Demographic, Movement, and Habitat Studies of the Endangered Snail Kite in Response to Operational Plans in the Everglades, Florida | W9126G 25 2 SOI 4749

Opportunity Information: Apply for W9126G 25 2 SOI 4749

This opportunity is a Department of Defense-funded cooperative agreement seeking qualified partners to conduct demographic, movement, and habitat studies of the endangered Snail Kite in the Florida Everglades, with a specific focus on how the species responds to current or proposed water management and operational plans. The agency is not asking for a full technical proposal or a detailed budget at this stage. Instead, it is issuing a Request for Statements of Interest (RSOI) to identify and vet potential organizations that have the right expertise, capacity, and credentials to carry out the work described in the Statement of Objectives (SOO), which is referenced as the primary document detailing the anticipated tasks.

The anticipated work centers on applied ecological research and monitoring that can inform management decisions in a highly managed wetland system. In practical terms, this typically means collecting and analyzing field data on Snail Kite survival, reproduction, population trends, and habitat use, as well as tracking movements across the Everglades landscape. Because the project is framed as a response to operational plans, the expectation is that the research will help evaluate how water operations (such as timing, depth, duration, and distribution of inundation) affect nesting success, prey availability (notably apple snails), foraging behavior, dispersal, and overall population performance. The notice itself points applicants to the attached SOO for specifics, implying that the exact study design, deliverables, and performance expectations are defined there rather than in the brief synopsis.

The period of performance is structured as a 12-month base period beginning at award, with the government anticipating up to four additional 12-month option periods, for a potential total duration of five years, contingent on funding availability. This structure suggests the agency is planning for multi-year monitoring and analysis, which is often necessary for threatened and endangered species work where year-to-year variability in hydrology and breeding conditions can strongly influence results. Only one award is expected, and the award ceiling is listed as $2,378,758, indicating a single, relatively substantial project intended to cover the full scope of work over the life of the agreement (subject to how funds are obligated across base and option years).

Eligibility is limited in a very specific way: the opportunity is only available to organizations participating in Cooperative Ecosystem Studies Units (CESU) within the Gulf Coast, Piedmont-South Atlantic Coast, and South Florida-Caribbean regions. That means applicants must be part of those CESU networks to be considered, which commonly includes universities, certain non-profits, and research organizations affiliated with the CESU program. The funding instrument is a cooperative agreement, which generally signals that the government expects to have substantial involvement during the project (for example, coordination on study priorities, data needs, field access, reporting, and integration of results into operational planning).

Administratively, the opportunity is categorized under “Other” with an activity category of Science and Technology and other Research and Development, and it is associated with CFDA number 12.005. The funding opportunity number is W9126G 25 2 SOI 4749, and the closing date is August 8, 2025. The posting date is July 9, 2025. Organizations interested in being considered should prepare and submit a statement of interest rather than a full proposal, using the SOO to tailor their response and demonstrate relevant experience with endangered bird research, telemetry or movement ecology, Everglades wetland habitat assessment, demographic modeling, and working within complex interagency water management contexts.

• The Department of Defense in the science and technology and other research and development sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Demographic, Movement, and Habitat Studies of the Endangered Snail Kite in Response to Operational Plans in the Everglades, Florida" 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 2025-07-09.
• Applicants must submit their applications by 2025-08-08. (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 $2,378,758.00 in funding.
• The number of recipients for this funding is limited to 1 candidate(s).
• Eligible applicants include: Others.

Apply for W9126G 25 2 SOI 4749

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