Avian monitoring along the Middle Rio Grande | W81EWF 23 SOI 0016

Opportunity Information: Apply for W81EWF 23 SOI 0016

The grant opportunity titled "Avian monitoring along the Middle Rio Grande" is a Department of Defense-funded cooperative agreement led through the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE), Albuquerque District, with administrative ties to the Engineer Research and Development Center. It focuses on continued bird monitoring and related ecological study work along the Middle Rio Grande in central New Mexico, an area where active river and bosque management intersects with sensitive riparian habitat and multiple protected species. The core idea behind the work is practical: the District and its partners have to carry out ongoing operations such as water conveyance management, flood control, erosion control, and fire risk reduction, and they need solid, site-specific biological data to do that work in ways that reduce harm to wildlife and, ideally, improve habitat conditions over time.

A major driver for this funding is the District's role in the Middle Rio Grande Endangered Species Collaborative Program (MRGESCP), a broad partnership that includes federal, state, tribal, and local entities. The MRGESCP mission is framed around balancing two needs that often collide in the Southwest: protecting and improving the status of endangered species in the Middle Rio Grande watershed while also safeguarding existing and future water uses for the region. Because of that dual mandate, monitoring is not treated as a purely academic exercise. It is meant to directly inform on-the-ground decisions about when, where, and how maintenance, restoration, or risk-reduction activities should occur, and to document whether past actions are helping or harming habitat conditions.

The opportunity emphasizes that the Middle Rio Grande and its adjacent riparian bosque support a diverse wildlife community, including several threatened and endangered species that can be affected by habitat disturbance or hydrologic change. The description specifically calls out Southwestern Willow Flycatcher and Yellow-billed Cuckoo (riparian obligate birds with strong ties to dense, patchy cottonwood-willow habitat), Rio Grande Silvery Minnow (an aquatic species sensitive to flow regimes and channel conditions), New Mexico Meadow Jumping Mouse (tied to moist riparian vegetation), and Pecos Sunflower (a rare plant associated with wetland and riparian settings). The grant frames these species as part of the broader ecosystem context that USACE must consider, particularly because routine river management can alter vegetation structure, connectivity, nesting habitat, and the timing and extent of inundation or drying.

Beyond direct management impacts, the opportunity highlights compounding pressures that are already reshaping the riparian corridor, including drought, wildfire, invasive species, climate and hydrologic shifts, and the effects of being adjacent to urbanized areas. These stressors can reduce habitat quality, change plant community composition, fragment the bosque, and increase the need for active management. In that setting, regular surveys and monitoring become a way to detect trends early, identify where habitat is degrading or improving, and build an evidence base for restoration design and maintenance scheduling.

While the title centers on avian monitoring, the description makes clear that songbird monitoring is also being used as a broader habitat quality indicator. This is important because federally listed species may be present only intermittently or may be difficult to detect reliably in every season or at every site. Tracking the abundance and diversity of songbird communities can provide a more continuous signal of riparian condition, vegetation structure, and ecological function, which can then be interpreted alongside targeted surveys for the most sensitive species. In practical terms, the project is aimed at producing actionable information: identifying habitat use patterns, evaluating post-treatment responses after management or restoration actions, and improving the District's ability to avoid or minimize impacts during future activities.

The grant also builds on a long-running effort: USACE Albuquerque District has conducted avian monitoring at sites of interest since December 2003. The current opportunity is therefore positioned as a continuation and support of an established monitoring program rather than a brand-new pilot. That history matters because consistent methods across years can allow for stronger comparisons over time, helping managers distinguish short-term fluctuations from meaningful population or habitat trends.

In terms of funding logistics, this is a discretionary opportunity with an expected single award. The funding instrument is a cooperative agreement, which typically implies more substantial federal involvement in project coordination than a standard grant, often through collaboration on scope, deliverables, or study design. The total award ceiling listed is $75,000, with one award anticipated. The opportunity number is W81EWF 23 SOI 0016, the CFDA number is 12.630, and the activity category is Science and Technology and other Research and Development. The posting shows a creation date of June 2, 2023, with an original closing date of August 2, 2023. Eligibility is listed broadly as "Others," with further clarification expected in the full eligibility section of the announcement.

Overall, the opportunity is best understood as applied ecological monitoring in support of river operations and habitat stewardship: gathering field data on bird communities (and, by extension, riparian habitat condition) to help USACE and its non-federal partners meet operational responsibilities while aligning with regional endangered species recovery and conservation commitments in the Middle Rio Grande.

• 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 along the Middle Rio Grande" 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 Jun 02, 2023.
• Applicants must submit their applications by Aug 02, 2023. (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 $75,000.00 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 23 SOI 0016

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