AFS Spokane Infrastructure Afternoon Workshop – Tuesday August 23, 2022

    The Infrastructure, Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA), also known as the Bipartisan infrastructure Law (BIL), represents an unprecedented investment in the protection and restoration of habitats that support aquatic species. With just four years remaining, putting these funds on the ground will require an equally unprecedented level of cooperation, coordination, and creativity between Federal, Tribal, State, and NGO partners to address the many barriers that exist and preventing new ones. AFS members are uniquely positioned to offer insights that improve this coordination and ultimately lead to better outcomes on the ground.

    Building on the morning Plenary session, this afternoon workshop hopes to take a deeper dive into the IIJA/BIL, specifically on those topics of key importance to AFS membership seeking to utilize IIJA/BIL funding. This afternoon workshop will build on the conversation started at the National Conservation Training Center (NCTC) Fish Passage Workshop in July, which looked to achieve greater understanding of federal agency and non-federal partner goals, activities, and timelines as they relate to IIJA/BIL funding.

    Breakout sessions during this afternoon workshop will focus the discussion on topics of key importance, such as:

    • Capacity building and gaps;
    • Project eligibility;
    • Permitting challenges;
    • Funding mechanisms;
    • Coordination with other funded agencies;
    • Inventories/prioritizations; and,
    • Others identified from the NCTC conversation.

    The afternoon workshop will conclude with a Report Out Discussion to share the feedback from the breakout sessions and identify future needs and mechanisms for communication, collaboration, and coordination of project funding through the IIJA/BIL.

    Coordinators:

    • Lynn Quattro, President Elect, AFS Fisheries Administration Section, South Carolina DNR
    • Julie Carter, President Elect, AFS Fisheries Management Section, Arizona Fish and Game Dept.
    • Jim Fredericks, Past President AFS Fisheries Administration Section, Idaho Fish and Game Dept.
    • Dan Giza, President, AFS Bioengineering Section, ASA Analysis & Communications, Inc.
    • Dave Thorne, President, AFS Fish Habitat Section, West Virginia DNR
    • Shaun Clements, Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife
    • Gary Whelan, President, AFS Fisheries Administration Section, Michigan DNR
    • Marcin Whitman, Past President, AFS Bioengineering Section