Family Forest Fish Passage Program
The Family Forest Fish Passage Program is a cost-share program that helps small forest landowners correct fish passage barriers on their forestlands. The program provides 75-100 percent of the cost of correcting a barrier; it also provides technical assistance. In the following text you’ll find:
- Information on eligibility, how to apply and what to expect.
- Answers to frequently asked questions about the program.
- Definitions of terms commonly associated with the program.
- Additional materials to help landowners who decide to participate in the program.
Why the program was created
Small forest landowners own 4.2 million acres of Washington’s forests––about half the private forestland in the state. These family forests are important to fish and include thousands of miles of fish-bearing streams.
A major key to restoring fish populations is removing barriers to fish passage. A single artificial barrier on a stream can keep fish from reaching many miles of habitat upstream. To help protect fish (a public resource), state Forest Practices Rules require forest landowners to address fish barriers by 2016.
Because eliminating fish passage barriers can be costly, especially for the family forest landowner, the 2003 Washington Legislature established the Family Forest Fish Passage Program (House Bill 1095). In general, the bill required that:
- The state create a cost-share program that provides 75-100 percent of the cost of correcting small forest landowners’ fish barriers.
- Small forest landowners enrolling in the program are required to fix their barriers only if financial assistance is available from the state.
- Barriers be prioritized and repaired on a worst-first basis.
Once a year, projects submitted to the program are prioritized, and fish barrier corrections providing the greatest benefit to public resources are funded. Lower priority projects remain in the program to be funded once they become high priority and money is available.
By signing up for the program, a landowner is relieved of any Forest Practices obligation to fix a fish passage barrier until the state determines the barrier is a high priority.
Program partners
The Family Forest Fish Passage Program relies on partnerships. The program is implemented by three state agencies; each provides different program services:
- The Small Forest Landowner Office at the Department of Natural Resources (DNR) is the main point of contact for Program information. The office assists landowners, provides outreach and coordinates additional funding sources.
- The Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) evaluates and ranks projects, and also provides information on fish barriers, fish species, habitat, Lead Entities, and watershed groups.
- The Interagency Committee for Outdoor Recreation/Salmon Recovery Funding Board (IAC) administers program funding and provides information on program contracts, billing and reimbursement.
In addition, the Washington Farm Forestry Association (WFFA) serves in an advisory capacity to the Program and assists with policy development on behalf of family forest landowners statewide. Fish Passage Team The Fish Passage Team, made up of representatives from DNR, WDFW and IAC, manages day-to-day program implementation. Through the team, the three agencies work cooperatively on all aspects of the program. Steering Committee The Program Steering Committee, made up of policy-level staff from DNR, WDFW, IAC and WFFA, provides direction to the Fish Passage Team on program policies, reviews outreach materials, and approves project funding. Local Entities Many conservation districts, Regional Fisheries Enhancement Groups (RFEGs), Lead Entities, and tribes contribute to the program by evaluating barriers, providing fish use and habitat information, and assisting landowners with all aspects of completing projects.
Eligibility
Projects
For a structure to be eligible for the program, it must be:
- on forestland,
- on a fish-bearing stream,
- a barrier to fish passage, and
- owned by a small forest landowner
- at a road crossing
Forestland
Forestland is land capable of supporting a merchantable stand of timber and not being actively used for anything incompatible with timber growing. For the purposes of this program, forestland does not include: crop fields, orchards, vineyards, pastures, feedlots, fish pens, and Christmas tree farms. It also does not include land occupied by facilities for the production, preparation, or sale of crops, fruit, dairy products, fish, and livestock.
Fish-bearing streams
Streams are generally considered fish-bearing if they are 2 feet or greater in width in Western Washington, or 3 feet or greater in Eastern Washington, and have a gradient of 20 percent or less. Intermittent streams (those which go dry during a portion of the year) may have fish present during those times when the streams are flowing. A determination can be made during project evaluation if it is unknown whether a stream is fish-bearing.
Fish passage barrier
A fish passage barrier is any artificial (human-caused) structure in a stream that impedes free passage of fish––any species, any life stage––to habitat upstream or downstream. Examples of fish barriers include: culverts, puncheons, fords, standpipes, dams, weirs, and spillways.
Small forest landowner
A small forest landowner is determined not by the number of acres owned, but by the volume of timber harvested. A small forest landowner is one who at the time of submitting an application to the program, has harvested from his or her own lands in Washington State an average volume of 2 million board feet per year or less during the 3 years prior to submitting the application, and expects to harvest an average volume of 2 million board feet per year or less during the 10 years following the submission of the application to the program. (In other words, to qualify as a small forest landowner, from their own lands in Washington, a landowner cannot have harvested more than 6 million board feet over the previous 3 years or expect to harvest more than 20 million board feet over the next 10 years.)
Exception: Any landowner who exceeded the two million board feet annual average timber harvest threshold in the three years prior to submitting an application to DNR, or who expects to exceed the threshold during the following ten years, shall be deemed a “small forest landowner” if he or she establishes to the state’s reasonable satisfaction that the exceeded harvest limits are to pay estate taxes or for an equally compelling and unexpected obligation, such as for court-ordered judgment or for extraordinary medical expenses.
Road Crossing
A structure must be associated with a road crossing in order to be eligible.
