California Federal Grants

The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) is offering a funding opportunity to a CESU partner to facilitate development of the OpenET software system and evapotranspiration (ET) data production, data assessments, and data quality, thereby advancing OpenET capabilities to operational viability. Fulfillment of these duties will require OpenET software system architecture expertise; development expertise for multi-sensor data fusion frameworks; and coordination and management of the OpenET science team among related OpenET consortium activities. Research objectives will support water mission planning and external OpenET partners and data user communities through deliverables that refine remote sensing ET estimates used for water management decisions for human and natural use.

San Clemente Island (SCI) is uniquely capable of supporting integrated training and, as such, is a highly valuable, irreplaceable asset to the Navy. In addition to its direct training support value, its proximity to southern California allows sailors and marines to effectively train in closer proximity to their families and support networks, increasing quality of life and force sustainability. The Navy is required to ensure ecosystem management is the basis for all management of its lands (Sikes Act, as amended [16 USC 670a]; DoD Instruction 4715.03). While the Sikes Act, as amended, and other instructions, described above, require stewardship for natural resources on military installations, including species not listed under the Endangered Species Act, these projects support the military mission on SCI and do not foreclose current or future training opportunities. San Clemente Island (SCI) harbors large numbers of endemic organisms, several of which are listed as endangered or threatened by the United States Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) under the Endangered Species Act (ESA). The U.S. Navy, in accordance with the ESA and the Federal Noxious Weed Act, has an ongoing program to preserve the unique botanical resources and ecosystem of San Clemente Island. Brief Description of the Anticipated Work: 1. Grassland Restoration Native grasslands on SCI have been significantly impacted from historic grazing by non-native ungulates, invasion of non-native species, and drastic changes in the fire regime. In addition, increased training activity may present additional challenges for avoiding further impacts. Previous efforts on SCI have demonstrated the difficulty in achieving large-scale restoration of grasslands due to challenges associated with range access, site selection, and restrictions on ground disturbance. Recent efforts have been focused on identifying the most efficient and effective strategies for achieving small-scale restoration with long-term benefits. The purpose of this task is to further study the best methods for achieving successful grassland restoration on SCI, continue monitoring previous restoration efforts to evaluate long-term success, and integrate grassland restoration efforts with habitat management for other native species of conservation concern. 2. Habitat Restoration for Poa thomasii Poa thomasii, an annual grass species known only from three of the California Channel Islands, had not been recorded since being collected on San Clemente Island in 1903 and was presumed extinct. In July 2005, the species was located on Catalina Island at seven separate sites, primarily located in chaparral, across the island. This species is historically an integral component of SCI habitat that was lost due to the introduction of non-native plant and animal species. In 2010, the species was found in two locations on SCI in boxthorn habitat at the northern end of the island. Both locations on SCI are within areas that are used for training and subject to occasional fire. Previous work on Poa thomasii on SCI has been successful in improving the status of the species in terms of population numbers and improved habitat. Because this species was thought to be extinct, it has not been listed under ESA. The SCI Integrated Natural Resources Management Plan (INRMP) states an objective for the Navy to manage the species in such a way as to keep it from being listed. The INRMP notes that due to its restricted distribution on SCI, and those occurrences being located in areas of high human activity, the species is particularly vulnerable to local extinction. The purpose of this task is to increase the population size and resilience of Poa thomasii through propagation, outplanting, habitat restoration, and seed bulking, as well as monitoring natural occurrences and previous outplanting sites to evaluate population trends. 3. Population augmentation for Malva assurgentiflora ssp. glabra Malva assurgentiflora ssp. glabra is a perennial shrub native to the California Channel Islands. On SCI, the population was heavily impacted by non-native herbivores and likely would have been federally listed under ESA if the Navy had not proactively managed the species through propagation and outplanting. Recent genetic work may result in reclassification of the subspecies on SCI to a new species endemic to the island. In this case, it would become even more important to continue efforts to augment populations and manage population genetics to avoid listing under ESA. The purpose of this task is to increase the population size and resilience of Malva assurgentiflora ssp. glabra through propagation, outplanting, habitat restoration, and seed bulking, as well as monitoring natural occurrences and previous outplanting sites to evaluate population trends and genetic integrity. 4. Rare Plant Surveys Annual rare plant surveys are essential to document the status, distribution, and long term trends of species of conservation concern. Updating the rare plant database on an annual basis allows the Navy to stay in compliance with conservation measures, avoid listing under ESA, and make informed decisions about proposed changes to land use and infrastructure maintenance/construction. The purpose of this task is to collect monitoring data for species of conservation concern and assess the long term trends of these species on SCI. 5. Draft and Final Technical Report: The draft and final preliminary report shall be submitted in accordance with Section J. Submittals and Schedules. The report shall be in scientific format and include the following: 1) Title page showing title, date, cooperative agreement number, Pacific Fleet Representative and Cooperative Agreement Technical Representative contact information; 2) Sub-title page showing title, prepared by and for listings, date and recommended citation; 3) Table of contents; 4) Abstract or Executive Summary; 5) Introduction; 6) Methods; 7) Results; 8) Discussion; 9) Conclusions (to include synthesis with previous work and recommendations for future study); 10) Legible copies of the field notes, data forms and other information.

