Cooperative Agreement for Affiliated Partner with the Great Rivers Cooperative Ecosystem Studies Unit (CESU)

The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), under the Department of the Interior, is offering a cooperative agreement through the Great Rivers Cooperative Ecosystem Studies Unit (CESU) Program. This grant opportunity is intended for eligible CESU partners and aims to address critical issues surrounding the management of invasive aquatic species within the Mississippi River Basin. The grant is issued under Funding Opportunity Number G26AS00065 and focuses specifically on improving the return on investment for natural resource monitoring. The CESU network itself facilitates research, technical assistance, and education partnerships among federal agencies, academic institutions, and other organizations. The core purpose of this funding opportunity is to develop efficient and economic monitoring strategies that can evaluate the effectiveness of control and management actions taken against invasive aquatic species. Traditionally, monitoring programs have focused solely on the biological tracking of invasive species populations, but these programs often lack integration with economic and ecological impact assessments. This leads to under-optimized data that fails to fully inform policy or management strategies. The USGS seeks to shift this paradigm by funding a project that merges biological monitoring with socioeconomic and environmental impact assessments using analytical tools like Bayesian belief networks. The scope of the project includes creating and testing a framework that iteratively updates from accumulated monitoring data to provide adaptive learning over time. This approach will enable decision-makers to refine their management strategies based on observed outcomes. By focusing on data that directly informs the effectiveness of management interventions, the project aims to enhance resource efficiency and promote actionable insights. The research objectives include developing integrative analytical approaches and conducting sensitivity analyses to prioritize data collection efforts for maximum informational return. Applicants must be official partners of the Great Rivers CESU Program, a condition that ensures institutional capacity and alignment with the program's goals. The cooperative agreement will span a two-year performance period and provide a total of $48,500, contingent upon available funding. Matching funds are not required for this opportunity. All applications must be submitted electronically via Grants.gov by February 15, 2026, no later than 11:59 PM Eastern Time. The application package must include a technical narrative with several mandatory components: a cover page, detailed methodology, timeline, data management plan, and budget justification. Evaluation criteria for submitted proposals include the clarity and relevance of objectives, methodological rigor, appropriateness of the budget, and the qualifications of the investigative team. Applications will be reviewed by USGS personnel, with awards being made based on a composite score derived from these criteria. Annual progress reports and a final technical report are required deliverables, and data must be submitted in formats compliant with USGS standards, including geospatial metadata requirements under the Geospatial Data Act of 2018. For questions regarding this funding opportunity, applicants should contact Grant Specialist Katie Calder at [email protected]. Technical inquiries may be directed to Dr. Michael E. Colvin at [email protected]. The cooperative agreement will be administered through the USGS Central Midwest Region, and payments will be processed through the Automated Standard Application for Payments (ASAP) system. Awardees must also comply with USGS policies on data sharing, publication acknowledgments, and intellectual property rights.

Clearly define measurable objectives and demonstrate analytical capability; ensure budget is detailed and reasonable; show strong prior experience with similar ecological monitoring.