Avian Monitoring and Analysis in Upper Mississippi River Floodplain | W81EWF 22 SOI 0004

Opportunity Information: Apply for W81EWF 22 SOI 0004

The Avian Monitoring and Analysis in Upper Mississippi River Floodplain opportunity (Funding Opportunity Number W81EWF 22 SOI 0004) is a discretionary, science and technology focused cooperative agreement offered by the Department of Defense through the Engineer Research and Development Center. It supports work that strengthens long-running bird monitoring and turns those monitoring results into practical, data-driven guidance for managing and restoring habitat across key portions of the Upper Mississippi River System floodplain. The program is aimed at improving how bird populations are measured (abundance, density, and trends), how bird-habitat relationships are modeled, and how those findings are translated into an adaptive management framework that agencies and partners can actually use.

At the core of the project is a blend of field monitoring and analytical updates. The first major task is to conduct avian inventory surveys on USACE Rivers Project Office fee title lands using established, existing protocols. This is meant to ensure continuity with prior datasets while adding new observations that increase statistical power and improve the reliability of quantitative assessments. The intent is not just to collect more sightings, but to collect them in a consistent way that feeds directly into stronger estimates of where birds occur, how many are present, and which habitats they are using across seasons and life stages.

A second major component is to update and expand the quantitative modeling work that sits behind density estimates, population trend assessments, and bird-habitat interaction models. Using the newly collected survey data, the recipient is expected to refresh existing models and develop new ones where needed, including analyses that support spatial prioritization (identifying which places or habitat types should be targeted first for management or restoration). The broader goal is to better understand how bird populations are changing over time and how they respond to specific management or restoration actions in floodplain forests, wetlands, and grasslands. This modeling emphasis is designed to directly support adaptive management, meaning the monitoring results should feed back into decisions, and decisions should then be evaluated with continued monitoring.

The third main deliverable area is communication and application: producing reports and a toolkit that summarize findings and convert them into clear habitat management recommendations. These products are intended for the US Army Corps of Engineers as well as partners, stakeholders, and landowners, so they need to be understandable and actionable rather than purely academic. The toolkit and summary report are also expected to lay out goals and objectives for an adaptive management framework that links monitoring, science, and habitat management for birds in the Mississippi and Illinois river floodplains, while also highlighting future research needs and opportunities for building additional partnerships.

Geographically, the focus area covers USACE lands in navigation Pools 24, 25, 26, and 27, plus the lower portion of the Illinois River, generally along Mississippi River miles 183 through 298. While these are the initial priority areas, the opportunity is framed as expandable over time to broader floodplain forest systems of the Upper Mississippi River (bluff to bluff) and potentially to additional wetlands and grasslands for future inclusion.

Applicant expectations are strongly experience-based. Successful candidates are expected to bring deep, practical knowledge of Upper Mississippi River System ecosystems and demonstrated expertise in observing and monitoring floodplain bird communities. They should understand floodplain forest, wetland, and grassland ecology and be comfortable with the full workflow from field inventory and mapping to data management and statistical analysis. The work also requires coordination skills, since applicants should have prior experience collaborating with partners and other federal and state agencies on plans and cooperative documents. Reporting is structured and recurring: for each one-year period, the recipient must provide two status reports (at roughly 4 months and 8 months after work begins) and one annual report at the end of the year, along with the ability to travel overnight for monitoring work and to attend public or agency meetings.

From an award and timing standpoint, the opportunity was posted January 28, 2022 and originally closed March 28, 2022. It anticipated up to two awards, with an award ceiling of $100,000. The eligible applicant category is listed broadly as "Others" with additional eligibility clarification referenced in the full announcement, which signals that the sponsor may be open to a range of qualified non-federal entities so long as they can demonstrate the technical credentials, regional experience, and capacity to deliver the monitoring, modeling, and decision-support products described.

• The Department of Defense, Engineer Research and Development Center in the science and technology and other research and development sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Avian Monitoring and Analysis in Upper Mississippi River Floodplain" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 12.630.
• This funding opportunity was created on Jan 28, 2022.
• Applicants must submit their applications by Mar 28, 2022. (Agency may still review applications by suitable applicants for the remaining/unused allocated funding in 2026.)
• Each selected applicant is eligible to receive up to $100,000.00 in funding.
• The number of recipients for this funding is limited to 2 candidate(s).
• Eligible applicants include: Others (see text field entitled Additional Information on Eligibility for clarification).

Apply for W81EWF 22 SOI 0004

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