Photo: N Tremblay
We are in the process of renewing our approach to project funding and want your feedback on draft funding priorities by Friday, November 13.
The new funding priorities will guide our decisions for compensation projects for fish, wildlife and their habitat starting in 2027.
Review our draft funding priorities and then submit an online feedback form by 4 p.m. PT / 5 p.m.MT on Friday, November 13. If you missed our virtual information sessions, be sure to watch a recording or contact a region manager if you have questions.
Our 2026 annual grant intake closed November 2. Big thanks to everyone who submitted a grant application for a fish or wildlife compensation project.
We’re starting a three-stage review of all grant applications that will end with funding decisions by our Coastal, Columbia, and Peace region boards.
If you applied for an annual grant, you will be notified of our boards’ funding decisions in late winter 2027.
We’ll be preparing and posting a guidance document in early 2027 for applicants approved for compensation funding. This document will outline reporting and payment milestones, along with other requirements.
All grant applicants will be notified of our regional boards’ decisions by the end of February 2027.
Find out more in the FAQ below. Contact us if you have any questions.
Subscribe to our e-letters and connect with us on Instagram and LinkedIn to stay informed.
If you have an approved grant and a signed contribution agreement, refer to our user guides for click-by-click instructions on how manage your grant.
If you have been approved previously for an annual or year-round grant, follow this link to login to our online grant management system to manage your grant and project.
Contact your region manager if you have any questions.
Our three regional boards approved approximately $9.7 million for 77 fish and wildlife projects to be delivered in 2026—2027 in our Coastal, Columbia, and Peace regions.
Another $2.3 million was approved for First Nations Directed Projects (Columbia and Peace regions), Community Engagement Grants, Land Securement Grants, and Seed Grants. These board-approved funds will be allocated throughout the year, bringing the total approved funding for fish and wildlife compensation projects to $12 million in 2026—2027.
The projects approved for funding this year align with our priority actions and reflect our primary obligation to compensate for dam impacts to fish, wildlife, and their habitats in the watersheds where we operate.
Each of our three regions—Coastal, Columbia, and Peace—are unique, and the requirements for grant applicants vary by region. To help with your grant application, we prepare updated regional grant guidance annually for each region. Guidance for our 2027—2028 grant intake will be available in July 2027.
Eligible grant applicants include: First Nations government, communities, and businesses; consultants, agencies, non-government organizations, local governments, individuals, and academic institutions.
All grant applicants must be able to provide:
Description
Project summary: Project title, project summary statement, and project urgencyProject details: Species that will benefit, detailed project description
Applicant information
Applicant information: Organization, project contact, signing authority, collaborators, project supporters, Indigenous engagement, and project volunteers
Project information
Project location information: Map, location description, project coordinates (latitude and longitude)
Alignment with action plan(s): Primary action plan, sub objective, action type, alignment with priority action and intended outcome(s), and optional alignment with secondary action plan
Project details
Alignment with core element(s): How your project reflects our primary obligation to compensate for dam impacts to fish, wildlife and their habitats; as well as First Nations values and conservation priorities.
Single or multi-year project: Project duration, provide overview of project achievements and challenges for ongoing multi-year projects
Project phases: Start-up, fieldwork, data entry and analysis, community engagement (i.e., define how you plan to share your project results and involve others in your proposed project), draft reporting, and final reporting
Benefits: Benefits to fish and/or wildlife
Ongoing maintenance: Is ongoing maintenance required to sustain benefits?
Effectiveness monitoring: Do you have an effectiveness monitoring plan if your project involves restoration/enhancement?
Community engagement: What are your plans to share results and engage with First Nations, interest holders, and others?
Permits and approval: The status of the landownership in your project area (e.g., BC Hydro-owned lands, proximity to BC Hydro facility, or other land ownership) and information on any required permits and approvals
Project budget
Budget:
• Labour expenses,
• Materials, equipment, transportation, and field expenses
• Project administration costs
• GST section
• Additional revenue (i.e., other funding sources, in-kind and volunteer contributions)
Funding: You will be asked about any previous FWCP funding you have received, as well as any previous applications you made that were not approved.
