In past reviews, the Independent Scientific Review Panel and Peer Review Groups (ISRP) recommended that the Northwest Power Planning Council (Council) establish a special funding category to encourage innovative projects. For the first time, for Fiscal Year 2001, the Bonneville Power Administration (Bonneville) and the Council created a specific solicitation for innovative fish and wildlife project proposals and offered to allocate up to $2 million to fund these innovative projects.
The solicitation specified that the proposed project be consistent with the Council’s Columbia River Basin Fish and Wildlife Program and not exceed a total request for Bonneville funding of $400,000 (5 projects minimum). Without excluding other types of innovative projects, the solicitation expressed an interest in projects demonstrating the effect of nutrient supplementation and those testing experimental selective fishing gear. In response to the solicitation, Bonneville received 66 proposals that in total request about $20 million.
