Cooperative Agreement for CESU-affiliated Partner with Great Rivers Cooperative Ecosystem Studies Unit | G25AS00134

Opportunity Information: Apply for G25AS00134

The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) is soliciting a cooperative agreement proposal from an eligible Cooperative Ecosystem Studies Unit (CESU) partner affiliated with the Great Rivers CESU to support research on improved methods for monitoring floodplain vegetation status and long-term trends. The work is focused on the Upper Mississippi River System (UMRS), including the Upper Mississippi and Illinois River floodplains, where floodplain forests and herbaceous plant communities represent much of the remaining natural land cover. The central goal is to move beyond the current patchwork of datasets and approaches used by vegetation ecologists and natural resource managers by developing a more comprehensive, efficient, and scalable strategy for tracking floodplain vegetation condition and change across the UMRS over time.

This opportunity is structured as a discretionary award using a cooperative agreement, which typically indicates that USGS expects to have substantial involvement during the project, such as collaborating on study design, providing scientific or technical input, coordinating with partner agencies or stakeholders, and helping ensure that the methods developed align with management needs. The funding activity category is Science and Technology and other Research and Development, and the program is associated with CFDA number 15.808. The funding opportunity number is G25AS00134, and the opportunity title is "Cooperative Agreement for CESU-affiliated Partner with Great Rivers Cooperative Ecosystem Studies Unit."

The research emphasis is on methods development and evaluation for vegetation monitoring, with an applied management lens. In practical terms, this kind of project often involves assessing how well existing data sources and monitoring tools perform (for example, field vegetation plots, long-term monitoring stations, aerial imagery, satellite remote sensing, vegetation classification maps, hydrologic and geomorphic datasets, and other ecological indicators), identifying gaps or redundancies, and then proposing a streamlined framework that can be repeated consistently through time. Because the stated need is for a long-term, system-wide monitoring approach, the project is likely expected to produce outputs that are usable at broad spatial scales, repeatable across years, and efficient enough to be sustained by agencies responsible for UMRS floodplain management.

Eligibility is limited to organizations that are already participating partners in the Great Rivers CESU Program. CESUs are formal partnerships that connect federal agencies with universities, nongovernmental organizations, and other research institutions to deliver research, technical assistance, and education tied to natural and cultural resource priorities. As a result, applicants must be within that established CESU network to apply under this announcement, and the award is not open to the general public outside the partnership.

Key administrative details include an award ceiling of $248,648. The opportunity was created on November 25, 2024, and the original closing date is December 26, 2024. The notice lists the expected awards field without a specified number in the provided text, so prospective applicants would typically confirm the anticipated number of awards and any additional submission requirements in the full posting. Overall, the opportunity supports applied ecological research that helps agencies better understand and track how floodplain plant communities are changing across the UMRS, enabling more informed conservation, restoration, and management decisions over the long term.

• 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 Great Rivers 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 2024-11-25.
• Applicants must submit their applications by 2024-12-26. (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 $248,648.00 in funding.
• Eligible applicants include: Others.

Apply for G25AS00134

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