Hyde Pond and Pond Lily Monitoring and Assessment; Hurricane Sandy, Disaster Relief Appropriations Act of 2013

This is an announcement for issuing a single source financial assistance award to the Connecticut Fund for the Environment. This announcement is for notification purposes only. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service) is collecting biotic and abiotic data to evaluate construction projects funded through the Hurricane Sandy Disaster Relief Act appropriations and completed in 2015-2016. The primary sites for this funding opportunity are the Pond Lily and the Hyde Pond dam removal sites, both in Connecticut. The grantee will collect data to evaluate ecological parameters associated with the project goal of improving passage for migratory and resident fish and to comply with permit requirements with regard to vegetative community composition and abiotic factors. Monitoring metrics are expected to include, fish abundance, diversity, and migration patterns, riparian plant community composition, invasive species extent, and stream channel profiles. Additional variables could be included based on site specific interests or permit requirements as funding allows. This project is not expected to address inundation modelling at the project sites as that will be accomplished independent of this project. This project is authorized by the Disaster Relief Appropriations Act of 2013, Public Law 113-2.