Arthropod Study at Arnold AFB | W9126G 21 2 SOI 4091

Opportunity Information: Apply for W9126G 21 2 SOI 4091

The Arthropod Study at Arnold AFB grant opportunity is a cooperative agreement intended to identify a qualified research partner to help Arnold Air Force Base strengthen and carry out its Integrated Natural Resources Management Plan (INRMP) in support of the Sikes Act (16 USC 670c-1). The funding is aimed at providing professional and technical support that improves the base's ability to manage natural resources while meeting applicable conservation and compliance responsibilities. Rather than requesting a full technical proposal up front, the agency is first soliciting Statements of Interest to screen for capable investigators who could perform the work if selected.

The scientific motivation behind the project is tied to bat conservation and ecosystem understanding on Arnold AFB. Nine bat species have been documented on the installation, and all are insectivores, meaning they rely heavily on insects and other arthropods as prey. Although bat populations and their use of the base are described as well studied and continuously monitored, the arthropod community that supports those bats is not well characterized. That gap matters because prey availability, prey diversity, and habitat-specific arthropod communities can influence bat foraging success, habitat use, and ultimately the effectiveness of management decisions made under the INRMP.

A major driver for improving knowledge of the arthropod community is that several of the bats present have federal conservation status under the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. The Indiana bat (Myotis sodalis) and gray bat (Myotis grisescens) are listed as endangered, and the northern long-eared bat (Myotis septentrionalis) is listed as threatened. With these species on site, Arnold AFB has heightened needs for defensible ecological information that can support conservation planning, impact avoidance, and long-term stewardship. Understanding the local arthropod base is part of building that defensible foundation, since bats depend on these prey resources and may respond to changes in habitat conditions that affect arthropod abundance or composition.

The opportunity also explains why prior work is not sufficient for current management needs. An arthropod inventory was conducted in 1998-1999, but it was targeted toward rare plant communities, grasslands, and Eggert's sunflower, and only indirectly addressed oak forests. Oak forests are described as the most prevalent habitat on the base, so the previous inventory left a key habitat type under-sampled or under-described. This project is positioned as a way to better characterize arthropods across the habitats that dominate Arnold AFB, improving the ecological picture in the places bats are likely to forage and where management actions may be most frequent.

From an administrative and eligibility standpoint, this is not an open competition for all organizations despite the "EligibleApplicants: Unrestricted" field shown in the source data. The narrative makes clear that applicants must be non-federal partners within specific Cooperative Ecosystem Studies Units (CESU), specifically those under the Southern Appalachian Mountains and Great Rivers CESU network. In practice, that means universities, nonprofits, or other eligible non-federal entities that are official CESU partners in those regions are the intended pool, and eligibility is a gatekeeping requirement for consideration.

The anticipated award amount is approximately $219,000, contingent on funding availability, with the expectation of a single award. The planned period of performance is 18 months from the date of award, indicating the base is looking for a focused study that can be completed within about a year and a half, including field sampling and analysis. The sponsoring/issuing entities include the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) Fort Worth District (as the contracting/grants office) and USACE Omaha District (project management contact), reflecting the common arrangement where USACE administers agreements on behalf of a Department of Defense installation.

As a process note, the government is explicitly not asking for a full study proposal or a detailed budget at the Statement of Interest stage. Instead, interested and eligible CESU partners are expected to submit a response that demonstrates capability and fit, which the agency will use to identify potential investigators for the work. The posting described is a re-post of the Request for Statements of Interest, open for an additional two weeks, with submissions due by 5:00 P.M. Central Time on August 4, 2021. Points of contact for questions and submissions are Sandy Justman (Grants Specialist, USACE Fort Worth District) and Sarah Miller (Project Manager, USACE Omaha District), with their emails and phone numbers provided in the announcement.

In short, this opportunity funds an 18-month arthropod community study at Arnold Air Force Base to fill a critical ecological knowledge gap that supports bat conservation, especially for federally listed species, and improves implementation of the base INRMP under the Sikes Act. It is structured as a CESU-only cooperative agreement with about $219,000 available, and the immediate action requested from interested parties is a Statement of Interest rather than a full proposal.

• The Fort Worth District in the science and technology and other research and development sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Arthropod Study at Arnold AFB" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 12.005.
• This funding opportunity was created on 2021-06-02.
• Applicants must submit their applications by 2021-08-04. (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 $219,000.00 in funding.
• The number of recipients for this funding is limited to 1 candidate(s).
• Eligible applicants include: Unrestricted.

Apply for W9126G 21 2 SOI 4091

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