Cooperative Agreement for affiliated Partner with Colorado Plateau Cooperative Ecosystem Studies Unit (CESU) | G25AS00182

Opportunity Information: Apply for G25AS00182

The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), through its Southwest Biological Science Center (SBSC), is offering a discretionary funding opportunity under a Cooperative Agreement to support applied research focused on land management in the southwestern United States. The core purpose is to evaluate how well different land management treatments work in two closely related areas: reducing hazardous fuels that contribute to severe wildfire behavior, and helping vegetation and soils recover after wildfire and other forms of disturbance. In practical terms, the work supported by this award is meant to generate evidence about what restoration and fuels-reduction approaches actually perform well on the ground, under real southwestern conditions, and to translate that evidence into better decisions that lower wildfire risk and reduce long-term ecosystem degradation.

This opportunity is being issued through the Cooperative Ecosystem Studies Unit (CESU) Program, specifically the Colorado Plateau CESU. CESUs are formal partnerships designed to connect federal agencies with research institutions and other partners to deliver research, technical assistance, and education tied to public land and resource management needs. Because it is a CESU-based award, eligibility is limited: applicants must already be participating partners in the Colorado Plateau CESU. That requirement is central to this competition, and it means organizations outside that partnership are not eligible to apply unless they are already recognized as an affiliated CESU partner under the Colorado Plateau unit.

From a funding and administrative standpoint, the award mechanism is a Cooperative Agreement (rather than a standard grant), which typically indicates substantial involvement by the federal agency during the project. In many CESU projects, that can include collaboration on study design, coordination with USGS scientists, shared data standards, review of deliverables, or other ongoing technical engagement throughout the period of performance. The funding activity category is listed as Science and Technology and other Research and Development, emphasizing that this is intended to produce research outputs, analyses, and management-relevant findings rather than construction or routine operations.

Key details from the notice include the Funding Opportunity Title, "Cooperative Agreement for affiliated Partner with Colorado Plateau Cooperative Ecosystem Studies Unit (CESU)," and the Funding Opportunity Number, G25AS00182. The administering agency is the Geological Survey (USGS). The Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance (CFDA) listing provided is 15.808. The opportunity was created on 2024-12-11, and the original closing date for submissions is 2025-01-13. The anticipated maximum federal funding amount (award ceiling) is $200,000. The listing also indicates an "ExpectedAwards" field, but no number is provided in the source data, so the total number of awards is not specified in the provided information.

Programmatically, the research focus centers on treatments that can mitigate hazardous fuels and support post-disturbance recovery. This can include, depending on the project approach, evaluating effectiveness of mechanical thinning, prescribed fire, seeding or planting strategies, erosion control and soil stabilization techniques, invasive species management, or other restoration actions used after wildfire or in degraded landscapes. The emphasis on both fuels reduction and recovery of vegetation and soils signals a whole-ecosystem framing: not only lowering near-term fire risk, but also rebuilding ecological function and resilience so that future disturbances are less damaging and recovery trajectories are improved. The geographic emphasis on the southwestern US aligns with SBSC priorities and the Colorado Plateau CESU footprint, where drought, warming, altered fire regimes, and legacy land-use impacts combine to increase the likelihood of large, high-severity fires and long-lasting ecological change.

Overall, this opportunity is meant for Colorado Plateau CESU partners that can deliver rigorous, management-relevant science on the effectiveness of restoration and fuels treatments, with results that help land managers reduce wildfire hazards and accelerate recovery of damaged ecosystems across the Southwest, all within a cooperative framework that involves close coordination with USGS.

• 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 2024-12-11.
• Applicants must submit their applications by 2025-01-13. (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 $200,000.00 in funding.
• Eligible applicants include: Others.

Apply for G25AS00182

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