Cost Sharing
Cost to the landowner
Landowners who submitted a Forest Practices Application for timber harvest on or after May 14, 2003 may be required to provide a limited share (match) of the overall cost of the barrier correction. The maximum required match per year varies according to the average annual timber volume harvested from the landowner’s lands in this state during the three preceding calendar years, and whether the barrier is in eastern or western Washington. For each project, the most a landowner must pay is 25 percent of project costs, or $5,000, whichever is less. The following chart shows the maximum annual cost-share required by a small forest landowner.
| Average Annual Board Feet Harvested | Western Wash.
Maximum Match Required
(in calendar year) | Eastern Wash.
Maximum Match Required
(in calendar year) |
| Less than 500,000 | $8,000 | $2,000 |
| Between 500,000 and 999,999 | $16,000 | $4,000 |
| Between 1,000,000 and 1,499,999 | $24,000 | $12,000 |
| Greater than 1,500,000 | $32,000 | $16,000 |
The state will pay 100 percent of project costs if:
- A Forest Practices Application or Hydraulic Project Approval was provided for the existing barrier, or
- A Forest Practices Application for timber harvest has not been submitted by the landowner between May 14, 2003 and the time the project has been selected for funding.
Project match may be a direct money payment or in-kind services. In-kind services may include labor, equipment, materials, and other services determined by the state to have an appropriate value to the removal of a particular fish passage barrier.
NOTE: Construction work done before a project is approved for funding cannot be used as a match.
Program Steps
How the Program Works
There are five key steps to the Family Forest Fish Passage Program:
1. Landowner applies to the program
2. Barrier is assessed
3. Barrier is prioritized for correction/removal
4. Project is funded when it is high priority
5. Project sponsor manages the project
STEP1:Landowner applies to the program.
Landowners can request the Application for Fish Passage Barrier Evaluation from the Small Forest Landowner Office (SFLO) at DNR. Completed applications, including a map and driving directions, are to be returned to:
Small Forest Landowner Office
Department of Natural Resources
PO Box 47012
Olympia, WA 98504-7012
A landowner can use one application form to apply to have more than one barrier evaluated.
Application Deadlines: Applications are accepted year round. To be considered for funding in the following year, applications must be received by June 30.
(Landowners will be notified of funding decisions early the following year after the June 30 cut-off date. Eligible projects that are not funded need not be resubmitted. They remain in the program until they become high priority and funding is available.)
STEP2: Barrier is assessed.
Once an application is received, a field technician will contact the landowner to arrange to evaluate the barrier on the owner’s property. If the evaluation determines the structure is not a barrier, is not on a fish-bearing stream, or is not on forestland, the landowner will be notified in writing that it is not eligible, and will not be enrolled in the program. If the structure meets eligibility criteria and is confirmed as a fish barrier, the barrier evaluation is sent to the Fish Passage Team.
STEP 3: Barrier is prioritized.
Each year, eligible projects from applications received by June 30 (including unfunded projects from previous years) will be grouped and prioritized. Projects will be ranked within their watersheds. The Fish Passage Team will evaluate and rank projects based on:
- The number and location of other upstream and downstream barriers
- Amount and quality of habitat opened by the project
- The number of salmon and trout species benefiting from barrier correction
- Project cost
Note: Numerical values, thresholds, or targets have not been established for these criteria. Each project will be compared and contrasted to all projects in the current program cycle and those projects not funded during previous cycles.
After all projects are prioritized, the Fish Passage Team will submit a preliminary ranked list of projects to the Program Steering Committee for review and approval. The subsequent ranked list will be sent to the local Lead Entities for final review. After receiving Lead Entity input, the Steering Committee will finalize the list of funded projects.
STEP 4: Project is funded when it is a high priority
Those projects providing greatest benefit to public resources will be funded for construction the following year. Projects considered lower priority during one funding cycle will be reconsidered during future cycles. Lower priority projects remain in the program to be funded once they become high priority and money is available.
Landowners will be notified of their projects’ funding status early the following year after the June 30 cut-off date.
STEP 5: Project sponsor manages the project
The entity managing a funded project is called a “sponsor.” If a project is funded, a sponsor
A conservation district, Regional Fisheries Enhancement Group, local fish-related non-profit organization, tribe, etc., or
The landowner, if he or she wishes to manage all aspects of the project .
Correcting a fish barrier is often a complicated and time-consuming process. Therefore, it is strongly recommended that project management be conducted by an organization familiar with grant management, state and federal permits, and fish barrier correction. Working with a third-party project sponsor can minimize a landowner’s work and simplify the process. An experienced organization can manage the design, permitting, construction oversight, billing and grant management for the landowner.
The Fish Passage Team can help landowners identify and work with project sponsors. (Contact the program for a list of potential project sponsors.) The program will compensate sponsors for the cost of administering a project.
If the landowner chooses to act as project sponsor, he/she will be asked to sign a project agreement with the IAC. If you go through a third party sponsor, such as a conservation district or Regional Fishery Enhancement Group, an agreement may be necessary between the landowner and the sponsor.
NOTE: Landowners are not eligible for reimbursement for administration or supervision of a sponsor. The sponsor must establish a contract with the state to manage the project to be eligible for receiving reimbursement for project administration costs.