Cook Inlet Beluga Whale (CIBW) Prey, Salmon Productivity Monitoring at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson (JBER).

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Fort Worth District is soliciting Statements of Interest for a cooperative agreement to fund Cook Inlet Beluga Whale prey and salmon productivity monitoring at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, Alaska, with a due date of September 10, 2026. Applicants must be members of the Cooperative Ecosystem Studies Units (CESU) Program in the Alaska/Rocky Mountain/Pacific Northwest regions, with priority given to Federal and State agencies responsible for fish or wildlife conservation.

The base period award is approximately $167,897 for 18 months from the date of award, with potential follow-on funding for up to six additional 18-month periods. The indirect cost rate is capped at 17.5% using the established CESU rate. Recipients must have an active NIST SP 800-171 DOD Assessment performed within the last 3 years to be eligible for award.

The project will characterize fish species composition in JBER waters to identify prey available to endangered Cook Inlet Beluga whales using environmental DNA (eDNA) monitoring. Required qualifications include recent experience and extensive expertise in eDNA monitoring of aquatic ecosystems, preferably with marine fish community assessment using metabarcoding and droplet digital polymerase chain reaction (ddPCR) approaches; access to or partnership with a laboratory capable of processing eDNA samples; and demonstrated capability for secure data management.

Statements of Interest are limited to two pages, single-spaced, 12-point font. Questions must be directed to Nicholas A. Aprea or David B. Leptien at USACE Fort Worth District no later than 10 calendar days from the posting date (by August 21, 2026). Applicants selected to submit full proposals will receive a compressed turnaround time of 5 business days or less. The agreement is authorized under 16 USC 670c-1 (Sikes Act) and assigned to CFDA 12.005, Conservation and Rehabilitation of Natural Resources on Military Installations.