F25AS00317 Crane Creek Lacustuary Restoration | F25AS00317

Opportunity Information: Apply for F25AS00317

F25AS00317, titled "Crane Creek Lacustuary Restoration," is a discretionary grant opportunity from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) focused on restoring wetland habitat within the Ottawa National Wildlife Refuge (ONWR) in northwest Ohio. The project targets the lacustuary portion of Crane Creek, a lake-influenced drowned river-mouth system where Lake Erie water levels and seiche events push water both upstream and downstream. The refuge is seeking to restore roughly 55 acres of wetlands, with the final acreage potentially adjusted based on what engineering and design determine is achievable within budget while still maximizing ecological benefits. Long-term operation and maintenance of the restored site will be handled by USFWS, and the funding explicitly does not support land acquisition.

The opportunity provides up to $1,500,000 in total funding, with an expected single award and an award ceiling of $1,500,000. Funds are intended to cover the full arc of project delivery: site assessments, surveys, engineering and design, permitting, and on-the-ground implementation. The scope is broad and includes practical construction and restoration needs such as plans and drawings, permitting costs, labor, materials, equipment, plantings, and invasive species control. In short, the grant is structured to move the project from initial technical evaluation through final buildout rather than only supporting planning or only supporting construction.

Ecologically, the central purpose is to demonstrate measurable improvements to fish habitat and benthic (bottom-dwelling) habitat and populations in drowned river-mouth systems within the Maumee Area of Concern (AOC). The Crane Creek lacustuary reach is described as biologically impaired, with stressors tied to heavy siltation and elevated total phosphorus. These issues are linked to watershed conditions dominated by agriculture, including tile drainage and channelized ditches that rapidly deliver runoff to tributaries and Crane Creek. Within the hydrologic unit, about three-quarters of the landscape is agricultural and only a small fraction is impervious surface, which underscores that the problem is less about urban stormwater and more about sediment and nutrient delivery from working lands and altered drainage.

The restoration approach emphasizes physical habitat features designed to work with the site’s natural hydrodynamics. Proposed techniques include constructing submerged barrier bars or shoals, building rock and earthen islands, and installing fallen or dead trees to create complex aquatic structure. These elements are intended to allow water exchange with river flow and lake seiche action while also reducing the impacts of siltation, increasing habitat diversity, and improving conditions for aquatic organisms. By improving habitat and benthic community function, the project is also framed as contributing to better water quality outcomes for Lake Erie users, reflecting the connection between local habitat condition and broader lake health.

The project location is within ONWR, roughly 1.5 to 2.5 miles upstream of where Crane Creek meets Lake Erie, in the lower 5.9-mile lacustuary zone of the creek. This part of Crane Creek within the refuge includes more than 300 acres of wetlands and is particularly influenced by lake-driven water movement. The grant narrative emphasizes that the lacustuary area is impaired for all three biological Beneficial Use Impairments (BUIs), with benthic condition highlighted as a major concern. Benthic condition is described as being at about 41% of the restoration target, and the text notes that unless benthic metrics can be improved beyond 50% of targets, the hydrologic unit could remain impaired for benthic community health. The data summary also points to low overall species numbers, dominance of pollution-tolerant species, heavy siltation, and extensive embeddedness, even while fish population and habitat scores are comparatively higher (reported as 86 and 81).

The opportunity is also positioned as part of a larger regional restoration strategy and learning network. The project concept was developed by a team of regional habitat restoration practitioners and regulators, including USFWS, the U.S. Geological Survey, Ohio EPA, Ohio Department of Natural Resources, the Great Lakes Commission, Ducks Unlimited, Toledo Metroparks, Partners for Clean Streams, and consulting partners. It is intended to draw on lessons from similar nearby efforts such as the Penn 7 Wetland Restoration and the Maumee River Islands projects, as well as successful work in other Great Lakes Areas of Concern like the Muskegon River and Detroit River. This framing signals that proposals should align with established Great Lakes restoration practices and demonstrate a clear link between constructed features, hydrologic function, and measurable biological lift.

Eligibility is broad and includes state, county, and local governments; special districts; public and private institutions of higher education; federally recognized tribal governments and other tribal organizations; public housing authorities; nonprofits with or without 501(c)(3) status (excluding institutions of higher education in those nonprofit categories as stated); and small businesses. The application deadline is listed as January 23, 2026, and the agency notes it reserves the right to reject proposals that do not match program goals, objectives, and priorities. Overall, the grant is best understood as a targeted, implementation-ready wetland and aquatic habitat restoration investment aimed at improving benthic and fish habitat outcomes in a sediment- and nutrient-stressed lacustuary reach that is important to both the refuge and the broader Lake Erie ecosystem.

• The Fish and Wildlife Service in the natural resources sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "F25AS00317 Crane Creek Lacustuary Restoration" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 15.662.
• This funding opportunity was created on 2025-11-19.
• Applicants must submit their applications by 2026-01-23. (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 $1,500,000.00 in funding.
• The number of recipients for this funding is limited to 1 candidate(s).
• Eligible applicants include: State governments, County governments, City or township governments, Special district governments, Independent school districts, Public and State controlled institutions of higher education, Native American tribal governments (Federally recognized), Public housing authorities/Indian housing authorities, Native American tribal organizations (other than Federally recognized tribal governments), Nonprofits having a 501 (c) (3) status with the IRS, other than institutions of higher education, Nonprofits that do not have a 501 (c) (3) status with the IRS, other than institutions of higher education, Private institutions of higher education, Small businesses.

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