Cooperative Agreement for CESU-affiliated Partner with Rocky Mountain Cooperative Ecosystem Studies Unit | G24AS00425

Opportunity Information: Apply for G24AS00425

The US Geological Survey (USGS) is soliciting proposals for a cooperative agreement under the Cooperative Ecosystem Studies Unit (CESU) Program, specifically limited to partners affiliated with the Rocky Mountains CESU. The opportunity supports science and technology research aimed at improving how wildlife managers understand and predict animal-habitat relationships across several major ecosystem types in the region, including grasslands, shrublands, and alpine environments. The core focus is on building or advancing practical tools and models that connect habitat conditions to wildlife use and performance, with the expectation that the resulting products can be used directly in real-world management and policy decisions.

The research emphasis centers on two related needs. First, it calls for approaches that quantify resource selection, meaning how birds and ungulates choose habitats across landscapes and seasons, and how those choices shift in response to changing conditions. Second, it includes work on population demography, which generally refers to survival, reproduction, recruitment, and population change over time. By integrating resource selection with demographic outcomes, the funded work is intended to move beyond simply mapping where animals occur and toward identifying which habitats actually support healthy, sustainable populations. That kind of linkage is often what land managers and wildlife agencies need when prioritizing habitat protection, restoration, development planning, or setting population objectives.

A major stated purpose of the award is to produce decision-relevant models and tools that can inform land management actions and federal and state wildlife agency decisions. In practice, this could include spatial decision-support tools, predictive habitat models, integrated population models, or other analytical frameworks that translate field data into actionable guidance. The opportunity highlights that these outcomes should help managers determine how best to manage wildlife populations across the targeted ecosystems, which commonly involves tradeoffs among habitat quality, land use, climate variability, and species-specific needs.

Administratively, this is a discretionary funding opportunity using a cooperative agreement, which typically indicates that USGS expects to have substantial involvement during the project (for example, collaboration on study design, data integration, technical input, or co-development of products). The funding activity category is Science and Technology and other Research and Development, and the program is associated with CFDA number 15.808. The award ceiling is $250,000, and the posting indicates an original closing date of August 23, 2024, with the opportunity created on July 23, 2024. The expected number of awards is not specified in the provided source information.

Eligibility is restricted. Applicants must be a participating partner in the Rocky Mountains CESU Program, reflecting the CESU structure as a network of partnerships that provide research, technical assistance, and education to support public resource management. In other words, this is not an open competition for all institutions; it is intended for organizations already within that CESU partnership framework, consistent with how CESU awards are commonly competed within their member networks.

• The Geological Survey in the science and technology and other research and development sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Cooperative Agreement for CESU-affiliated Partner with Rocky Mountain Cooperative Ecosystem Studies Unit" 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 2024-07-23.
• Applicants must submit their applications by 2024-08-23. (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 $250,000.00 in funding.
• Eligible applicants include: Others.

Apply for G24AS00425

[Watch] Creating a grant proposal using the step-by-step wizard inside the applicant portal: