Cooperative Agreement for affiliated Partner with Colorado Plateau Cooperative Ecosystem Studies Unit (CESU) | G25AS00230

Opportunity Information: Apply for G25AS00230

The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), through its Southwest Biological Science Center (SBSC), is offering a discretionary funding opportunity under the Cooperative Ecosystem Studies Unit (CESU) Program to support applied research focused on improving ecological restoration outcomes on western lands. The award will be issued as a cooperative agreement, which typically means USGS expects to have substantial involvement in shaping, coordinating, or collaborating on the work as it is carried out (as opposed to a standard grant with less agency participation). The opportunity is listed under Funding Opportunity Number G25AS00230 and falls within the Science and Technology and other Research and Development activity area (CFDA 15.808).

The main purpose of the project is to help restoration practitioners and land managers respond to increasing climate variability and long-term aridification, which are making it harder to successfully restore degraded ecosystems across the West. USGS is seeking research that improves the ability to predict when and where restoration will succeed, how to measure whether it is working, and what practical management actions can be used to increase the odds of success under drier and more variable conditions. In other words, the work is meant to strengthen restoration planning and investments by grounding decisions in clearer, quantifiable understanding of climate and water limitations.

USGS highlights three specific research priorities. First, the work should improve understanding of climatic and soil water constraints on successful restoration. This emphasis signals a need to connect restoration outcomes to factors such as precipitation timing and variability, temperature-driven evaporative demand, drought frequency, and soil moisture availability, all of which strongly influence plant establishment and long-term persistence in arid and semi-arid systems. Second, applicants are expected to develop restoration effectiveness assessment workflows, meaning practical, repeatable methods for evaluating whether restoration actions are meeting ecological goals. This could involve designing monitoring approaches, metrics, decision-support tools, or analytical pipelines that translate field observations and environmental data into clear indicators of progress. Third, the project should identify management practices that promote climate-adapted and resilient restoration outcomes, pointing toward actionable guidance such as site preparation approaches, planting or seeding strategies, species or provenance selection suited to future climates, timing of treatments relative to moisture availability, and other practices that help restored systems withstand climate stress.

Eligibility is restricted to organizations that are already participating partners in the Colorado Plateau Cooperative Ecosystem Studies Unit (CESU). The opportunity is not open broadly to all applicants; only Colorado Plateau CESU partners can apply under the CESU framework. The listing shows the eligible applicant category as "Others," but the controlling eligibility requirement is CESU partnership status with the Colorado Plateau CESU program.

Key administrative details include an award ceiling of $400,000. The opportunity was created on January 16, 2025, and the original closing date is February 17, 2025. The announcement indicates an expected awards field but does not provide a number in the source data provided, so the anticipated count of awards is not specified here. Overall, the opportunity is aimed at producing research and tools that directly improve restoration decision-making and evaluation under worsening drought and aridity pressures, while leveraging the CESU partnership model to connect federal scientists with qualified research and technical partners.

• The Geological Survey in the science and technology and other research and development sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Cooperative Agreement for affiliated Partner with Colorado Plateau Cooperative Ecosystem Studies Unit (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 2025-01-16.
• Applicants must submit their applications by 2025-02-17. (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 $400,000.00 in funding.
• Eligible applicants include: Others.

Apply for G25AS00230

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