Grants / Department of the Interior / Geological Survey

G21AS00374: Cooperative Agreement for CESU-affiliated Partner with USGS Rocky Mountain Cooperative Ecosystem Studies Unit

Closed Closed March 26, 2021 Opportunity G21AS00374 ☆ Save

This grant is closed. A newer notice from the same program is open now: Cooperative Agreement for affiliated Partner with Alaska Cooperative Ecosystem Studies Unit (G27AS00066). Status: Closes December 7, 2026 (30 days left). It is in our archive of Geological Survey notices from 2021.

• Award ceiling$49,768
• Cost sharingNot required
• Funding typeCooperative Agreement

Key dates

Who can apply

This opportunity was open to the applicants described in the notice.

• Others (see text field entitled "Additional Information on Eligibility" for clarification)

This financial assistance opportunity is being issued under a Cooperative Ecosystem Studies Unit (CESU) Program. CESU’s are partnerships that provide research, technical assistance, and education. Eligible recipients must be a participating partner of the Rocky Mountain Cooperative Ecosystem Studies Unit (CESU) Program.

Is this a realistic fit?

• Past U.S. Geological Survey Research and Data Collection awards averaged $557,251; this notice allows up to $49,768 per award.
• Most of the program's money (84% over five years) went to colleges and universities.
• No cost sharing or match is required.

What the grant funds

Funding Opportunity Description (“Long-term monitoring of riparian vegetation response to biological control of Tamarix along the lower Virgin River”) The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Fort Collins Science Center (FORT), is offering a funding opportunity to a CESU partner for conducting management, presentation, analysis and interpretation of results related to a long-term monitoring dataset examining responses of riparian vegetation to biological control of the invasive shrub, tamarisk (genus Tamarix) along the Virgin River in Nevada and Arizona. Controlling invasive shrubs in the genus Tamarix (tamarisk, saltcedar) is one of the main goals of resource managers along western U.S. rivers, including DOI agencies such as NPS, BLM, and FWS. Ecosystem responses to tamarisk defoliation are variable, and there is concern about when, where, and why unintended consequences, such as secondary plant invasions, degraded wildlife habitat, or extreme fire hazards, may develop. Land managers seek guidance on how to mitigate these undesirable effects and restore native riparian vegetation. Understanding long-term vegetation dynamics following tamarisk biocontrol can significantly help resource managers assess the need for future management interventions, but to date, most studies of tamarisk biocontrol have only included one to a few years of monitoring. This project will expand knowledge of long-term riparian vegetation response to tamarisk biocontrol along the lower Virgin River, where significant effects of defoliation began in summer 2012. During four different surveys over eight years (2010, 2012, 2015 and 2017), the USGS has made repeated observations of plant composition and cross-sectional topography along the Lower Virgin extending from Littlefield, AZ to Lake Mead, and will be resampling these study transects in the spring of 2021. Through this CESU agreement, the federal and state university partners will cooperate fully in development of a research program that will produce final products to provide resource managers with better information on which to base decisions regarding riparian vegetation response to tamarisk biocontrol. Cooperation between the USGS and its CESU partner brings a combination of expertise to address this objective that is greater than that possessed by either partner on its own.

Category: Science and Technology and other Research and Development.

Applying now

This notice no longer takes applications. Apply under the newer notice, G27AS00066, which is open now.

The notice on Grants.gov keeps its full text and attachments, which is useful for planning a resubmission.