Cooperative Agreement for Affiliated Partner with the Great Rivers Cooperative Ecosystem Studies Unit (CESU) | G25AS00345

Opportunity Information: Apply for G25AS00345

The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) is soliciting a proposal under a cooperative agreement to support research that clarifies where invasive Black Carp are most likely to occur in the Mississippi River Basin, with a particular focus on the upper Mississippi River and the Illinois River. This opportunity is offered through the Great Rivers Cooperative Ecosystem Studies Unit (CESU), which is a partnership framework used by federal agencies to obtain research, technical assistance, and education services from affiliated institutions. Only organizations that are active partners in the Great Rivers CESU are eligible to apply. The overall intent is practical and management-oriented: produce habitat predictions that allow agencies to monitor more efficiently and remove Black Carp more effectively by concentrating effort in places that are most likely to function as Black Carp habitat.

The problem driving the work is the continued spread of Black Carp in North America. Black Carp are molluscivores, meaning they feed heavily on mussels and snails. They were originally brought into U.S. aquaculture in the 1980s as a biological control tool for snail populations, but escapes have occurred and wild, reproducing populations are now documented in the Mississippi River Basin. Reported captures have risen in the Mississippi and Illinois rivers since 2015, a trend that is linked in part to increased reporting associated with an incentive reporting program. The major ecological concern is direct pressure on native mussel and snail communities, which are already among the most imperiled aquatic fauna in many river systems. There is also a major geographic concern: expansion through the Illinois River corridor increases the risk of eventual movement toward the Great Lakes, where establishment could create additional ecological and management impacts.

A central gap highlighted by the announcement is that, despite increasing detections, there is still limited understanding of what habitats Black Carp are using in the invaded portions of the Mississippi and Illinois rivers. Without that information, monitoring and removal can be inefficient, scattered, and costly, because effort is not consistently targeted to the environmental settings where fish are most likely to occur. The USGS is therefore prioritizing a study that identifies habitat associations and patterns and translates those relationships into predictive tools that can guide where to focus sampling and removal actions.

The project has two closely related research objectives. First, the recipient is expected to develop an analytical approach that integrates multiple existing datasets to identify potential Black Carp habitats. The datasets specifically named are: (1) a commercial capture dataset, (2) captures made by biologists below the Mel Price Lock and Dam, and (3) an active telemetry relocation dataset. These occurrence and movement records are to be combined with geospatial data layers so that habitat characteristics can be linked to capture locations and telemetry-based relocations. Second, using that integrated framework, the recipient must predict potential habitats within the upper Mississippi River and the Illinois River that can be used to target future monitoring and removal efforts. In other words, the deliverable is not only an analysis of past detections, but a forward-looking set of predictions that help managers decide where the fish are most likely to be and where effort is most likely to pay off.

From an operational standpoint, this is a discretionary funding opportunity using a cooperative agreement, which typically implies substantial involvement by the federal partner during the period of performance (for example, coordination on data access, study design, interpretation, and application to management decisions). The activity is categorized as science and technology and other research and development, and it falls under CFDA 15.808. The opportunity is posted by the USGS under Funding Opportunity Number G25AS00345. The posted award ceiling is $48,500, and the application closing date is September 22, 2025 (original closing date as listed). The opportunity anticipates making an award (the listing indicates expected awards, though the exact number is not clearly specified in the provided text).

In practical terms, the value of the work is that it should yield a defensible, data-driven map or set of habitat predictions (and the underlying analytical methods) that partners can use to prioritize surveillance and removal in the parts of the Mississippi River Basin where Black Carp are established or expanding. By tying together commercial capture information, targeted biologist sampling below a key river control structure (Mel Price Lock and Dam), and telemetry relocations, the project is designed to move beyond isolated capture points and toward a clearer picture of where Black Carp spend time, what environmental conditions they select, and where management actions should be concentrated to reduce impacts on native mollusks and limit further spread.

• The Geological Survey in the science and technology and other research and development sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Cooperative Agreement for Affiliated Partner with the Great Rivers Cooperative Ecosystem Studies Unit (CESU)" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 15.808.
• This funding opportunity was created on 2025-08-22.
• Applicants must submit their applications by 2025-09-22. (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 $48,500.00 in funding.
• Eligible applicants include: Others.

Apply for G25AS00345

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