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Federal Grants Offer $85 Million for Watershed Health and Stream Restoration
Audubon and The Nature Conservancy webinar helps watershed groups access federal funding for monitoring, project design, and watershed scale stream restoration projects.
By Nathan Boyer-Rechlin
Western Rivers Program Specialist
Published September 01, 2026
This article is from Audubon Rockies
, Audubon's regional office for Colorado, Utah, and Wyoming. Find your nearest Audubon office here.
The U.S. Bureau of Reclamation recently announced two WaterSMART programs funding stream restoration projects, with multiple rounds of funding through 2028. The Enhancing Water Resources Projects (EWRP) and Cooperative Watershed Management Programs (CWMP) are collectively distributing $85 million for projects including watershed planning, extensive baseline and post-project monitoring, low-tech process-based (LTPBR) stream restoration, wildfire risk reduction and recovery, and infrastructure upgrades.
Grassroots watershed groups are uniquely positioned to benefit from this influx of funding, as much of the CWMP funding is exclusive to watershed groups. Watershed groups also have certain advantages in the EWRP program, which is also open to other nonprofit organizations as well as conservation districts and municipalities, among others.
These programs present an opportunity to advance stream restoration across the Rockies region and beyond, benefiting birds by stewarding the water and habitats they rely on. To support these efforts, Audubon and The Nature Conservancy presented a webinar on the programs, including how grant opportunities are the best match with different stages of LTPBR project development, and how to develop competitive proposals.
Watch a recording of the webinar and download the presentation slides below.
Which Grant Program is Best for my Project?
The EWRP program is an excellent opportunity to fund large ($1-3 million), multi-component watershed health and restoration projects that combine stream restoration projects with
- Fuels mitigation
- Water delivery improvements and flows restoration
- Monitoring infrastructure
- And/or a hard infrastructure component
Smaller stream restoration projects ($500k - $1 million) may also be competitive if they have a nexus with water delivery or supply, and incorporate nature-based solutions structures or hard infrastructure. EWRP projects are expected to have at least 60% of project design completed.
The CWMP program is the perfect opportunity for existing watershed groups to fund project design, in preparation for a 2027 EWRP proposal. CWMP grants can also fund watershed planning, such as developing a Wildfire Ready Watershed plan, which is beneficial for Colorado Water Conservation Board (CWCB) grants, as well as the development of new watershed groups.
For organizations that are not watershed groups, Applied Science grants fund modeling, forecasting, and data-based work, and may also fund elements of project design or baseline monitoring.
The fundamentals of each grant are outlined below, as well as how they best apply to stream restoration projects.
Overview of WaterSMART Grant Opportunities
Bureau of Reclamation Resources
WaterSMART Program Data Portal
- Review previously awarded grants, and grant applications