Cooperative Agreement for affiliated Partner with the Great Basin Cooperative Ecosystem Studies Unit (CESU) | G25AS00348

Opportunity Information: Apply for G25AS00348

This opportunity is a US Geological Survey (USGS) cooperative agreement aimed at a partner organization within the Great Basin Cooperative Ecosystem Studies Unit (CESU). The core purpose is to close key information gaps in semiarid uplands by improving inventories of vegetation cover and soil characteristics, including soil carbon, that influence how resistant a site is to invasive plants that increase wildfire risk and how well a site can recover after a fire. The work is framed around a major land management and national security concern in the western United States cold desert: exotic grass invasions that both thrive after disturbance and actively promote more frequent and intense wildfires. USGS is positioning this project as directly supporting its mission to deliver objective, science-based information needed to manage and sustain large landscapes used for military training and other public purposes.

The project emphasizes practical, defensible field science that agencies can use to make better decisions. The broader goal is to help state and federal military land managers and their partner agencies improve the efficiency and effectiveness of land management in these fire-prone rangeland systems. To get there, the award supports a structured inventory and analysis effort that links what is growing on the land (native and non-native plant cover) with underlying soil factors (such as texture and carbon) that help explain why some areas resist invasion or rebound better after fire than others. In short, the project is about producing usable, on-the-ground data that can strengthen predictions and planning around invasive annual grasses and wildfire.

USGS lays out four specific technical objectives for the recipient. First, the partner must plan and carry out a scientifically defensible, quantitatively based sampling design. That typically implies a sampling plan that is statistically sound, repeatable, and adequate to represent spatial variability across the target landscapes, rather than ad hoc or purely qualitative observations. Second, the recipient must process collected samples, including laboratory analysis of soil texture, with the description also highlighting soil factors such as carbon. Third, the partner must analyze the resulting dataset to summarize spatial variation and to evaluate relationships between plant communities (native and exotic species) and soil properties. Fourth, the recipient must deliver the data products and written reports of results back to USGS, ensuring the information is available for agency use and integration into broader management or research efforts.

Administratively, this is a discretionary funding opportunity using a cooperative agreement, which generally means USGS expects substantial involvement during the project period (for example, coordination on methods, study design, data standards, deliverables, or interpretation) rather than simply issuing a grant and receiving final products at the end. The activity is categorized under Science and Technology and other Research and Development, and it falls under CFDA number 15.808. Eligibility is limited: applicants must already be participating partners of the Great Basin CESU Program, reflecting the CESU model where federal agencies collaborate with a defined network of partner institutions to deliver research, technical assistance, and education tied to management needs.

Key funding details include an opportunity number of G25AS00348, an estimated award ceiling of $489,600, and an original closing date of 2025-09-22. The listing indicates an expected awards field but does not specify a number in the provided text. The opportunity was created on 2025-08-22, and the issuing agency is the Geological Survey (USGS). Overall, the grant is designed to generate robust field and lab data, plus analysis and reporting, that can directly inform how agencies reduce invasive grass impacts and wildfire risk and improve post-fire recovery outcomes on high-value semiarid military and rangeland landscapes across the western US.

• 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 the Great Basin 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 2025-08-22.
• Applicants must submit their applications by 2025-09-22. (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 $489,600.00 in funding.
• Eligible applicants include: Others.

Apply for G25AS00348

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