Proposals
A six-page (maximum) project proposal is required for all annual grant applications.
Letters of support
Include mandatory letters of support for your project in our Coastal Region. Letters of support for your project are optional in our Columbia and Peace Regions, but they can be used to strengthen your grant application. If you choose to submit letters of support along with your grant application, please ensure the letter author(s) clearly indicate their support for your proposed project and specify their involvement (i.e., actively involved, engaged in project planning and/or delivery, providing in-kind and/or cash support, or supporting the project in principle). A letter of support should come from an organization, First Nation, or government agency, and it should demonstrate how the support is relevant to your project.
Experience
Project contact experience: It is mandatory to include the experience and credentials of the project contact. We encourage you to provide the credentials and experience of key team members so we can properly evaluate your grant application. Please note, if your proposed project activities involve ‘reserved practice’ according to the Professional Governance Act, make sure you have team members with the appropriate credentials to perform or oversee the work.
We evaluate grant applications for:
• A clear and well-defined approach that aligns with the priority action(s), as stated in the relevant action plan(s).
• A strong linkage between the proposed project and the intended outcome(s) as stated in the relevant action plan(s). Are there clear objectives that are specific, measurable, attainable, relevant, and time-bound?
• Technical design: Are the methods and approaches for the proposed project acceptable and appropriate? Are there direct benefits to fish and/or wildlife?
• Required engagement of First Nations in the proposed project: Document your engagement efforts in your grant application.
• Describe how your project will engage with the community. Costs may be included in the project budget.
• Partnerships: The FWCP values partnerships and encourages all grant applicants to identify and involve project partners and/or funding partners to leverage FWCP funds.
• Budget: Are the charges for fees (including charge out rates) and expenses appropriate and reasonable? Is there a demonstrated good value for the money?
• Relevant credentials and experience of the team members, and roles of individuals on the project: Does the project team have the skills, expertise, and capacity to carry out the project? Are the right people in the right roles?
• Overall quality of the grant application: Is it a clear, easily understood grant application with strong linkages to the priority action(s) and intended outcome(s)?
• New this year: Although not formally evaluated, the boards will consider how projects reflect our core elements.
Stage 1: review by FWCP office
FWCP staff confirm the application is complete, the proponent is in good standing with the FWCP, and the project is eligible for funding.
Stage 2: review by technical committees and First Nations Working Groups
Fish and wildlife technical committees in each region review each grant application for technical merit. In our Columbia and Peace regions, First Nations Working Groups also evaluate grant applications. Results from the technical committees and First Nations Working Groups reviews are provided to each board to assist in their decision-making.
Stage 3: review by board members
The three regional boards review each grant application for projects proposed in their region. The boards consider the results of all stage 1 and stage 2 evaluations and make decisions on which grant applications will be approved with conditions. The regional boards evaluate the grant applications and are responsible for all project and funding decisions in each region.
1. Projects that align with our regional action plans
Our regional action plans identify the priority actions eligible for FWCP grants (see the action tables in each action plan). Your proposed project must align with one or more open priority action(s).
2. Projects that will occur within or relate to an FWCP region
We fund projects delivered within the boundaries of our Coastal, Columbia, and Peace regions. We may fund projects in multiple watersheds, and projects that only partially overlap with our watershed boundaries if the project is related to a species that moves across the regional boundary (e.g., salmon species, grizzly bears). These projects must demonstrate they are addressing a priority action in our regional action plans.
We fund and support the following types of actions, which are consistent with our mandate:
- Actions to create, restore, or otherwise improve the function of ecosystems that have been impacted by the permanent loss of habitat associated with dams, including the permanently flooded habitat (below the drawdown zone) resulting from reservoir creation.
- Specific management actions for species identified by recovery teams and action/implementation groups.
- Near-term knowledge gathering that informs the development of conservation, restoration, or enhancement actions.
- Monitoring programs designed to measure the effectiveness of FWCP-funded habitat and ecosystem based projects.
- All aspects of managing co-operatively managed conservation lands.
