Opportunity Information: Apply for BOR PN 16 N006
Apply for BOR PN 16 N006
- The DOI-BOR in the natural resources sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Food Web Analysis of the Methow River and its Floodplain" and is now available to receive applicants.
- Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 15.517.
- This funding opportunity was created on May 17, 2016 and posted on May 17, 2016.
- Applicants must submit their applications by May 30, 2016. (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 $80,000.00 in funding.
- The number of recipients for this funding is limited to 1 candidate(s).
- Eligible applicants include: Public and State controlled institutions of higher education.
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Opportunity Summary:
The Food Web Analysis of the Methow River and its Floodplain grant opportunity supports a focused, science-based effort to measure how side-channel restoration in the Methow River system affects fish production and the underlying food web that supports it. The project is built around repeating a full year of field sampling and associated laboratory work so researchers can make a rigorous before-after comparison of ecological conditions at a restoration site, while also tracking conditions in comparable habitats that were not restored. The overall intent is to strengthen learning within an adaptive management framework, meaning the study is designed not just to collect data, but to directly inform future management decisions and improve predictive tools used to evaluate restoration outcomes.
A central feature of the work is connecting fish performance to its trophic foundation, essentially tracing how energy and nutrients move through the river-floodplain ecosystem and end up supporting fish growth and production. The opportunity calls for completing calculations and analyses of fish production at the restoration site and at untreated reference habitats, with an explicit emphasis on understanding the trophic basis for that production. In practice, this typically involves integrating fish abundance and growth information with measures of prey availability and diet pathways, so that changes in fish production can be interpreted in terms of shifts in food resources and ecosystem function rather than treated as isolated population metrics.
Another major component is the quantification and analysis of food webs associated with the restoration and reference sites. The grant description indicates the analyses should be comparable to those completed in a previous study, suggesting continuity in sampling methods and analytical approaches so results can be directly compared across years and study phases. Food web quantification in this context generally includes measuring key aquatic and floodplain organisms (for example, invertebrate communities and other prey bases), characterizing who is eating whom, and evaluating how the structure and productivity of the web changes with habitat conditions. By repeating year-round sampling, the study can capture seasonal dynamics that are often critical in river systems, such as spring runoff effects, summer low-flow constraints, and fall-winter habitat use, which can strongly influence prey production and fish feeding opportunities.
The opportunity also requires a formal BACI analysis, short for Before-After Control-Impact, a common design in restoration science used to test whether observed changes are likely attributable to the restoration rather than to broader environmental variation. In a BACI framework, the restoration site is compared to control or reference sites both before and after the restoration action. This helps separate restoration-driven responses from background year-to-year differences in flow, temperature, or regional ecological conditions. Here, the BACI analysis is specifically aimed at evaluating responses to side channel restoration, which often targets improvements like increased habitat complexity, enhanced floodplain connectivity, and better rearing and refuge conditions for fish.
A final expected outcome is the production of key results that can be used to calibrate the ATP model referenced in the description. While the notice does not expand the acronym, the role of the model is clear: the project should generate empirical benchmarks that improve the model's ability to predict how restoration influences fish production and food web processes. Calibration typically means using observed data to adjust model parameters so the model better matches real-world outcomes, which in turn makes it more useful for planning, prioritizing, and evaluating future restoration actions.
Administratively, this is a discretionary funding opportunity issued by the U.S. Department of the Interior, Bureau of Reclamation (DOI-BOR), offered as a cooperative agreement under the Natural Resources activity category. Eligibility is limited to public and state-controlled institutions of higher education, indicating the work is intended to be carried out by universities or similar public academic institutions with relevant expertise and capacity for field and laboratory research. The funding opportunity number is BOR PN 16 N006. The award ceiling is $80,000, with one expected award, and the original and current closing dates are both listed as May 30, 2016. Overall, the grant is narrowly scoped and outcome-driven, emphasizing repeatable monitoring, robust statistical evaluation of restoration effects, and delivery of results that directly strengthen adaptive management and predictive modeling for the Methow River floodplain restoration context.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
What is the Food Web Analysis of the Methow River and its Floodplain grant opportunity?
This opportunity funds a focused, science-based effort to measure how side-channel restoration in the Methow River system affects fish production and the food web processes that support it. The work is designed to generate rigorous, management-relevant results rather than stand-alone monitoring data.
What agency is offering this funding?
The funding opportunity is issued by the U.S. Department of the Interior, Bureau of Reclamation (DOI-BOR).
What type of funding instrument will be used?
The opportunity is offered as a cooperative agreement.
