Willamette Systems Alternatives Analysis and Simulation Tool Development and Application to Inform Implementation and Adaptive Management Plans | W81EWF 24 SOI 0025

Opportunity Information: Apply for W81EWF 24 SOI 0025

The Willamette Systems Alternatives Analysis and Simulation Tool Development and Application to Inform Implementation and Adaptive Management Plans grant opportunity (Funding Opportunity Number W81EWF 24 SOI 0025) is a discretionary cooperative agreement offered by the U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center (ERDC) to support near-term decision-making and longer-term adaptive management for the Willamette Systems Environmental Impact Statement (WS EIS) and its associated Adaptive Management (AM) Plan. The core aim is to make sure the preferred alternative analyzed in the WS EIS can move from planning into implementation with practical, agency-ready analytical tools and a clear framework for learning and adjusting over time as new information becomes available.

The project is organized around three connected deliverables. First, it focuses on developing simulation tools and transferring them to the managing agencies so they can be used beyond the life of the award for ongoing implementation and updates. Second, it requires demonstrating how those simulations can be applied to guide real management choices when outcomes are uncertain, which is a central challenge in river and reservoir operations affecting fish populations. Third, it emphasizes continuously incorporating the best available and newly emerging data into the modeling, so management decisions are not locked into outdated assumptions and can improve as monitoring information accumulates.

Technically, the work blends several modeling and analysis components that are directly relevant to threatened and endangered fish in the Upper Willamette River system. A major piece is salmon life cycle modeling, which links survival and productivity across life stages to evaluate how operational and structural alternatives influence population outcomes. Another major piece is refining and applying downstream passage modeling through the Corps-developed Fish Benefit Workbook (FBW). The FBW has been converted to the R programming environment, and this opportunity supports further improvement to address structural limitations that were flagged in prior scientific reviews, with the intent of producing a more credible and defensible tool. In parallel, the effort includes continued monitoring, data synthesis, and analysis to inform and update both the life cycle models and the downstream passage modeling.

A key near-term outcome is completing the analysis of the effects of the WS EIS preferred alternative on Upper Willamette River Spring Chinook and winter steelhead, helping support completion of the final EIS. The timing is tied to the receipt of Biological Opinions from NOAA Fisheries (NMFS) and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS), along with any recommended changes that follow from those consultations, which were expected in summer 2024. The opportunity notes that some analysis in summer 2024 would be supported by contracts expiring in September 2024, but that analytical work is anticipated to continue into fall 2024 and potentially winter 2025. After a final EIS and Record of Decision are completed, the implementation and adaptive management phase is expected to begin during the remainder of 2025 and extend into future years, meaning the tools and framework developed here are intended to remain useful well after the award period.

A defining feature of the scope is the explicit development of an adaptive management framework that quantifies objectives, performance, uncertainty, risk, and the value of information. The intent is to move beyond broad adaptive management language and instead provide a structure that resource managers can use to update testable hypotheses efficiently, combine limited or mismatched data types, shorten analytical timelines, and make smarter prioritization decisions when monitoring budgets or logistics constrain what can be measured. In practical terms, the framework is meant to help agencies decide what data are most worth collecting next, what uncertainties matter most to decisions, and how to adjust operations or mitigation actions as evidence accumulates, while also demonstrating accountability for taxpayer-funded monitoring and analysis.

In terms of award details, the opportunity anticipates a single award with an award ceiling of $175,000. It is categorized under Science and Technology and other Research and Development, listed under CFDA 12.630, and uses a cooperative agreement instrument, indicating substantial involvement or collaboration with the federal partner is expected. Eligibility is restricted to non-federal partners of the Pacific Northwest Cooperative Ecosystems Studies Unit (CESU), which means applicants must be part of that CESU network to be considered. The original closing date listed for submissions was June 5, 2024, and the opportunity was created on April 15, 2024.

• The Engineer Research and Development Center in the science and technology and other research and development sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Willamette Systems Alternatives Analysis and Simulation Tool Development and Application to Inform Implementation and Adaptive Management Plans" 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 2024-04-15.
• Applicants must submit their applications by 2024-06-05. (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 $175,000.00 in funding.
• The number of recipients for this funding is limited to 1 candidate(s).
• Eligible applicants include: Others.

Apply for W81EWF 24 SOI 0025

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