader settlement framework, the Tribe received Partial Decrees tied to state minimum streamflow water rights originally held by the Idaho Water Resources Board, with those minimum streamflow rights having been approved in 2005 and established in Idaho law the same year. A key driver for this program is that compliance monitoring is a condition of the 2004 Final Mediator's Term Sheet, but the required stream monitoring had not yet started because funding was not available.

A central feature of the SRBA-related instream flow structure is the designation of "Tribal Priority Streams" into two categories, called the "A" List and the "B" List, based largely on existing levels of use and how management actions are expected to be developed. The "B" List streams are those where instream flows and other non-flow actions are intended to be shaped collaboratively by the parties along with local stakeholders and communities. The much larger "A" List has instream flows and future non-DCMI use levels generally assigned through a land classification approach (based on predominant land ownership and, where applicable, federal land classifications), with certain exceptions for special resource value areas or areas of particular concern related to local uses. In total, the program references 159 "A" List streams and 28 "B" List streams, underscoring how many locations may ultimately be implicated even though this initial effort focuses on a smaller set of sites for instrument deployment.

The funded work is built around establishing credible, repeatable flow monitoring so current stream conditions can be documented and compared against the adjudicated instream flow requirements. The Tribe would begin by creating a GIS-based inventory and map that pulls together the "A" and "B" List stream locations, identifies where active instream water rights exist, and overlays existing operating USGS stream gages. That GIS and desktop analysis is not treated as an abstract exercise; it is meant to help prioritize where monitoring and potential flow improvement actions could have the most benefit, using factors such as the amount of active instream water rights, cultural importance to the Tribe, and biological importance. The final decision on where to place monitoring equipment is explicitly described as a coordinated process with partners, signaling that the monitoring network is intended to fit within a broader regional context rather than operate in isolation.

On the field and data-collection side, the proposal includes purchasing 12 Solinst water level data loggers to instrument six selected SRBA-listed streams. Each site would receive two loggers: one dedicated to measuring water level and a second to measure barometric pressure, which is commonly used to correct and refine water level readings. The loggers would be installed in stilling wells at the mouths of the six chosen streams, and staff gages would be installed at each location to provide visual reference readings that can be used to check and validate the continuous water-level record from the loggers. In addition to continuous stage data, the Tribe would conduct instantaneous discharge measurements at each site at least 20 times across the calendar year, with an emphasis on capturing both high-flow events (including peak stormflows) and low-flow conditions. Those spot measurements are intended to support development of a rating curve, allowing the Tribe to translate water level (stage) into estimated streamflow over time, which is the practical backbone of converting continuous logger records into actionable compliance information.

Beyond monitoring, the opportunity also supports governance capacity by helping the Tribe advance its Tribal Water Code, which is described as being in rough draft form. The Water Code component is framed as essential because the Tribe is the primary enforcement and management entity for administering tribal water rights on the reservation. Completing the Code would strengthen the Tribe's ability to regulate and protect instream water rights using enforceable rules and procedures, rather than relying solely on ad hoc measures or external entities.

The anticipated deliverables and outcomes are concrete and outward-facing. The project would produce a final technical report to be shared with relevant tribal staff and the Idaho Department of Water Resources, helping ensure that the monitoring results are usable in intergovernmental water management contexts. The GIS database would be created and the collected data would be made available via Nez Perce Tribe websites, which points to an intent for transparency and broader utility of the information. Importantly, the monitoring is positioned not just as compliance checking but as a foundation for identifying and designing water exchange or flow restoration projects in places where minimum instream flows are not being met. Examples named in the opportunity include irrigation improvement projects, instream water leases during critical low-flow periods, and permanent retirement of instream water rights. This ties the monitoring directly to practical restoration actions and to habitat outcomes, particularly because the Tribe's watershed program implements projects to protect and restore habitat for ESA-listed salmonids, and cold-water refugia during summer low-flow periods is highlighted as critical to fish survival and recovery.

From an administrative standpoint, this is a Bureau of Reclamation grant opportunity (Funding Opportunity Number BOR PN 17 N020) categorized under Natural Resources, with an award ceiling of $200,000. The original closing date listed is September 19, 2017, and the posting date is September 5, 2017. The notice also specifies that there is no anticipated involvement from Reclamation in carrying out the work, meaning the project is expected to be implemented by the recipient without ongoing federal operational participation beyond standard grant administration and reporting.

• The Bureau of Reclamation in the natural resources sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Snake River Adjudication Instream Flow Monitoring Program" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 15.517.
• This funding opportunity was created on 2017-09-05.
• Applicants must submit their applications by 2017-09-19. (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 $200,000.00 in funding.
• Eligible applicants include: Native American tribal governments (Federally recognized).

Apply for BOR PN 17 N020

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