Missouri grants for Exclusive - see details

This grant provides matching funds to youth agricultural organizations in Missouri for projects that tackle food insecurity in their communities.

This funding opportunity provides financial support to organizations in the Greater St. Louis region for projects that improve transportation, safety, and access to services for seniors aged 55 and older.

This funding opportunity provides financial support to dairy farms and processing facilities in select Midwestern states to promote product development, diversification, and value-added dairy innovations.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers - Mississippi Valley Memphis District (USACE-MVM) environmental program, part of the Regional Planning and Environment Division, South (RPEDS), ensures U.S. Army civil works activities are conducted in compliance with all applicable environmental laws, regulations, and policies. 1.2 The purpose of this project is to determine the presence or likely absence of the tricolored bat (Perimyotis subflavus), proposed endangered under the Endangered Species Act of 1973, at the two project areas. If other threatened or endangered (TE) bat species (i.e., Indiana Bat [Myotis sodalis] and northern long-eared bat [Myotis septentrionalis]) are detected during capture efforts, however, they will be subject to the appropriate similar guidance and deliverables as is outlined in in Sections 3.3 and 9.3 of this Statement of Objectives (SOO). 1.3 This work requires an onsite support person located at USACE-MVM. The work at the project areas shall be conducted by a Cooperator and will involve strategies to determine if tricolored bats (TCB) are present or likely absent, and whether roost trees are likely to be impacted due to planned tree clearing activities. This work includes mist net surveys, and if TCB or other TE bats are captured, the Cooperator will affix a radio transmitter on up to 3 of each species per survey site. The Cooperator will then conduct the radio-tracking surveys to locate likely roost trees within the project areas. Sampling methodologies will be in accordance with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Range-wide Indiana Bat & Northern LongEared Bat Survey Guidelines (2023), using northern long-eared bat level of effort, and the requirements set forth in the Description of Objectives. The Cooperator shall begin the survey on or as soon as possible after May 15, 2024, and end no later than August 15, 2024 (weather delays may require a modification of this timeframe). Cooperators will reside at lodging located near to the project areas and commute daily to the survey sites. 2 2.0 AUTHORITY This study is being conducted to fulfill regulatory requirements stipulated under the provisions of the federal Endangered Species Act (ESA) of 1973 and associated regulations. Sections 7(a)(1) and 7(a)(2) of the ESA requires Federal agencies to ensure that actions authorized, funded, or carried out by them are not likely to jeopardize the continued existence of endangered or threatened species. In addition, the ESA of 1973 establishes as Federal policy that “all Federal departments and agencies shall seek to conserve endangered species and threatened species.” 2.1 This cooperative agreement will be awarded using the following authority: • 33 USC § 2339(a) Conservation and recreation management. Delegation of Authority under Section 213a of the Water Resources Development Act of 2000, dated 10 March 2015. In agreement with the above stated goals, the recipient agrees to provide the necessary personnel, equipment, and materials required to implement activities to support the USACE’s commitment toward environmental stewardship to manage natural and cultural resources in a responsible way that has the least impact on civil works and is beneficial to the region. In addition, the activities performed by the recipient must be completed in a manner conducive to guidelines outlined in the ESA (16 USC 1531 et seq.). USACE-MVM agrees to provide substantial involvement to include, but not limited to, the following: • USACE-MVM is involved in development of the Performance Work Statement/Scope of Work, and/or reviewing products provided by the Cooperator. • USACE-MVM actively participates and collaborates in carrying out the project plan of work, reviews and approves activities, and coordinates accordingly with the appropriate U.S. Fish and Wildlife (USFWS) office. • USACE-MVM incurs in-kind or direct expenditures in carrying out the activities specified in the project agreement. Examples include, but are not limited to, the following:  Providing per diem for Cooperators  Providing staff time to work on the project. 3.0 DESCRIPTION OF OBJECTIVES 3.1 Task 1: Field Work Coordination The Cooperator will contact USACE MVM point of contact, Jennifer Hiltonsmith (901-579-7473) as soon as the Cooperator has selected the sampling days but no later than 2 weeks prior to any field work. This coordination will help in assessing field conditions, water levels, and site access. 3.1.1 Additional Personnel The Cooperator should anticipate 1-2 USFWS and/or USACE-MVM employees 3 to participate in the field work as observers. The Cooperator should not expect the observers to handle any live bats or be asked to carry out any duties outlined in this Statement of Objectives. Observers may place acoustic equipment to assist in building data sets. The Cooperator will not be responsible for set up or retrieval of Government equipment at any time. 3.2 Task 2: Habitat Assessment (Day 1) Suitable summer bat habitat has been determined to be present at several sites within each proposed project area. Survey sites have been designated by USACEMVM biologists based on habitat, accessibility, and USFWS survey guidelines (Exhibits 1 & 2). The Cooperator shall visually survey the preselected survey sites to confirm they are appropriate for mist netting. The Belle Fountain area project totals approximately 9 linear kilometers of potential habitat. The 15-Mile Bayou project totals approximately 6.3 linear kilometers of potential habitat. Suitable TCB summer habitat consists of a wide variety of forested/wooded areas where they roost, forage, and travel and may include some adjacent and interspersed non-forested areas such as emergent wetlands and adjacent edges of agricultural fields, old fields, and pastures. This includes forests and woodlots containing trees with potential roost substrate (i.e., live, and dead leaf clusters of live and recently dead deciduous trees, Spanish moss [Tillandsia usneoides], and beard lichen [Usnea trichodea]), as well as linear features such as fencerows, riparian forests, and other wooded corridors. TCB will roost in a variety of tree species, especially oaks (Quercus spp.), and often select roosts in tall, large diameter trees, but will roost in smaller diameter trees (e.g., 4-inch [10- centimeter] diameter at breast height [DBH]) when potential roost substrate is present. TCB commonly roost in the mid- to upper canopy of trees although males will occasionally roost in dead leaves at lower heights (e.g., <16 feet [5 meters] from the ground) and females will occasionally roost in Spanish moss of understory trees. TCB seem to prefer foraging along forested edges of larger forest openings, along edges of riparian areas, and over water and avoid foraging in dense, unbroken forests, and narrow road cuts through forests. TCB may roost and forage in forested areas near anthropogenic structures and buildings (e.g., suburban neighborhoods, parks, etc.) (USFWS 2023). Information gained in the habitat assessments shall assist the Cooperator to determine sites for mist netting surveys (Section 3.3). The Cooperator shall include a description of the areas and their potential TCB habitat in the final reports. The Cooperator shall use professional judgment to determine if an area has suitable habitat for mist netting sites. 