Cooperative Ecosystem Studies Unit, Colorado Plateau CESU | G17AS00085

Opportunity Information: Apply for G17AS00085

The Cooperative Ecosystem Studies Unit, Colorado Plateau CESU grant opportunity (Funding Opportunity Number G17AS00085) is a discretionary funding announcement from the U.S. Department of the Interior, U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), specifically through the Southwest Biological Science Center (SBSC). It uses a cooperative agreement as the funding instrument, which typically means the USGS expects to have substantial involvement in the work as it is carried out, rather than simply issuing a grant and stepping back. The activity category is listed as Science and Technology and other Research and Development, and it is associated with CFDA number 15.808.

The central purpose of the opportunity is to help build a research program focused on evaluating and advancing the application of digital soil mapping (DSM) for deserts in the southwestern United States. In practical terms, DSM refers to methods that combine field observations, laboratory soil data, terrain and geology information, remote sensing products, and statistical or machine-learning approaches to predict and map soil properties across landscapes. The USGS is positioning this effort around desert assessment, monitoring, and management needs, meaning the funded work is expected to support better understanding of desert soils and to produce information products or approaches that can be used to track conditions over time and inform land-management decisions. While the notice is brief, the emphasis on deserts in the Southwest suggests relevance to issues such as soil stability, erosion risk, biological soil crust distribution, vegetation-soil relationships, hydrologic response, dust generation potential, and overall ecosystem condition in arid and semi-arid settings.

Funding for this opportunity is relatively small and targeted: the award ceiling is $50,000, and the USGS anticipated making one award. That combination usually signals a pilot-scale effort, proof-of-concept work, or early-stage program-building activity rather than a large multi-year research project. The intent appears to be to establish or strengthen capacity and partnerships for DSM work in southwestern desert environments, potentially including developing workflows, compiling and harmonizing existing datasets, conducting limited field validation, testing modeling approaches, or producing an initial set of mapped soil attributes that demonstrate value for management applications.

Eligibility is listed broadly as "Others," with additional details referenced in the original posting under an additional eligibility information field. Because the opportunity is routed through the Colorado Plateau Cooperative Ecosystem Studies Unit (CESU), it is generally aligned with the CESU model, which is designed to support collaboration among federal agencies and a network of partner institutions (often universities, research organizations, and certain non-profits) to address ecosystem management and science needs. In that context, applicants are often expected to have an institutional relationship consistent with CESU participation requirements or to otherwise meet the specific eligibility language in the full announcement.

Key administrative details include the posting (creation) date of June 21, 2017, and an original application closing date of July 7, 2017, indicating a short application window. Overall, this opportunity can be understood as a small, cooperative, research-and-development award intended to seed or advance a focused program on digital soil mapping methods tailored to desert landscapes of the southwestern U.S., with outputs aimed at improving assessment, monitoring, and management decisions for those ecosystems.

• 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, Colorado Plateau 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 Jun 21, 2017.
• Applicants must submit their applications by Jul 07, 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 $50,000.00 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).

Apply for G17AS00085

[Watch] Creating a grant proposal using the step-by-step wizard inside the applicant portal: