Grants / Department of the Interior / Geological Survey

G25AS00343: Cooperative Agreement for affiliated Partner with the Rocky Mountain Cooperative Ecosystem Studies Unit (CESU)

Closed Closed September 20, 2025 Opportunity G25AS00343 ☆ 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 2025.

• Award ceiling$49,585
• Award floor$1
• Total funding$49,585
• 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 Units (CESU) Program. CESUs 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 $49,585 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

The USGS is offering a funding opportunity to a CESU partner for research on the spatial dynamics and resource partitioning among livestock, wildlife, and free-roaming horses in the Western USA. The study will be comprised of data-driven modeling, field-based data collection, and a combination of both field-based and analytical modeling developed from GPS telemetry collars on cattle, domestic sheep, mule deer, elk, pronghorn, and wild horses in Utah USA.Feral horses (Equus caballus) exhibit high fertility and survival rates, which has led to rapid population growth and range expansions in parts of the western USA. The federal management units where horses occur fall disproportionately in fragile, arid landscapes managed under a multiple-use paradigm. These environments harbor a variety of native ungulate species, each with their own state or federal protections. Additionally, grazing permits and livestock production are statutory and regulated uses within most federal units delineated for the conservation of free-roaming equids. Previous research has examined how free-roaming horses grazing can influence floristic diversity, biomass production, soil structure, and riparian health. These effects have the potential to negatively affect livestock production and alter habitat sympatric wildlife species. This project is aligned with supporting rural economies and protecting wildlife to support recreational hunting. Because horses exhibit rapid population growth, a wide dietary niche, and require regular access to water, concerns about direct and indirect competition with sympatric ungulates are well-founded. Nonetheless, the degree to which horses and wildlife share or compete for space and resources is poorly understood. The project"s aim is to fill DOI data needs with collaborative research conducted jointly by USGS and University partners, capitalizing on the unique skillset and talents provided by modelers and data analysts who have experience modeling with extreme large datasets across multiple species. Specific research will model data collected over the first year in Utah USA, from 5 sympatric species. Results have implications for wild horses across the American west, that span the Rocky Mountain region and Great Plains ecosystems.

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.