Cooperative Agreement for Affiliated Partner with the Colorado Plateau Cooperative Ecosystem Studies Unit (CESU)

The U.S. Geological Survey Southwest Biological Science Center is offering a cooperative agreement funding opportunity to an eligible partner of the Colorado Plateau Cooperative Ecosystem Studies Unit. The opportunity supports research to develop multi-month, management-relevant rangeland drought forecasts and improve a platform for delivering those forecasts to resource managers across western rangelands. The work responds to challenges associated with wildfire, invasive species, restoration, and regeneration in dryland ecosystems of the western United States. The project is intended to improve decisions about where and when restoration investments, including seeding, are most likely to result in successful plant establishment. The project has two principal research goals. First, the recipient will develop gridded ecological drought forecasts that can help rangeland managers target restoration investments. The existing drought forecaster operates for a user-defined point, while the proposed work is expected to generate wall-to-wall monthly weather and soil moisture forecasts using real-time National Weather Service forecast data updated each month. These simulations will support continuously updated maps of near-term soil drought and seed establishment probabilities for the western United States. Second, the project will synthesize establishment requirements for critical restoration species so managers can better determine when and where those species are likely to establish successfully. Expected deliverables include synthesized information from related peer-reviewed publications concerning establishment requirements, particularly soil moisture conditions, and continuously updated forecast maps. USGS anticipates making one cooperative agreement award with one base year and four additional budget years. Total estimated funding for the five-year project is 480000 dollars, with approximately 325000 dollars estimated to be available for Budget Year 1. Funding for subsequent years will depend on satisfactory progress and the availability of funds, and applicants should prepare the proposal to reflect the entire five-year project period. The CESU negotiated indirect cost rate is 17.5 percent. The announcement does not state a required recipient cost share or matching contribution. USGS will not support costs incurred before the start date established on the award by the Contracting Officer. Eligibility is limited to participating partners of the Colorado Plateau Cooperative Ecosystem Studies Unit Program. Applications must be submitted through Grants.gov using Funding Opportunity Number G26AS00157. The required technical narrative includes a cover page identifying the anticipated recipient, project title, proposed start date, Principal Investigator and administrative contact information, Co-PIs and affiliations, USGS collaborators, other cooperators and partners, available laboratories, equipment, study areas and facilities, and relevant project staff experience. Proposal sections address the introduction and statement of problem, objectives and geographic scope, procedures and methods, planned products and dissemination, schedule and reporting milestones, references, legal or policy-sensitive matters when applicable, and animal use or human subjects when applicable. Applicants must also provide detailed budget documentation corresponding to the SF-424A and covering all requested project budget years. The budget narrative addresses personnel, fringe benefits, supplies, equipment, contractual costs, travel, other direct costs, total direct charges, indirect charges, and the total request. A supplementary Data Management Plan is required and must explain how research results and associated data will be managed, disseminated, shared, reused, and archived as applicable. Additional application documentation includes required biographical sketch information for senior or key personnel, current and pending other support information, and a Project Abstract Summary of one page or less and approximately 4000 characters or fewer. The Project Abstract Summary must address the project title, plain-language award purpose, activities, deliverables and expected outcomes, intended beneficiaries, and known or specified subrecipient activities. Applications are reviewed for documentation completeness, basic eligibility, category requirements, and budget reasonableness and appropriateness. USGS technical personnel evaluate and score proposals before submitting evaluations and scores to the Contracting Officer for the final award determination. The evaluation assigns 50 points to how project outcomes support livestock grazing, wildlife habitat, energy development, and restoration and rehabilitation success in western rangelands; 30 points to development and use of high-quality gold-standard science for Department of the Interior natural resource management; and 20 points to the geographic area to be evaluated. These criteria make the management relevance of the proposed science, scientific quality, and geographic scope central elements of the competitive review. The provided announcement does not identify an application opening date, final application deadline, notification date, or specific award start date, so those dates cannot be verified from the supplied source. Post-award requirements include annual progress reports and annual SF-425 Federal Financial Reports generally due within 90 calendar days after the applicable annual period, as well as final technical and financial reports due 120 calendar days after the performance period or agreement completion date. Questions concerning the application may be directed to Grant Specialist Katie Calder at katherine_calder@ios.doi.gov. The announcement also lists USGS contact Nikolas Lushenko at nikolas_lushenko@ios.doi.gov. Technical questions concerning project content, goals, and objectives may be directed to John Bradford at jbradford@usgs.gov or 928-380-4671. Grants.gov assistance is available at support@grants.gov, 1-800-518-4726 in the United States, or 1-606-545-5035 internationally.

Directly address the scored evaluation criteria, especially the 50-point criterion concerning livestock grazing, wildlife habitat, energy development, and restoration and rehabilitation success in western rangelands. Demonstrate high-quality gold-standard science and clearly define the geographic area evaluated. Provide complete and internally consistent budget documentation because missing budget details can delay award timelines. Clearly identify products and dissemination plans and ensure products adhere to USGS Fundamental Science Practices.