3.3 Task 3: Mist netting for presence/absence determination Immediately following each habitat assessment, the Cooperator shall confirm survey sites for netting locations or contact the Technical Manager (Jennifer Hiltonsmith) to discuss altering net placement. The Cooperator will follow the northern long-eared bat recovery unit-based protocols for the amount of time (i.e., 4 netting nights) deemed appropriate from habitat surveys for TCB. Mist net surveys should be conducted in the best suitable habitat possible in each kilometer. 3.3.1 Equipment - Mist nets to be used for TCB surveys should be the finest, lowest visibility mesh commercially available. Currently, the finest net on the market is 75 denier, 2 ply, denoted 75/2 (Arndt and Schaetz 2009); however, the 50 denier nets are still acceptable for use. The finest mesh size available is approximately 38 millimeter (~1 1/2 inch). Nets should be cleaned and disinfected following approved protocols (http://www.whitenosesyndrome.org/) and any additional federal or state requirements to minimize disease transmission (USFWS 2023). 3.3.2 Minimum Effort – An effective mist-netting effort should be used at locations best suited for capturing TCB. A minimum of 4 net nights per kilometer of suitable habitat is required by USFWS. Therefore, it is recommended that sites are placed approximately 1 kilometer apart, but selection of the best mist-net habitat is the priority. Once the Cooperator determines the appropriate sample site locations, each sample site shall be photographed (during daylight hours) and recorded using a global positioning system (GPS) unit. The Cooperator shall record all GPS data in Universal Transverse Mercator, North American Datum - 1983, Zone 16N. Recorded GPS and color photographs shall be included in the report. 3.3.3 Net Placement – Potential travel corridors (e.g., streams) typically are the most effective places to net (although other sites may also be productive; see Carroll et al. 2002). Place nets approximately perpendicular across the corridor. Nets should fill the corridor from side to side and from stream (or ground) level up to the overhanging canopy. Nets of varying widths and heights may be used as the situation dictates. If netting over water, ensure there is enough space between the net and the water so that the bat will not get wet upon capture. Mist netting shall begin at sunset and end 6 hours after the nets are in place. See Kunz and Kurta (1988) for additional discussion of net placement. 3.3.4 Checking Nets – Each net should be checked approximately every 10 minutes, never exceeding 15 minutes between checks. Capture and handling are stressful for bats. Emphasis should be on minimizing handling and holding bats for as short a time as possible to achieve research objectives. TCB, or any other TE bat should be they captured, should not be held for more than 30 minutes after capture. Federal and state permits usually specify maximum holding times (e.g., Recovery Permits issued by Regions 3 and 4 of the USFWS specify a maximum holding time of 30 minutes for most projects). 5 3.3.5 Weather and Light Conditions - Severe weather adversely affects capture of bats. Negative results combined with any of the following weather conditions throughout all or most of a sampling period is likely to need additional netting effort: (a) temperatures that fall below 10°C (50°F); (b) precipitation, including rain and/or fog, that exceeds 30 minutes or continues intermittently during the survey period; and (c) sustained wind speeds greater than 4 meters/second (9 miles/hour). It is typically best to set nets under the canopy where they are out of moonlight, particularly when the moon is ½-full or greater. 3.3.6 If, at the conclusion of each mist netting, no TCB or any other TE bats, have been captured, fieldwork is complete and that particular survey is finished. At each project area (Belle Fountain and 15 Mile Bayou), if one or more TCB or other TE bats are captured (up to 3 TCB, northern long-eared bat, or Indiana bat per site), Phase II radio-tracking surveys will be conducted by the Cooperator. The emergence survey protocol should not be used for radio-tracked TCB given the variability in roosting locations typically used by the species (e.g., roosting in dead leaf clusters in the canopy of live trees) and difficulty observing bats emerging. An emergence count may be attempted on the rare occasion that the surveyor is able to discover the exact roosting location of a transmitted TCB and believes he/she can observe the bat(s) emerging. Transmitter Attachment - A qualified and permitted biologist who is experienced in handling TCB and other TE bats and attaching radio transmitters must perform transmitter attachments. Attachment guidelines and protocols are outlined in the 2024 USFWS Range-wide Indiana Bat & Northern Long-Eared Bat Survey Guidelines. For each captured TCB (or other threatened or endangered bats should they be captured), the Cooperator shall attach radio transmitters to all female, juvenile, and adult male TCB or others captured at each site. Surveyors should be prepared to place transmitters on bats when they are captured to minimize holding times. The radio transmitter, adhesive, and any other markings ideally should weigh less than 5% of the bat’s pre-attachment body weight but must not weigh more than 10% of its total body weight (Kurta and Murray 2002). In all cases, the lightest transmitters capable of the required task should be used, particularly with pregnant females and volant juveniles. Bats carrying transmitters must be monitored daily for at least seven days, or until the transmitter falls off, whichever occurs first. 6 The purpose of radio tracking TCB and other TE bats is to determine their roosting locations. If radio tracking determines specific summer roosting or maternal colony sites (trees or other structures), the Cooperator shall use a GPS unit to record the specific locations. The Cooperator shall describe the sites and nearby surroundings in each survey report. 3.3.7 Radio Telemetry Equipment - Proposed radio telemetry equipment (e.g., receivers, antennas, and transmitters) and frequencies should be coordinated with the appropriate state natural resource agency and the USFWS – Missouri Ecological Services Field Office, Columbia, MO (Kris Budd, 573-507-8924 when conducting surveys in Missouri), or Arkansas Ecological Services Field Office, Conway, AR (Pedro Ardapple-Kindberg, 501-513-4470 when conducting surveys in Arkansas) after any night a bat is fitted with a transmitter. 3.4 Task 4: Post-Fieldwork Coordination with USACE-MVM The cooperator shall call the Technical Manager of this project (Jennifer Hiltonsmith, 901-579-7473) within 24 hours of the conclusion of field work conducted at each project location (Belle Fountain and 15 Mile Bayou) with all netting and transmitter information. Each project area will have its own draft report. Each draft report will document all capture results, photographs, maps, etc. performed at each location; and each draft report will be provided to the Technical Manager no later than one month after field work has been concluded at that specific area. More information about report submittals are provided in Section 9.2. 4.0 QUALIFICATIONS 4.1 The Cooperator shall possess a current USFWS threatened or endangered species recovery permit and both a State of Missouri collector’s permit and a State of Arkansas collector’s permit prior to starting the field work at each specific site. The Principal Investigator (PI) conducting the surveys should have a thorough understanding of the USFWS Range-Wide Indiana Bat and Northern Long-Eared Bat Survey Guidelines, should be familiar with the 2024 updates and the inclusion of Tricolored bat efforts. The Cooperator should have at least 3 years’ experience with mist-netting, handling, and identifying bat species including threatened and endangered species. Survey experience, academic background, and examples of prior reports should be submitted with your proposal.

The Long Term Resource Monitoring (LTRM) Element Cooperative Agreement Program.LTRM is the monitoring and research element of the UMRR Program. Overall guidance, funding, and UMRR program responsibility is provided by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE). The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) provides the scientific leadership for LTRM and the long term monitoring and research within LTRM is implemented in collaboration with the five Upper Mississippi River System states (Illinois, Iowa, Minnesota, Missouri, and Wisconsin). A directive outlining the mode of operation and the respective roles of each agency is embodied in a 1988 Memorandum of Agreement. The authority to enter into a cooperative agreement is stipulated in the Water Resources Development Act of 1986. Congress recognized the Upper Mississippi River System (UMRS) as both a nationally significant ecosystem and a nationally significant commercial navigation system. The Upper Midwest Environmental Sciences Center (UMESC) is the USGS facility which administers the LTRM element of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Upper Mississippi River Restoration program (UMRR). Five Upper Mississippi River System states which house six state-operated field stations provide data collection for water quality, sediment, fish, vegetation, and invertebrates, and land cover/use, and participate in numerous research projects based on these data. This work directly addresses the Secretarial Priority of working to restore and conserve at least 30% of our lands and waters by 2030.\This program announcement, with its support of UMRR, contributes to science that will enhance and inform the implementation of the Habitat Restoration and Enhancement Project element (HREP) of the UMRR. The UMRR HREP element provides substantial economic benefit to local and regional economies bordering the Mississippi River by increasing consumptive and nonconsumptive recreational opportunities. Research and information developed through this agreement will inform HREP planning, thereby indirectly supporting the Secretarial Priority of Advancing President Bidens Investing in America agenda by providing the sound science on which local and regional managers depend.

The Mississippi Delta is a historically and culturally rich region of the United States. The architecture, French, Spanish, British, and German, is as diverse as the people whose origins are European, Native American, Spanish, African, and more. But for all its cultural wealth, there is a poverty of health and healthcare in the region. Residents of the 18-county region contend with persistent poor health outcomes compounded by challenges to attaining preventive services and care, poor quality of care, and stagnant opportunity structures, particularly as it relates to cardiovascular disease (CVD).Roughly 1 in 10 (9.9% 28.6 million) adults in the US have at least 1 type of CVD, including coronary heart disease, heart failure, or stroke. This number excludes hypertension, a risk factor for and cause of CVD but not a type of CVD. However, hypertension or high blood pressure is a critical risk factor for stroke. An estimated 120 million American adults (48.1%) have it, most (3 in 4) dont have it controlled, and 1 in 5 adults is unaware they have hypertension.In 2012 CVD, particularly heart disease, was the leading cause of death in the Delta (244.4 deaths per 100,000). The regions residents experience age-adjusted death rates due to heart disease, stroke, and other CVDs that are considerably higher than national rates and the rest of Mississippi. According to the 2018 Cardiovascular Health Examination Survey (CHES) in the Mississippi Delta, the adjusted overall prevalence of hypertension among adults in the region 18 and older was 42.8%.The persistence of these outcomes in the Delta is attributable to modifiable CVD conditions and risk factors, such as high blood pressure, high cholesterol, coronary heart disease, COPD, chronic kidney disease, diabetes, and stroke. To sufficiently address these conditions, interventions must include evidence-based and practice-based approaches that are innovative and tailored to the unique challenges and strengths of the 18-county MS Delta Region. These interventions are needed in strategies that are focused on health systems, team-based care, and linkages to community resources and clinical services that address the social conditions that contribute to the prevalence of CVD in the MS Delta Region. This cooperative agreement builds from lessons learned from previous iterations. It focuses on policy, systems, and environmental changes that impact clinical and community settings and lifestyle changes that reduce uncontrolled blood pressure and CVD within the MS Delta Region.

The specific research question to be addressed by this agreement is How do bed material loads, hydraulic roughness, and bedform regimes change based on hydraulic parameters, such as temperature, shear stress, stream power, slope, water velocity, etc. To answer this complex research question, a bed material load sediment transport capacity function will be derived using the best available data, including USGS suspended sediment concentration/load and the Missouri River 2014 sediment data collection effort. A bedform/roughness predictor algorithm will also be developed for the Missouri River. The effectiveness of these algorithms at predicting observed data must be demonstrated in a journal article to be coauthored by USACE. The methodology and results must also be discussed in the journal article. Two in-person meetings will be held (kickoff and final presentation) between USACE and the award recipient, as well as monthly virtual meetings.

This grant provides financial assistance to community public water systems in Missouri to develop and implement plans that protect local water sources from contamination, ensuring access to safe drinking water.