Cooperative Ecosystem Studies Unit, Great Lakes Northern Forests CESU | G17AS00029

Opportunity Information: Apply for G17AS00029

The Cooperative Ecosystem Studies Unit (CESU), Great Lakes Northern Forests CESU grant opportunity (Funding Opportunity Number G17AS00029) was a discretionary funding program offered by the U.S. Department of the Interior, U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), specifically through the USGS Great Lakes Science Center. It was structured as a cooperative agreement, meaning the award was intended to support a research project carried out in collaboration with USGS, typically with substantial federal involvement in technical direction, coordination, and/or shared responsibilities compared with a standard grant.

The focus of the opportunity was applied fisheries research and analysis: the recipient would analyze existing angler creel survey data from the St. Clair-Detroit Rivers System (SCDRS). Creel surveys are a core fishery science tool used to estimate fishing effort, catch rates, harvest, and other indicators of how anglers are interacting with fish populations. By analyzing these data, the project aimed to produce a clearer picture of both fishery quality (for example, abundance and availability of target species as reflected in catch and harvest metrics) and the on-the-water fishing experience (often inferred through measures like catch per unit effort, trip success, and patterns in effort across seasons and locations).

A central reason this work was being funded is that the SCDRS and nearby waters, including western Lake Erie, have been subject to habitat and fish population restoration actions. The opportunity explicitly ties the analysis to evaluating responses to restoration efforts such as spawning habitat creation and shorezone restoration. In practical terms, the research would help distinguish whether, how, and to what extent restoration actions are translating into measurable changes in fishery outcomes that matter to managers and anglers. Because restoration can influence fish distribution, recruitment, survival, and accessibility to anglers, creel-survey-based evaluation offers a management-relevant way to detect changes in fishery performance after interventions.

The expected utility of the results was management guidance. The USGS described the information from this analysis as critical for identifying and understanding fishery responses to habitat restoration, with the intent that findings would be used to guide future management and restoration of fish populations and their habitats. While the immediate study area was the St. Clair-Detroit Rivers System and western Lake Erie, the agency framed the broader value as informing decisions across the Great Lakes, where similar restoration investments and fish community management challenges occur.

Administratively, the opportunity was categorized under Science and Technology and other Research and Development and carried CFDA number 15.808. The announcement listed an award ceiling of $30,112, with an expectation of one award, indicating a small, targeted project intended to answer a specific analytical need rather than launch a multi-year, multi-institution program. The opportunity was created on January 9, 2017, with an original closing date of January 23, 2017, reflecting a short application window typical of certain CESU or center-specific cooperative funding announcements. Eligibility was listed as "Others," with additional clarification referenced in the full notice, which in CESU contexts often relates to participation through the CESU network or other specified partner categories.

Overall, this funding opportunity supported a focused statistical and interpretive analysis of angler creel survey data to evaluate fishery conditions and angling outcomes in a major Great Lakes connecting-waterway system, with the explicit purpose of helping agencies understand and improve the effectiveness of habitat and population restoration actions.

• The Department of the Interior, Geological Survey in the science and technology and other research and development sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Cooperative Ecosystem Studies Unit, Great Lakes Northern Forests 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 Jan 09, 2017.
• Applicants must submit their applications by Jan 23, 2017. (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 $30,112.00 in funding.
• The number of recipients for this funding is limited to 1 candidate(s).
• Eligible applicants include: Others (see text field entitled Additional Information on Eligibility for clarification).

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