Tree Island Wildlife Habitat Assessment for Water Conservation Area 3 and Everglades National Park, Florida

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Fort Worth District, is seeking a cooperative agreement partner to conduct a comprehensive wildlife habitat assessment of tree islands in Florida's Water Conservation Area 3 and Everglades National Park. The project requires conducting wildlife surveys across a minimum of 30 Everglades tree islands using passive and active monitoring techniques, generating wildlife species richness indices, characterizing vegetation structure and species composition, and developing a Tree Island Wildlife Habitat Index for integration into the USGS Etree platform. Applicants must be members of the Gulf Coast and South Florida-Caribbean Cooperative Ecosystem Studies Units (CESU) regions and demonstrate available qualifications and capability to execute the work. Evaluation will focus on organizational capacity and relevant expertise, with a Statements of Interest (SOI) submission deadline of May 28, 2026, at 1:00 PM CDT; technical questions must be directed to the contacts listed no later than May 8, 2026. Following the SOI submission, the government will post responses on Grants.gov for 30 days before requesting full proposals from selected applicants.

The base award is anticipated at approximately $200,000 to support 12 months of performance, with potential for up to two additional 12-month follow-on periods based on funding availability. The cooperative agreement will apply an established CESU indirect rate of 17.5%. Work will be performed at designated tree islands in Florida's Everglades ecosystem, encompassing both Water Conservation Area 3 and Everglades National Park, with requirements to participate in RECOVER regional team meetings and contribute to the RECOVER System Status Report. All awards are contingent upon recipients and subrecipients maintaining active NIST SP 800-171 Department of Defense cybersecurity assessments.