Cooperative Agreement for CESU-affiliated Partner with USGS Rocky Mountain Cooperative Ecosystem Studies Unit | G21AS00374

Opportunity Information: Apply for G21AS00374

This funding opportunity (G21AS00374) is a USGS Fort Collins Science Center cooperative agreement offered through the Rocky Mountain Cooperative Ecosystem Studies Unit (CESU) Program. The project focuses on a long-term monitoring dataset from the lower Virgin River corridor in Nevada and Arizona, where riparian vegetation has been tracked before and after widespread defoliation of invasive tamarisk (Tamarix spp., also called saltcedar) associated with biological control. The core management problem behind the grant is that while tamarisk control is a major priority for western river managers (including DOI bureaus like NPS, BLM, and FWS), ecosystem responses to tamarisk defoliation can vary widely. Managers are especially concerned about unintended outcomes such as secondary invasions by other nonnative plants, declines in wildlife habitat quality, and increased fire risk. Because many existing studies only cover short time windows, this opportunity is intended to strengthen the evidence base on what happens to riparian plant communities over longer periods after tamarisk biocontrol.

The work centers on repeated, standardized monitoring along the Lower Virgin River from the Littlefield, Arizona area downstream toward Lake Mead. USGS has already conducted surveys in 2010, 2012, 2015, and 2017 that documented plant community composition and cross-sectional channel and floodplain topography along 24 established transects distributed across five river reaches. Significant biocontrol-related defoliation began in summer 2012, which makes this dataset especially valuable because it spans conditions before and after that ecological shift. USGS planned to resample the same transects again in spring 2021, creating a multi-year time series suitable for analyzing long-term vegetation change and geomorphic context.

The cooperative agreement is structured around complementary roles. USGS FORT is primarily responsible for providing the multi-year datasets (vegetation composition and topographic change) and bringing extensive riparian ecology and DOI-applied science experience. The CESU-affiliated partner contributes specialized capacity in compiling, analyzing, and interpreting tamarisk-control monitoring data, synthesizing relevant scientific and management literature, and translating results into decision-relevant reporting. While the division of labor emphasizes USGS data provision and CESU-led analysis and reporting, the announcement makes clear that analysis, interpretation, and writing are collaborative tasks, with both parties working together to ensure the work is rigorous and suitable for eventual peer-reviewed publication and USGS products. The notice also clarifies that final USGS Data Releases themselves are not part of this agreement, but the cooperative work may support information products such as journal manuscripts and associated outputs.

The stated objectives are practical and deliverable-focused, aimed at turning field monitoring into usable management knowledge. First, the CESU partner is expected to compile the 2021 vegetation and topographic data, conduct quality assurance and quality control (QA/QC), and produce a well-documented database with appropriate metadata. Second, the partner will analyze long-term vegetation dynamics using time-series approaches that connect plant composition trends with the repeated topographic surveys, and apply multivariate and other statistical methods to interpret changes in community composition through time and across reaches. Third, the work includes producing clear visualizations, tables, and written summaries describing methods, results, and analytical outputs so that findings are accessible and defensible for both technical and management audiences. Fourth, the partner will collaborate with USGS scientists to draft information products, including materials that could feed into peer-reviewed articles and USGS publications.

From a management standpoint, the anticipated payoff is improved guidance on what plant communities tend to replace tamarisk after biocontrol, and under what conditions those trajectories lead to desirable or undesirable outcomes. By clarifying patterns related to secondary invasions, habitat shifts, and fire hazard drivers, the project is meant to help agencies anticipate where additional interventions may be needed rather than reacting after problems develop. The opportunity is framed as directly supporting on-the-ground actions such as follow-up invasive species control, native revegetation efforts, or targeted fire mitigation, with decisions grounded in a rare long-term monitoring record rather than short-term snapshots.

Administratively, this is a discretionary cooperative agreement under CFDA 15.808 (USGS), with eligibility restricted to organizations that are official partners in the Rocky Mountain CESU network. The award ceiling is $49,768, with an original application closing date of 2021-03-26 and a posting/creation date of 2021-03-09. The project is described as a discrete body of work expected to be completed in about one year, with allowance for up to two years to accommodate potential pandemic-related delays.

• 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 USGS 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 2021-03-09.
• Applicants must submit their applications by 2021-03-26. (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 $49,768.00 in funding.
• Eligible applicants include: Others.

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