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Restoration Grants

OPEN Applications are DUE by 5 pm on February 2, 2026. Invitation to Apply.

Background

Restoration grants support projects that provide a public benefit by protecting or restoring native fish and wildlife habitat, ecosystem function, and/or natural watershed functions to improve water quality and/or stream flow. The list of eligible project types below is not exhaustive. For eligibility questions, please contact an OWEB Project Manager.


Offered: Every Summer and Winter

Opened: September 22, 2025 - Closes: 5 pm, February 2, 2026


Any Tribe, watershed council, soil and water conservation district, not-for-profit corporation, school, Oregon institution of higher education, independent not-for-profit institution of higher education, or political subdivision of this state that is not a state agency.  A state agency or federal agency may partner with an eligible entity.​​​

Instream Habitat

  • Improving fish passage
  • Enhancing channel complexity to improve habitat and function​
  • Reconnecting historic side channels and floodplain
  • Protecting or increasing flow
  • Improving water quality
  • ​Restoring proper functioning condition

Riparian Habitat

  • Enhancing riparian vegetation communities
  • Treating invasive weed species
  • Reconnecting the floodplain
  • Moving roads out of riparian zones
  • Exclusion fencing
  • ​Improved livestock management

Upland Habitat

  • Vegetation management
    • Prairie restoration, juniper removal, oak enhancement, aspen protection, mahogany enhancement, and forest health
    • Invasive plant and weed species control
    • Prescribed or cultural burns
  • ​Rangeland improvements that benefit native grassland habitat
  • Road closures or drainage improvements​

Wetland or Esturine Habitat

  • Restoring tidal wetlands by channel creation or enhancement
  • Improving fish passage by removing or upgrading tide gates and culverts
  • Removing constrictive dikes, levees, and roads and improve hydrology
  • Enhancing or establishing wetland plant communities
  • Excluding livestock access for habitat protection
  • Treating invasive weeds

  • A watershed improvement project consisting solely of water storage structure construction for an out-of-stream use not related to watershed restoration or protection.
  • A fish screening project is eligible for funding through the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife's fish screening program except in FIP initiative restoration projects or if ODFW provides a letter stating that fish screen is eligible but not funded through their program.
  • A watershed improvement project constructed solely to comply with a state or federal agency enforcement order, legal judgment, or mitigation requirement.
  • Routine project maintenance costs.
  • ​A water conservation project in which there is no measurable instream flow benefit, groundwater benefit, or water quality improvement.

Max Request: none

Required Match:​ 25%

​After grant applications are submitted:

  1. ​OWEB staff ​check project eligibility in each application.
  2. Technical Review Teams (TRT) read ​applications and may participate in site visits on proposed project sites. TRTs meet to review and evaluate each application based on criteria described in administrative rules​.​​ They recommend one of the following for each grant: a) Fund, b) Fund with conditions, c) Do not fund, or d) Defer to staff or the Board with an explanation if there is a policy issue or budget issue that needs to be addressed. Review Teams prioritize projects recommended for funding based on:
    • ​How well the project meets the criteria established in 695-010-0030 and 695-010-0060​,
    • The certainty of success, based on the organizational capacity of the applicant and the likelihood the project will meet its ecological objectives,
    • The benefit to the Oregon Plan for Salmon and Watersheds, as evidenced by its expected benefits to watershed functions, fish habitat or water quality, and
    • The project costs relative to the anticipated watershed health benefits.
  3. OWEB staff summarize TRT comments in evaluations for each project and recommend projects for funding based the OWEB Board’s spending plan.  Evaluations provide feedback to applicants and describes to the OWEB Board and the public the rationale for a funding recommendation.  Evaluations and staff recommendations are posted online.
  4. Grant awards are made by the OWEB Board or, if delegated by the Board, by the OWEB Executive Director.

Starting in 2025, applications are accepted in the Summer and Winter of each year and are submitted entirely through our online system. Information about current grant deadlines can be found on the home page of this website.​

  1. Obtain a login (username and password).
    If your organization already has an OGMS login, skip to step 2.
    2. An OGMS login is required to access the online grant application. Only one login per organization is allowed. If no login exists for an organization, please email Leilani Sullivan ​to request one. Include the following in your email:
    • Organization name and address
    • Grantee Contact Information: name, title, email address, and phone number for the person who will receive all communication from OWEB and sign any grant agreements.
    • Payee Contact Information: name, email address, and phone number for the person who keeps records and submits payment requests and documentation.
    • FEIN (Federal Employer Identification Number). OWEB may enter into agreements only with legally established entities. OWEB will review potential applicants prior to creating an OGMS login.
    • Per federal guidance, all OWEB grantees must be registered at the System for Award Management (SAM) before receiving a grant agreement. Entities will received a non-proprietary identifier (called the Unique Entity Identifier (UEI).) This identifier is assigned by SAM (sam.gov​​​​ is a free service) and entities must update their registration annually.
  2. Log in to the Online Application.
    Guidance to help you fill out the application is always available in the top navigation bar of the online application. An ​application template is also available after you log in and choose "Create a New Application."

Please contact your Project Manager with questions.​​​

Contact

Please direct questions or comments to your Regional Program Representative.

Rules

Oregon's Administrative Rules Secretary of State website.