We do not fund or support the following activities, which are beyond our mandate:
- Projects to compensate for impacts to fish and wildlife resulting from the operation of a BC Hydro generating facility that has other programs in place (e.g., entrainment, ramping rates, water level changes, structural fish passage through a facility, or reservoir archaeology).
- The development of species recovery goals, or fund, co-ordinate, or lead national recovery teams for species at risk.
- Core activities of government or non-government agencies or programs.
- Enforcement and compliance activities under the purview of government agencies.
- Programs designed exclusively to address government objectives.
What’s coming in 2027: We’re in the process of renewing our approach to project funding and will be implementing changes for our annual grant intake that opens in 2027.
Core elements of FWCP-funded projects
The FWCP will consider funding compensation projects that reflect three core elements. The core elements are intended to strengthen alignment between our primary obligation to compensate for dam impacts, and simultaneously consider First Nation values, and conservation priorities in the watersheds where we work. Starting in 2027, these three program-wide elements will guide funding decisions for all of our grants, in all regions, regardless of the proponent or the delivery method.
Dam Impacts
BC Hydro generating facilities and reservoirs resulted in the permanent loss or alteration of habitat and ecosystems in the reservoir footprint. At the watershed level, dams also impacted aquatic and terrestrial species, and disrupted ecological processes, both upstream and downstream of a dam.
Additionally, the infrastructure (such as roads) necessary for power generation may have enabled further human activity and resource extraction in watersheds where a BC Hydro dam exists, adding to the cumulative effects and creating additional dam-related impacts to fish and wildlife, leading to additional conservation priorities.
Potential projects must demonstrate how the target species, ecosystem or habitat has been impacted by the creation of a BC Hydro dam.
First Nations’ Values
There are known dam impacts to culturally important species, habitats, and ecosystems. Potential projects should reflect Indigenous knowledge systems, laws, and protocols, and demonstrate important elements of Indigenous world views including the concept of all living things being interconnected.
Potential projects should demonstrate how and why the species, habitat, or ecosystem has value for the relevant Nation(s) based on the proposed location for the project and how it was impacted by a BC Hydro dam, if the impact is known. This considers whether a project aligns with the environmental, cultural, and territorial stewardship and caretaking interests of the Nation(s) where the project is proposed.
Conservation Priorities
Human activities place conservation pressures on species, habitats, ecosystems, and ecological functions and processes. This core element considers the need of a proposed project with respect to improving the state of the species, habitat, or ecosystem a project is targeting. This may include the state of the watershed where your project would occur (i.e., the current ecological function and resilience), relevant imminent threats including a changing climate or limiting factors, and conservation status.
Potential projects should demonstrate why a species, habitat, ecosystem, or ecological function/process would benefit from intervention for conservation, restoration or enhancement.
The Fish & Wildlife Compensation Program (FWCP) is a partnership between BC Hydro, the Province of B.C, Fisheries and Oceans Canada, First Nations, and public interest holders to conserve and enhance fish and wildlife in watersheds impacted by BC Hydro dams.
The FWCP was established to compensate for impacts to fish, wildlife, and their supporting habitat, resulting from the construction of BC Hydro dams.
BC Hydro has water licence obligations in the Columbia and Peace regions, and has made voluntary commitments to address the construction impacts of dams in the Coastal Region. BC Hydro fulfils the applicable obligations through the work of the FWCP.
The FWCP is funded annually by BC Hydro. The FWCP directs those funds towards projects that address priority actions across its three regions to fulfil its mission, and work towards its vision of thriving fish and wildlife populations in watersheds that are functioning and sustainable.
The Fish & Wildlife Compensation Program (FWCP) conserves and enhances fish and wildlife in watersheds impacted by BC Hydro dams. The FWCP is funded annually by BC Hydro. The FWCP directs those funds towards priority actions across its three regions to fulfil its mission and work towards its vision of thriving fish and wildlife populations in watersheds that are functioning and sustainable.
By funding projects to support fish and wildlife populations in our Coastal, Columbia and Peace Regions, the FWCP is fulfilling BC Hydro’s applicable water licence obligations and voluntary commitments to compensate for fish and wildlife impacts.
