Cooperative Ecosystem Studies Unit, Rocky Mountain CESU | G20AS00045

Opportunity Information: Apply for G20AS00045

The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), within the Department of the Interior, released a discretionary research funding opportunity under the Rocky Mountain Cooperative Ecosystem Studies Unit (CESU) program. The opportunity is structured as a cooperative agreement, meaning the selected recipient should expect substantial involvement or collaboration with USGS during the project rather than operating in a fully independent grant model. The work falls under the Science and Technology/Research and Development category (CFDA 15.808) and is intended to support applied science that can directly inform land management decisions.

The purpose of the award is to help a CESU partner build or strengthen a program focused on reclamation in arid landscapes, especially where surface disturbance occurs from oil and gas development and similar land-disturbing activities. The USGS Southwest Biological Science Center (SBSC) is looking to address several persistent, real-world scientific challenges that complicate how land managers determine whether reclamation efforts are actually working. In practical terms, the funded effort is meant to improve the evidence base behind reclamation practices and the way agencies track outcomes after disturbed lands are treated.

The opportunity targets three closely related goals. First, it seeks research that clarifies the biotic and abiotic constraints on successful reclamation. "Biotic" constraints typically involve living components such as vegetation establishment, seedbank limitations, invasive species pressure, herbivory, soil microbial communities, and overall ecosystem interactions. "Abiotic" constraints generally refer to non-living factors such as soil texture and chemistry, compaction, salinity, erosion, precipitation patterns, temperature extremes, and other climate-driven limitations that are especially pronounced in arid and semi-arid systems. By identifying which factors most strongly limit recovery, managers can better tailor treatments and set realistic targets for different sites and disturbance types.

Second, the award supports efforts to improve post-reclamation monitoring programs. This implies developing or refining monitoring designs, indicators, sampling frequency, data standards, and analytical approaches so that monitoring results are more reliable and useful for decision-making. Better monitoring helps agencies distinguish between short-term improvements and durable recovery, compare outcomes across sites and years, and detect when interventions are failing early enough to adjust course. The emphasis is not only on collecting data, but on building monitoring approaches that are feasible for agencies to implement and that produce interpretable signals of progress.

Third, the project is intended to develop benchmarks for determining reclamation success. Benchmarks can include measurable thresholds, reference conditions, performance standards, or trajectories of recovery that indicate whether a site is on track. In arid landscapes, defining success is notoriously difficult because recovery can be slow, climate variability can mask trends, and sites may never return to exact pre-disturbance conditions. Establishing defensible benchmarks helps align expectations across regulators, operators, and land managers, and it supports more consistent decisions about closure, continued treatment, or additional mitigation.

Administratively, this opportunity was identified as Funding Opportunity Number G20AS00045. USGS anticipated making one award with a maximum funding level (award ceiling) of $40,000. Eligibility was limited to CESU partners (listed under "Others" with additional eligibility clarification referenced in the full notice). The opportunity was created on March 24, 2020, with an original closing date of April 10, 2020, reflecting a relatively short application window typical of smaller, targeted cooperative agreement solicitations.

Overall, the grant is designed as a focused investment to build practical science capacity around reclamation in arid environments, with an emphasis on understanding limiting factors, strengthening monitoring so results are actionable, and creating clear benchmarks that can be used to judge whether reclamation efforts after oil and gas and other disturbances are truly successful.

• The Department of the Interior, U. S. Geological Survey in the science and technology and other research and development sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Cooperative Ecosystem Studies Unit, Rocky Mountain 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 Mar 24, 2020.
• Applicants must submit their applications by Apr 10, 2020. (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 $40,000.00 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 G20AS00045

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