Cooperative Agreement for CESU-affiliated Partner with Rocky Mountain Cooperative Ecosystem Studies Unit | G24AS00412

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

1) What is the funding opportunity number for this grant?

The Funding Opportunity Number is G24AS00412.

2) Which federal agency is offering this opportunity?

This is a discretionary funding announcement from the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS).

3) What type of award is being offered?

The award mechanism is a cooperative agreement.

4) What does it mean that this is a cooperative agreement?

A cooperative agreement typically indicates substantial involvement by USGS in the project, such as collaboration on methods, data, interpretation, or product development, rather than a fully hands-off grant.

5) What is the main purpose of the project described in the announcement?

The project focuses on understanding and forecasting how grassland bird communities in the western Great Plains may shift as climate and land use change, with an emphasis on producing practical outputs that support conservation and restoration decision-making.

6) What conservation problem is this funding trying to address?

The opportunity is rooted in a major conservation concern: grassland birds have experienced the steepest population declines of any bird group in North America over roughly the past 50 years.

7) What drivers of grassland bird declines are identified in the opportunity description?

The announcement attributes declines to a combination of:

• Widespread conversion of native prairie to row-crop agriculture
• Degradation of remaining grasslands due to disrupted fire regimes
• Woody plant encroachment
• Invasive species
• Expanding human development

8) What geographic area is the work focused on?

The work is focused on the western Great Plains.

9) Why does USGS emphasize going beyond climate-only projections?

The opportunity notes that projections relying mainly on temperature and precipitation can miss key habitat factors. USGS highlights that vegetation productivity and structure, which are critical to grassland bird habitat, are also shaped by vegetation type and soil conditions, among other factors.

10) What key ecological factors are explicitly called out as important for modeling bird habitat?

The announcement specifically emphasizes vegetation productivity and structure and notes they are influenced by factors including vegetation type and soil conditions.

11) What is the core scientific approach described in the announcement?

The study aims to examine how vegetation influences grassland birds across the western Great Plains and then use that understanding to develop spatial products that project bird distributions under multiple future conditions.

12) What kinds of future scenarios are the projections expected to consider?

The opportunity calls for multiple future climate scenarios and also expects the projections to account for vegetation and land-use change.

13) What are the expected mapping outputs?

One of the primary deliverables is maps of projected bird distributions that are geographically explicit and intended for management use, rather than broad, general statements about shifts.

14) How are the deliverables intended to be used by managers and partners?

The predictive distribution maps are intended to support decision-making at multiple scales by helping decision-makers connect local, site-level projects to broader regional patterns and anticipated climate-driven changes.

15) What examples of site-level management actions does the opportunity mention?

The announcement gives examples such as:

• Prairie restoration
• Invasive plant control
• Prescribed fire planning

16) Are there any tool or technology deliverables required in addition to maps?

Yes. The opportunity calls for a web-based application to help users apply the mapping outputs in planning contexts.

17) Are training resources part of the expected deliverables?

Yes. The opportunity also calls for associated training modules intended to expand the capacity of partners to use the mapping outputs in conservation planning and prioritization under changing climate conditions.

18) Who is the intended audience for the web-based application and training modules?

The tools are intended to expand capacity among Federal, State, Tribal, and private partners.

19) What broader program framework is this opportunity part of?

The announcement states the program falls under the Cooperative Ecosystem Studies Unit (CESU) framework, which is designed to link federal agencies with partner institutions for research, technical assistance, and education.

20) Who is eligible to apply?

Eligibility is limited to organizations that are participating partners in the Rocky Mountains CESU.

21) What is the CFDA number listed for this opportunity?

The Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance listing is CFDA 15.808.

22) What is the maximum (ceiling) funding amount for this award?

The posted award ceiling is $100,000.

23) What is the application closing date?

The original closing date listed for applications is July 26, 2024.

24) When was the opportunity created?

The opportunity was created on June 25, 2024.

25) What is the central need this opportunity is trying to fill?

The announcement emphasizes a need for practical, defensible habitat and distribution models that help managers decide where conservation and restoration actions are likely to produce the biggest benefits, given limited time and funding.