Induced fish movement over lowhead dams | W81EWF 21 SOI 0018

Opportunity Information: Apply for W81EWF 21 SOI 0018

The grant opportunity titled "Induced fish movement over lowhead dams" focuses on understanding whether planned, short-term increases in river flow can improve fish passage past two aging lock-and-dam structures on North Carolina's Cape Fear River. The core idea is to test whether environmental flow releases from Jordan Dam, timed to coincide with the spring spawning migration period, can mimic natural spring flood conditions. If the river stage rises enough during these managed releases, the low-head structures at Lock and Dam 2 and Lock and Dam 3 may become submerged, potentially allowing migratory fish to move upstream by passing over the structures rather than relying on lock operations that are increasingly limited due to infrastructure deterioration.

The project is built around tracking two diadromous species, American Shad (Alosa sapidissima) and Striped Bass (Morone saxatilis), as they approach and attempt to pass these barriers. Diadromous fish move between saltwater and freshwater as part of their life cycle, and access to upstream spawning habitat is often a limiting factor for population recovery. In the past, fish passage at these sites was sometimes supported through "conservation locking," where the locks were operated specifically to help fish move upstream during spring migrations. However, because Locks and Dams 2 and 3 are no longer used for commercial navigation and have continued to degrade, routine lock-based fish passage is becoming less feasible. This opportunity supports research that evaluates whether flow-based management can serve as a practical alternative by creating conditions that naturally open a pathway upstream.

A central method in this work is acoustic telemetry, a technique that uses implanted or attached acoustic tags on individual fish and a network of underwater receivers to record where and when tagged fish move through the river. By applying telemetry approaches similar to those used by Auburn University and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in prior work on the Alabama River, the project aims to generate detailed, individual-level movement data in a different river system, with different species and passage structures. The end goal is to quantify "passage efficiency," meaning how often fish that reach the dams are actually able to get past them, and under what flow conditions that success changes.

The anticipated work is organized around three main objectives. First, the project will quantify when fish arrive at Locks and Dams 2 and 3, how they behave near the structures (for example, whether they mill around, make repeated passage attempts, or turn back), and whether they successfully pass upstream. Second, it will link these movement and passage outcomes to measured environmental conditions, especially discharge and flow changes associated with the managed releases, to determine whether the environmental flow regimen measurably alters fish behavior and passage success. Third, it will test whether individual fish characteristics such as size, sex, or overall condition interact with environmental variables like flow and water temperature to influence passage outcomes, helping identify which fish benefit most (or least) from the managed flood-like events.

Administratively, this is a discretionary funding opportunity offered by the Department of Defense, Department of the Army, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, under CFDA 12.630, and it will be awarded as a cooperative agreement. The opportunity number is W81EWF 21 SOI 0018. The anticipated award is a single award with an award ceiling of $25,000, and the original application closing date listed was June 18, 2021 (with a creation date of April 21, 2021). The work is framed as a collaborative effort, tied to a 2021 implementation of environmental flow releases led by the USACE Wilmington District in partnership with The Nature Conservancy, with the broader purpose of restoring access to historical spawning grounds upstream by using managed hydrology to overcome structural barriers.

• The Department of Defense, Dept. of the Army -- Corps of Engineers in the science and technology and other research and development sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Induced fish movement over lowhead dams" 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 Apr 21, 2021.
• Applicants must submit their applications by Jun 18, 2021. (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 $25,000.00 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).

Apply for W81EWF 21 SOI 0018

[Watch] Creating a grant proposal using the step-by-step wizard inside the applicant portal: