USBR Halt Hitchhiker: Invasive Species Challenge

A clump of sargassum – an invasive species of algae – floats along in the current off the short of La Parguera, Puerto Rico.
NASA/Milan Loiacono

NASA's Center of Excellence for Collaborative Innovation (CoECI) assists in the use of crowdsourcing across the federal government. CoECI's NASA Tournament Lab offers the contract capability to run external crowdsourced challenges on behalf of NASA and other agencies.

The Bureau of Reclamation (Reclamation) is sponsoring a 3-phase prize challenge (managed by yet2) for innovative solutions to eliminate the risk of aquatic invasive species (AIS) being transported in raw water entering and exiting watercraft ballast compartments. The goal is to identify novel approaches that can kill, exclude, or inactivate AIS such as quagga, zebra, and golden mussels, thereby protecting Reclamation's water delivery and hydropower infrastructure.

Award: $550,000 in total prizes across all phases

Open date: February 26, 2026

Phase 1 concept papers due: May 29, 2026

/Public Release. This material from the originating organization/author(s) might be of the point-in-time nature, and edited for clarity, style and length. Mirage.News does not take institutional positions or sides, and all views, positions, and conclusions expressed herein are solely those of the author(s).View in full here.