Invasive Mussel

The Invasive Mussel Monitoring Grant is now closed.
The next opportunity to apply will be winter 2025-26.

Application guidance documents are now available on the Resources Tab.

Please see the newly updated Program Guidelines, Application Instructions, Word Worksheet, Proposal Budget Table, Waterbody Sampling Table and Survey Apply FAQs for instructions on how to create, fill out and submit your application. Application intake will open in January 2025. These new resources will assist you in getting started before intake opens.

APPLY ONLINE

• Ineligible Expenses

  • Salary expenses for regular provincial government employees
  • Any expenses unrelated to the sampling activities
  • If an administration fee is charged, separate additional charges for overhead (photocopying, office space, etc.) are not eligible
  • General volunteer recruitment expenses

Congratulations on the approval of your Invasive Mussel Monitoring Grant!

Here are a few things you need to know about managing your Invasive Mussel Monitoring Grant:

• Conditional Grant Agreement

  Please note that your project’s final approval is subject to entering into a Conditional Grant Agreement with HCTF. You will receive a notification from HCTF via DocuSign to sign your agreement electronically when it is ready. Please read your grant agreement carefully, and complete all requirements before returning to HCTF.

  View a sample of the Conditional Grant Agreement here.

• Sample and Data Submission Procedures

  A Sample and Data Submission Procedures document is included as an appendix to your Conditional Grant Agreement and includes information on how to submit plankton tow samples to the lab. The procedures refer to the Chain of Custody Form for Veliger Sample Collection. This form can be found on the Reporting tab.

  Substrate monitoring is encouraged. If you have conducted substrate sampling please fill in the Substrate Monitoring Tracking Form 2021 , and include it with your final report. The substrate monitoring form helps ensure consistent data is recorded for waterbody, location (site name), date of installation, and frequency of inspections, along with helpful information of water temperature, pH and Secchi depth.

  If you have not received your forms or if anything is unclear, please contact Cathryn Klincans at cathryn.klincans@hctf.ca or 250-940-3013 if you have any questions about sample and data forms.

  Reminder: To ensure proper tracking of lab samples, sample site names used in the field must correspond to sample sites names approved in your sampling plan and provided to the lab.

• Additional Data

  Please note that if you have collected any additional field data that does not fit on the Chain of Custody form, please submit this information separately directly to Martina.Beck@gov.bc.ca.

• Change Requests

  If you wish to make any changes to your sampling plan (e.g. change a sampling site) or adverse conditions require changes in sampling, or you have other changes to your project, please contact Martina Beck at Martina.Beck@gov.bc.ca or Amalis Riera Vuibertat Amalis.RieraVuibert@gov.bc.ca and cc Cathryn Klincans at cathryn.klincans@hctf.ca.

• HCTF, Province of B.C., and Fisheries and Oceans Canada Communication Approval and Acknowledgement

  Funding for the HCTF Invasive Mussel Monitoring Grant was originally provided by a $450,000 contribution from the Province of B.C.; ongoing funding has continued to be supported through provincial funding, with additional support from Fisheries and Oceans Canada as of 2023. Therefore, HCTF, the Province of British Columbia, and Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO) must be acknowledged in any publicity issued, printed or distributed, including signs, displays, reports, announcements, articles, press releases, or media interviews. Funding acknowledgement requirements are detailed below.

  1. 1. HCTF communication guidelines and logos are available here.
     2. Any signage funded by the invasive mussel monitoring program must be reviewed and approved by the Province and must include the HCTF logo. Please contact Amalis Riera Vuibert at Amalis.RieraVuibert@gov.bc.ca
     3. For text based materials such as press releases, reports and brochures, in addition to the HCTF logo, you must include the following acknowledgement statement: “The (insert Name of Recipient) recognizes the Habitat Conservation Trust Foundation, the Province of British Columbia, and Fisheries and Oceans Canada for making significant financial contributions to support the (insert Name of Project). These lake monitoring efforts support the Province’s ongoing delivery of the Invasive Mussel Defence Program.
     4. All materials* must be reviewed and approved by the Province prior to publication. Ensure the province has at least 10 working days to review and approve, prior to your planned publication date. If the Government of Canada logo is used, the publication, media, or news release must be submitted to the DFO representative for approval at least 2 weeks before printing/publication.
        *EXCEPTIONS – Short (200 words or less) Facebook, Instagram or Twitter posts that do not discuss the technical details of the Invasive Mussel Monitoring Program do not require Provincial review and approval prior to publishing. Hashtags #HCTFgrants @HabitatConservationTrust, #ProvinceOfBC, @governmentofbc must be included.

Congratulations on completing the 2024 monitoring field season! Please ensure that all data is submitted to the lab before October 31st, 2024. You will also need to complete and submit your reporting to HCTF by November 30th, 2024 via Survey Apply.

The online reporting tasks will be available in Survey Apply by mid-September. Please use the Grant Report Word Template below to fill out your answers for the Grant Report, then copy and paste them into the online form. Upload your completed copies of Appendix 1, 2 and 3 and any additional items and submit for review.

• Invasive Mussels Lake Monitoring Fund Grant Report Template – Word template (copy and paste answers into Survey Apply online from)
• Appendix 1 – Sampling Sites by Waterbody – as an Excel file
• Appendix 2 – Collated Chain of Custody Form – collated copies of the forms provided to the lab with your samples – as an Excel file
• Appendix 3 Substrate Monitoring Tracking Form – (if applicable) – as an Excel file

The Grant Report and lab results will be reviewed to ensure that samples were received by the lab and data was submitted in accordance with the approved plankton tow sampling plan. The Grant Report and all data must be submitted in order to receive the final payment under your grant.

Please email grants@hctf.ca if you have any questions.

Application Resources

Invasive Mussel Monitoring Fund Grant Program Guidelines 2025

Invasive Mussel Monitoring Fund Grant Application Instructions 2025

Invasive Mussel Monitoring Fund Grant Application Form Word Worksheet 2025

Invasive Mussel Monitoring Fund Grant Proposal Budget Table 2025

Waterbody Sampling Table 2025

Invasive Mussel Monitoring Fund Grant Survey Apply FAQs

BC Dreissenid Mussel Lake Monitoring Field Protocol

Manage

Sample HCTF Conditional Grant Agreement

Change Request – Please see Manage tab for guidance.

Communication Request – Please see Manage tab for guidance.

Reporting

Invasive Mussels Monitoring Fund Grant Report Word Worksheet – as a Word document

Appendix 1 – Sampling Sites by Waterbody – as an Excel file

Appendix 2 – Collated Chain of Custody Form – collated copies of the forms provided to the lab with your samples – as an Excel file

Appendix 3 Substrate Monitoring Tracking Form – (if applicable) – as an Excel file