Alligator Ecological Florida Everglades | W9126G 21 2 SOI 4384

Opportunity Information: Apply for W9126G 21 2 SOI 4384

The grant opportunity "Monitoring Alligator Status as a System-wide Ecological Indicator of Everglades Restoration, Florida" (Funding Opportunity Number W9126G-21-2-SOI-4384) is a U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) request for statements of interest (RSOI) to identify qualified investigators for a cooperative agreement project expected to begin in 2021. It is connected to Everglades restoration work authorized under the Water Resources Development Act (WRDA) of 2000 and the Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan (CERP). The project fits within the RECOVER program's Monitoring and Assessment Plan (MAP), which is the system-wide framework used to track whether restoration actions are producing measurable ecological improvements across South Florida.

The basic idea behind the project is that American alligators (and crocodilians more broadly) function as strong, practical indicators of Everglades ecosystem health because their abundance, distribution, and physical condition respond to hydrology, prey availability, and habitat quality. The opportunity emphasizes three reasons alligators are useful indicators: as top predators they reflect prey density and broader food-web conditions; as ecosystem engineers their nests, trails, and holes create habitat structure that supports other wildlife and boosts marsh productivity; and in estuarine or coastal interfaces, crocodilians can respond quickly to changes in freshwater flow patterns, including stress from saltwater intrusion. In other words, tracking alligators provides managers with a way to "read" the landscape and detect whether water management changes tied to CERP are improving or degrading conditions.

Funding for the base period is expected to be about $145,053 for a 12-month performance period, with the possibility of up to four additional 12-month option periods if funds remain available and the work continues to meet USACE needs. The award instrument is anticipated to be a cooperative agreement (rather than a standard procurement contract), meaning the work is intended to support a public-purpose research and monitoring effort and will involve substantial federal participation during the project. The award is issued under research and development authority (10 U.S.C. 2358), and it is expected to be administered through the Cooperative Ecosystem Studies Units (CESU) network, using the CESU Network indirect cost rate (17.5%) if both parties agree. Eligibility is limited in practice: applicants must be non-federal partners in one of three CESU regions, specifically the Gulf Coast, Piedmont-South Atlantic Coast, or South Florida-Caribbean CESU.

The project focus area is Water Conservation Area 3 (WCA3), and the monitoring goals are framed around multiple time scales. In the short term, the work aims to establish or strengthen baseline documentation of alligator abundance and body condition by sampling both new and historic sites. Over the medium term, the goal is to track distribution and relative density trends. Over the long term, the intent is to support demographic understanding (and related measures such as nesting patterns) and to link alligator performance to changing hydrologic conditions, water delivery, and prey dynamics. USACE also highlights that a key purpose is to detect unexpected ecosystem responses to restoration-related stressor changes and to support follow-on scientific investigations that clarify cause-and-effect when results do not match expectations.

The anticipated work includes a defined set of core tasks. First, the selected principal investigator (PI) must hold a kick-off meeting with USACE within 10 business days of award execution to confirm team roles, the chain of command, and any required sampling and reporting methodologies. A draft work plan summarizing that meeting is due within 10 days afterward, USACE will return comments, and a final work plan is then submitted and becomes the guiding document (updated at the start of each option year as needed). Fieldwork preparations are expected to begin almost immediately, including assembling specialized equipment and coordinating with USACE staff on protocols and any USACE-provided equipment.

Second, the PI will conduct alligator surveys along four established monitoring routes in WCA3 (identified as WCA3A-N41, WCA3A-Tower, WCA3A-Holiday, and WCA3B) using airboats, with GPS used to record locations. Surveys are planned for both dry (spring) and wet (fall) seasons, using spotlight counts to estimate relative density. The design calls for spotlight surveys twice each season with at least 14 days between surveys to support independent counts. The work also includes capture surveys in the same general locations, with alligator health assessed through a condition factor analysis to quantify body condition.

Third, the project requires annual data summaries, analysis, and reporting of trends in relative density and body condition. These results are intended to feed directly into USACE and CERP reporting, including the CERP System Status Reports (SSRs). Any survey work performed during the base year or later option years must be incorporated into annual and final reporting products.

Fourth, the PI is expected to actively support RECOVER coordination and reporting processes. This includes working with the Greater Everglades Regional Team and regional coordinators, contributing to SSR development (up to 10 days of effort as applicable), and providing presentations at regional team meetings or other science meetings as directed. The presentation deliverable is expected to summarize field work, analyses, and interpretations, highlight spatial and statistical relationships found in the data, and include recommendations for additional analysis or future data collection. The PI is also expected to attend recurring coordination meetings each fiscal year (approximately three regional team meetings and five landscape sub-team meetings).

In addition to the core tasks, the opportunity lists optional tasks that may be added if funding is available and USACE and the PI agree. These options include expanding surveys to additional locations relevant to CERP projects (and potentially incorporating American crocodile monitoring alongside alligators), assisting with modeling to compare CERP project alternatives using the alligator performance measure framework (abundance, body condition, hole occupancy, and production suitability index), and updating RECOVER performance measures using newly generated monitoring information.

Importantly, this notice is not asking for a full technical proposal or a budget yet. At this stage, USACE is only requesting a short statement of interest and qualifications (maximum two pages, single-spaced, 12-point font) submitted by email. The submission must include identifying information (name, organization, CAGE code, DUNS number, contact details), plus a brief qualifications package covering a biographical sketch, relevant past projects and clients, available staff/faculty/students and their expertise, and any capabilities that support successful completion (such as boats, field equipment, lab facilities, or other infrastructure). Statements of interest are reviewed by a government evaluation board, and the most suitable respondents will be invited to submit a full proposal later.

The deadline for statements of interest was 5:00 PM Central Time on July 8, 2021, with the posting required to remain open at least 30 days before USACE made decisions about inviting full proposals. The listed points of contact are Alisa Marshall (Contract Specialist, USACE Fort Worth District) and Greg Bonnell (Project Manager, Regional Planning and Environmental Center), with submissions requested via email to their provided addresses.

• The Department of Defense, Fort Worth District in the science and technology and other research and development sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Alligator Ecological Florida Everglades" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 12.300.
• This funding opportunity was created on Jun 07, 2021.
• Applicants must submit their applications by Jul 08, 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 $145,053.00 in funding.
• The number of recipients for this funding is limited to 1 candidate(s).
• Eligible applicants include: Unrestricted (i.e., open to any type of entity above), subject to any clarification in text field entitled Additional Information on Eligibility.

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