Is this a discretionary or formula funding opportunity?
This is a discretionary funding opportunity.
What is the activity category for this grant?
The activity category is Natural Resources.
Who is eligible to apply?
Eligibility is limited to public and state-controlled institutions of higher education. In other words, the applicant must be a public academic institution (such as a public university or similar state-controlled higher education entity).
What is the funding opportunity number?
The funding opportunity number is BOR PN 16 N006.
What is the maximum award amount?
The award ceiling is $80,000.
How many awards are expected?
One award is expected.
When is the application due?
The original and current closing dates are both listed as May 30, 2016.
What is the core purpose of the project funded by this opportunity?
The core purpose is to strengthen learning within an adaptive management framework by repeating a full year of field sampling and associated laboratory work. This supports a rigorous before-after comparison at a restoration site and simultaneous tracking of comparable, untreated reference habitats.
What restoration action is being evaluated?
The study is aimed at evaluating responses to side-channel restoration in the Methow River system.
Why does the opportunity emphasize repeating a full year of sampling?
Repeating year-round sampling allows the study to capture seasonal dynamics that are often critical in river systems. The description highlights seasonal conditions such as spring runoff effects, summer low-flow constraints, and fall-winter habitat use, all of which can influence prey production and fish feeding opportunities.
What does the project need to measure besides fish?
The opportunity emphasizes connecting fish performance to its trophic foundation, meaning the project should quantify food web components and pathways that support fish growth and production. This typically involves measuring prey availability and diet pathways, in addition to fish abundance and growth information.
What is meant by the "trophic basis" for fish production in this opportunity?
It refers to tracing how energy and nutrients move through the river-floodplain ecosystem (the food web) and ultimately support fish growth and production. The intent is to interpret changes in fish production in terms of shifts in food resources and ecosystem function, rather than treating fish metrics in isolation.
What specific analyses are expected related to fish production?
The opportunity calls for completing calculations and analyses of fish production at both the restoration site and untreated reference habitats, with an explicit emphasis on understanding the trophic basis for that production.
What does the opportunity require regarding food web analysis?
A major component is quantifying and analyzing food webs at the restoration site and at reference sites. The description indicates the analyses should be comparable to those completed in a previous study, suggesting continuity in sampling methods and analytical approaches so results can be directly compared across years and study phases.
What kinds of organisms are included when quantifying the food web in this context?
The description references measuring key aquatic and floodplain organisms, such as invertebrate communities and other prey bases, characterizing who is eating whom, and evaluating how food web structure and productivity change with habitat conditions.
What is a BACI analysis, and is it required here?
Yes. The opportunity requires a formal BACI (Before-After Control-Impact) analysis. BACI is a restoration science design that compares a restored (impact) site to control/reference sites both before and after restoration, helping test whether observed changes are attributable to restoration rather than broader environmental variation.
What is the BACI analysis intended to accomplish for this project?
It is specifically intended to evaluate responses to side-channel restoration while separating restoration-driven responses from background variation such as year-to-year differences in flow, temperature, or regional ecological conditions.
How does this project support adaptive management?
The project is designed not just to collect data, but to directly inform future management decisions and improve predictive tools used to evaluate restoration outcomes. The study structure supports learning by producing results that can be used to refine decisions and expectations about restoration performance.
What is the role of reference (untreated) habitats in this study?
Reference habitats provide comparable, non-restored conditions that can be monitored alongside the restoration site. This comparison supports before-after evaluation and strengthens inference about whether changes at the restoration site are due to restoration or broader environmental factors.
What is the ATP model mentioned in the opportunity, and what is expected related to it?
The opportunity expects production of key results that can be used to calibrate an "ATP model" referenced in the description. While the notice does not expand the acronym, the role is clear: the project should generate empirical benchmarks that improve the model's ability to predict how restoration influences fish production and food web processes.
What does "calibrating the ATP model" mean in this context?
Calibration generally means using observed data to adjust model parameters so the model better matches real-world outcomes. The intent is to make the model more useful for planning, prioritizing, and evaluating future restoration actions.
Does the opportunity specify the general approach to interpreting fish production results?
Yes. It explicitly emphasizes interpreting fish production through the lens of food resources and ecosystem function by integrating fish abundance and growth information with measures of prey availability and diet pathways.
What makes this funding opportunity "narrowly scoped" according to the description?
It is tightly focused on a specific restoration context (side-channel restoration in the Methow River system) and on producing specific outcomes: repeatable year-round monitoring, robust statistical evaluation via BACI, food web quantification comparable to prior work, and results that support adaptive management and model calibration.
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