March 17, 2022

U.S. Army Corps of Engineers funding opportunity: Willamette Valley Prairie Pollinator Studies

Willamette Valley Prairie Pollinator Studies

Funding Opportunity Announcement No. W81EWF-22-SOI-0012

Statement of Interest/Qualifications Due Date: 18 April 2022, 4:00 PM, CDT
Full Application Package Due Date, if Invited: 18 May 2022, 4:00 PM, CDT.
Estimated Award Ceiling: Initial funding of up to $95,000 dollars is expected.
Estimated Total Program Funding (optional): $475,000 over base and 4 option years if funding available

The Willamette Valley Project manages important remnant terrestrial habitats at 13 dams in the Willamette watershed. These habitats include Willamette Valley wetland and upland prairie systems hosting four flowering plant species and a butterfly listed under the Endangered Species act and numerous other plants and animals of conservation concern. The Fern Ridge Research Natural Area, designated in 1988 as an example of Willamette Valley wet prairie, hosts the largest remnant population of Erigeron decumbens (Willamette daisy, listed endangered).

While various sampling efforts have yielded collections and partial species lists, no pollinator inventory has been completed at any lake in the Willamette Valley system, and so the prevalence of rare species in need of management is poorly understood. The Prairie Plant Working Group (led by U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service) has identified understanding pollination in E. decumbens as an important research need to support recovery efforts for this endangered plant. Increased knowledge of the relationships between pollinators and remnant and restored plant communities would inform management and restoration goals for both rare species and prairie habitats. Understanding pollinator response to vegetation management methods and associated changes to plant communities could improve site management. Increased understanding of the ecology of pollinators at Corps sites could inform management methods in critically rare prairie habitat throughout the Willamette Valley/Puget Trough/Georgia Basin ecoregions.

Brief Description of Anticipated Work:
Studies may include additional inventory at Fern Ridge, initial inventory at Valley fringe prairies at Dorena Lake, and other sites throughout the region; analysis of pollinator networks their variability within and between seasons, among sites, and among management regimes; pollen identification and tracking on the landscape; comparisons of pollinator relations in remnant and restored rare plant sites; and the response of pollinator communities and networks to climate variability and habitat management activities such as prescribed fire and herbicide application. Examination of plant response to pollinator communities may include in-depth examination of pollen limitation of conservation dependent species such as Willamette daisy, Kincaid’s lupine, and golden paintbrush as well as native prairie matrix species. There is potential to support experiments using nursery-cultivated native plants or targeted habitat manipulation. Specimen identification may be supported with DNA bar-coding, and pollinator effectiveness studies may be initiated, possibly using eDNA methods. Specimens shall be accessioned into regional collections and published, with duplicate reference
material provided to Corps biologist.