Funding Opportunity – Habitat Stewardship Program (Aquatic Species at Risk)

December 2, 2019

The Habitat Stewardship Program (HSP) for Aquatic Species at Risk provides funding for projects that contribute directly to the protection and recovery of aquatic species at risk and their habitats.

Projects must demonstrate how they align with the objectives of the HSP by achieving one or more of the following results:

• Improvement and/or management of important habitats for aquatic species at risk to meet recovery needs;
• Stopping, removing, and/or mitigating threats to aquatic species at risk, and;
• Establishing collaboration and partnerships that support the conservation and recovery of aquatic species at risk.

The 2020-2021 funding stream opportunity will prioritize projects focusing on the implementation of:

• Priority activities described in federal recovery strategies, actions plans, or management plans;
• Multi-species and multi-partner projects, and;
• Activities that address threats described in federal species at risk recovery documents or the Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada assessment reports.

Lake Ontario and contributing watersheds comprise a priority area for HSP funding.

Regional priority species for Ontario are as follows: Redside Dace, Pugnose Shiner, Pugnose Minnow, Lake Sturgeon, and Silver Shiner.

Regional priority threats include: sediment/nutrient, contaminant loading; habitat destruction/alteration; altered flows, water levels, or coastal process; barriers to fish passage, and recreational impacts on aquatic species at risk.

The full Habitat Stewardship Program overview and objective can be viewed here.

If your project addresses one of the regional priority species for Ontario listed above, please attend our drop-in session Tuesday, December 3 from 1:00pm – 4:00pm at Funding and Grants. Please come prepared to discuss how your project fits within the federal and regional priorities identified and described in federal SAR recovery documents or the Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada (COSEWIC) assessment reports.

Approved applicants will be expected to submit an EOI to the Funding and Grants Coordinator by next Monday, December 9.

If you have any questions or concerns regarding a project’s fit for this funding opportunity, or regarding the application process, please direct them to the Funding and Grants Coordinator (Max Smith) at max.smith@trca.ca.