Operating Procedures for Habitat Project Lists

Process for Evaluating and Selecting Salmon Habitat Projects & Activities

   The Habitat Project List Process

     The purpose of the Habitat Project List process is to review, prioritize, and select projects submitted by project sponsors for inclusion on a Habitat Project List for WRIAs 22 & 23 by the lead entity, the Chehalis Basin Partnership (CBP), for funding consideration by the SRF Board.  The process is simple:

1.   A project sponsor identifies and develops a specific habitat project or activity based on one or more of the strategies in Sections Two or Three of the Work Plan. 

2.   A project sponsor completes and submits the work proposal forms for the habitat project or activity supplied by the lead entity coordinator.  In addition to the forms, project sponsors shall submit a project site and vicinity map.  Upon receipt, the lead entity coordinator will enter the work proposal form into the salmonid habitat work schedule database and then will distribute copies to all Technical Advisory Group (TAG) members.

3.    TAG Members will individually evaluate and rank every work proposal by the following criteria:

     a.  Consistency with the Limiting Factors Analysis, the Work Plan, the Ground Rules for Project Evaluation, and SRF Board Guidelines;

     b.  Coordination with other existing or proposed habitat projects and activities;

     c.  The stock status of the affected salmonid species; and,

     d.  Whether the budget and schedule is or is not appropriate.

4.  Each TAG member will forward his or her review comments and ranking for each work proposal to the Lead Entity Coordinator by the deadline established by the Lead Entity Committee/CBP.  The Lead Coordinator will determine the ranking of each project by: (a) computing the average ranking for each work proposal, and (b) sorting the results of the average rankings from the highest to the lowest.  The result shall constitute a prioritized Draft Habitat Project List that the TAG submits to the Lead Entity Committee/CBP for final consideration.

5.  The Lead Entity Committee/CBP has the authority to accept or modify the Draft Habitat Project List before its final submission to the SRF Board for funding consideration. 

Ground Rules for Project Evaluation

     The following Ground rules shall govern the participation of project sponsors, TAG members, and the Lead Entity Committee/CBP in the Habitat Project List process:

Project Sponsors

	Project sponsors must submit a complete proposal in accordance with the scheduled set by the Lead Entity Committee/CBP for each SRF Board funding round.  The TAG will not review proposals received after the deadline for the immediate funding cycle.
	A complete proposal includes all required information requested in the project proposal forms supplied by the Lead Entity Coordinator.

Once the Lead Entity Committee/CBP prioritizes a habitat project or activity, the project sponsor cannot change the scope and budget.

Technical Advisory Group

	TAG members who are also are project sponsors do not need to abstain from reviewing their projects.  However, each member will conduct an unbiased review of all proposals.
	Any TAG member who stands to gain personally from a funded proposal must excuse himself or herself from the process.  If a TAG member is uncertain of a potential conflict of interest, that person shall disclose his or her concerns to the rest of the TAG.  The TAG as a whole shall determine if that the TAG member should or should not participate in the review process.
	There will be no minimum quorum requirement for the TAG membership when considering work proposals for preparing the Draft Habitat Project List.

  Lead Entity Committee/CBP

The CBP may reject a work proposal from inclusion on the final Habitat Project List only if it is conflict with established SRF Board guidelines.