# Cooperative Agreement for Affiliated Partner with the Colorado Plateau Cooperative Ecosystem Studies Unit (CESU)

Source: https://welltoldgrants.com/grants/g26as00157-cooperative-agreement-for-affiliated-partner-with-the/  
Official notice: https://www.grants.gov/search-results-detail/363544

> Geological Survey offered grants of up to $480,000 (at least $1) to the applicants described in the notice. It expected to make one award worth $480,000 in total. Applications closed on September 12, 2026.

| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Opportunity number | G26AS00157 |
| Agency | Geological Survey |
| Status | Forecast |
| Deadline | September 12, 2026 |
| Award ceiling | $480,000 |
| Award floor | $1 |
| Expected awards | 1 |
| Total funding | $480,000 |
| Cost sharing | not required |
| Assistance Listings | 15.808 |

## Who can apply

- 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 Colorado Plateau Cooperative Ecosystem Studies Unit (CESU) Program.

## What the grant funds

The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Southwest Biological Science Center (SBSC) is offering a funding opportunity to a CESU partner for research in developing multi-month forecasts of management-relevant rangeland drought forecasts and improve a platform for delivering those forecasts to resource managers across western rangelands. Research Objectives:Wildfire and invasive species are transforming dryland ecosystems of the western U.S., particularly across the vast western rangelands. Restoration treatments are much more likely to succeed if applied when conditions are favorable. This project will pursue two goals: 1) The project will develop gridded ecological drought forecasts to help rangeland managers target restoration investments in places and times where plant establishment is likely. Currently, the drought forecaster operates for a user-defined point. This work will generate wall-to-wall, monthly, weather and soil moisture forecasts using "real time" weather forecast data from the National Weather Service, which are updated each month. These rapid, real-time broad geographic assessments of regeneration potential will help inform resource allocation for management agencies. Using these wall-to-wall simulations, this project will produce continuously-updated forecast maps of near-term soil drought and seed establishment probabilities for the western US. 2) This project will synthesize establishment requirements for critical restoration species so managers know when and where species are likely to successfully establish. Deliverables from this project include synthesized information about related peer-reviewed publications about the establishment requirements (notably soil moisture conditions) for critical restoration species and continuously updated forecast maps of near-term ecological drought and establishment probabilities for the western US. These forecasts are currently used to target seeding for dryland restoration in locations and at times when conditions are most likely to support plant establishment and other applications are being developed.

## Questions people ask

### Is G26AS00157 still open?

No. It closed on September 12, 2026. A newer notice is open: G27AS00080, closes November 14, 2026 (7 days left).

### Who can apply for Cooperative Agreement for Affiliated Partner with the Colorado Plateau Cooperative Ecosystem Studies Unit (CESU)?

Geological Survey accepted applications from the applicants described in the notice. The notice adds further conditions, so read its eligibility section.

### What is the deadline for Cooperative Agreement for Affiliated Partner with the Colorado Plateau Cooperative Ecosystem Studies Unit (CESU)?

Closed September 12, 2026. Applications are no longer accepted; the program's newer notices are on this page when there are any.

### How much funding is available?

Awards of up to $480,000 each. About $480,000 in total for one award.

### Who has won U.S. Geological Survey Research and Data Collection grants before?

The largest recipients over five fiscal years were Trustees of the Colorado School of Mines, University of Alaska Fairbanks, California Institute of Technology. The program made 1,128 awards worth $629 million in that time.