Cooperatively Assess Federal Trust Species, Potential Effects on their Populations, and Habitat Usage and Availability in the Mississippi River | F19AS00198

Opportunity Information: Apply for F19AS00198

The grant opportunity titled "Cooperatively Assess Federal Trust Species, Potential Effects on their Populations, and Habitat Usage and Availability in the Mississippi River" is a U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) cooperative agreement focused on monitoring and understanding how key river management activities may be affecting sensitive fish species and the habitats they rely on in the Mississippi River. It continues a long-running collaboration among USFWS, the Missouri Department of Conservation (MDC), and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE), centered on building consistent, comparable datasets on fish populations and river habitat conditions over time. The main biological emphasis is on Pallid Sturgeon, a federally protected species of high conservation concern, and Macrhybopsis chubs, with particular attention to early life stages and habitat availability that may be influenced by navigation channel maintenance and related river engineering activities.

A core goal of the project is to estimate the abundance and characteristics of age-0 (young-of-year) Pallid Sturgeon by conducting larval trawling. These sampling results are meant to be compared against roughly two decades of existing fixed-station survey data, allowing partners to track long-term trends and evaluate changes in length distributions over time. In practical terms, this is intended to help determine whether recruitment and early survival are improving, declining, or shifting in ways that might be linked to environmental conditions, management actions, or habitat changes. By grounding new sampling within an established monitoring framework, the project is designed to produce results that are directly comparable to historical datasets rather than isolated one-off measurements.

Another major component is connecting the age-0 abundance findings to ongoing larval drift studies. By correlating where and when larval sturgeon are detected in drift with subsequent measures of young-of-year abundance, the project aims to assess the role of "interception" habitats near areas associated with high larval drift densities. This is essentially an attempt to understand whether certain habitat features or river segments serve as important transition zones where drifting larvae can settle, feed, and survive, and whether those habitats are available in sufficient quantity and quality. This link between drifting larvae and later observed juveniles can provide insight into bottlenecks in the life cycle and highlight habitat conditions that are particularly important for recovery.

Fieldwork also includes sampling fish and collecting habitat parameter data at five fixed sites from the drift period through the end of the growing season. This seasonal, site-based approach is intended to capture how fish use specific habitats over time and how those habitats change during key developmental windows. Tracking both fish presence and habitat conditions over the growing season helps refine understanding of habitat use, availability, and potential limitations, especially for early life stages that can be sensitive to flow conditions, depth, substrate, and channel structure.

In addition to direct fish and habitat sampling, the project includes hands-on support for larval drift sampling efforts and the processing of preserved samples, including sorting. This part of the work is important because larval fish studies can generate large numbers of samples that require careful laboratory handling and identification. Having dedicated capacity for both field collection and sample processing helps maintain consistency and timeliness in the dataset, which is especially valuable when comparing across years or coordinating among agencies.

A final technical pillar of the project is the collection of flow and bathymetric data to quantify habitat availability. Flow measurements and bathymetry (underwater topography) are foundational for translating biological observations into habitat metrics, such as how much suitable depth and velocity habitat is present under different discharge conditions, and how channel shape and bed features influence habitat distribution. These data can also be used to evaluate how channel maintenance activities might alter habitat availability, either temporarily or longer-term, and whether those changes line up with patterns seen in larval drift or age-0 abundance.

Administratively, the notice states this is a discretionary funding opportunity (Funding Opportunity Number F19AS00198; CFDA 15.608) that will be issued as a single-source cooperative agreement, meaning there is no open application process and no competition. The award is intended to go specifically to the Missouri Department of Conservation, Big Rivers and Wetlands Field Station (BRWFS), with an award ceiling of $130,243 and an expectation of a single award. The justification for a noncompetitive award is that the work is a continuation of long-term monitoring and assessment previously performed by MDC BRWFS, and competition is considered impractical because MDC BRWFS is uniquely positioned to complete the work effectively. The notice highlights several reasons for this: more than twenty years of experience on the relevant stretch of the Mississippi River, possession of the specialized boats and rigging required for the sampling gears and monitoring methods, and an office located along the river in the middle of the study reach, allowing efficient day-trip field operations without extensive travel logistics.

Because the funding instrument is a cooperative agreement rather than a standard grant, the USFWS is expected to have substantial involvement in the project rather than serving only as a pass-through funder. The notice specifically anticipates USFWS participation in expanded drifting larval fish sampling, flow and bathymetry-based habitat assessment, and assistance with data analysis. This structure signals that the project is intended to be carried out as a closely coordinated partnership, with shared responsibilities and active federal involvement to ensure the methods, data products, and analyses align with federal trust species conservation needs and broader river management questions.

• The Department of the Interior, Fish and Wildlife Service in the environment, natural resources, science and technology and other research and development sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Cooperatively Assess Federal Trust Species, Potential Effects on their Populations, and Habitat Usage and Availability in the Mississippi River" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 15.608.
• This funding opportunity was created on Jul 26, 2019.
• Applicants must submit their applications by Aug 02, 2019 There is not an application process for this funding opportunity. This is a notice of intent to award a single source cooperative agreement to Missouri Department of Conservation under justification 505DM 2.14.(2) amp (4).. (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 $130,243.00 in funding.
• The number of recipients for this funding is limited to 1 candidate(s).
• Eligible applicants include: Others (see text field entitled Additional Information on Eligibility for clarification).

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