Project Title: Natural Resources Support Beale AFB, CA A cooperative agreement is being offered ONLY to members of the Cooperative Ecosystem Studies Units (CESU) Program Region(s) identified above. Award will be made upon mutual agreement and acceptance of the terms and conditions contained in the request for proposal and the of the recipients CESU Master Agreement. Note the established CESU.Program indirect rate is 17.5%. Responses to this Request for Statements of Interest will be used to identify potential organizations for this project. Approximately $899,050.00 is expected to be available to support this project for the base period. Additional funding may be available to the successful recipient for optional tasks and/or follow on work in subsequent years. NOTE: This project will be awarded under the authority of 10 USC 670c-1, Sikes Act: For projects for the implementation and enforcement of integrated natural resources management plans, priority shall be given to award to Federal and State agencies having responsibility for the conservation or management of fish or wildlife. Period of Performance. The base period of agreement will extend 18 months from date of award. There may be up to four 18-month follow-on periods based on availability of funding. Description of Anticipated Work: See attached Statement of Objectives NOTE: At this time we are only requesting that you demonstrate available qualifications and capabaility for performing similar or same type of work.1. Statements of Interest are due by 12:00 P.M., Central Time, on 15 July 2024.2. Submit your Statement of Interest via e-mail attachments or direct questions to: Sandy JustmanGrants SpecialistUSACE, Fort Worth DistrictEmail: [email protected]: 817-886-1073David LeptienProject ManagerUSACE, Fort Worth DistrictEmail: [email protected]: 402-889-5570

The US Geological Survey is offering a funding opportunity to a CESU partner for research in Global Food-Security Support-Analysis Data (GFSAD) project. Climate variability and ballooning populations are putting unprecedented pressure on agricultural croplands and their water use, which are vital for ensuring global food and water security in the twenty-first century. In addition, the COVID-19 pandemic, military conflicts, and changing diets have added to looming global food insecurity. Therefore, there is a critical need to produce consistent and accurate global cropland products at fine spatial resolution (e.g., farm-scale, 30m or better), which are generated consistently, accurately, and routinely (e.g., every year). In order to address these issues, the proposed study will make use of Landsat-8, 9, and Sentinel-2A&2B surface reflectance products already available in the Google Earth Engine (GEE) cloud, and NASA’s Harmonized Landsat Sentinel-2 (HLS) Landsat derived product (HLSL30) for 2013-present and Sentinel-2 derived product (HLSS30) for 2015-present, that together have sub-5-day global coverage at nominal 30m resolution. The four cropland products will be generated using 14 mature MLAs that the team has extensive experience with such as random forest, support vector machines, decision trees, and spectral matching techniques (e.g., Thenkabail et al., 2021, Oliphant et al., 2019, Teluguntla et al., 2018, 2015, Xiong et al., 2017a, Thenkabail et al., 2012, 2009, 2007, 2005) as outlined in the methods section, utilizing GEE and\or other cloud platforms.

The US Geological Survey is offering a funding opportunity to a CESU partner for research in the application of Artificial Intelligence informed by explicit semantics to the practice of scientific assessments carried out by the USGS. The demand for actionable scientific findings from legislatively mandated scientific assessments in energy, mineral, biodiversity, and other National natural resource assets is increasing in intensity and requirements for currency with all available data, information, and knowledge. This demand can be aided through the development of AI scientists, intelligent agents built within a technological framework that iteratively improves through new generations of generative AI and related capabilities and trained through regular learning and adapting interactions with USGS scientists.

The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) is offering a funding opportunity to a CESU partner for research and evaluation of evapotranspiration (ET) models across a multitude of wetlands sites in the United States. Using data from the Open Evapotranspiration platform (OpenET) a satellite-based ET cloud computing and data services platform in combination with a network of ground data, consideration of model data components for ET assessment will help provide better understanding of biophysical processes and model methods structures relating to accurate characterization of wetlands-based hydrologic ecosystems.

Project Title: Natural Resources Support - Black Abalone at Vandenberg SFB, California A cooperative agreement is being offered ONLY to members of the Cooperative Ecosystem Studies Units (CESU) Program Region(s) identified above. Award will be made upon mutual agreement and acceptance of the terms and conditions contained in the request for proposal and the of the recipient's CESU Master Agreement. Note the established CESU Program indirect rate is 17.5%. Responses to this Request for Statements of Interest will be used to identify potential organizations for this project. Approximately $50,000.00 is expected to be available to support this project for the base period. Additional funding may be available to the successful recipient for optional tasks and/or follow on work in subsequent years. NOTE: This project will be awarded under the authority of 16 USC 670c-1, Sikes Act: For projects for the implementation and enforcement of integrated natural resources management plans, priority shall be given to award to Federal and State agencies having responsibility for the conservation or management of fish or wildlife. Period of Performance: The base period of agreement will extend 18-months from date of award (3-month administrative period for project preparation, 12-months of technical support/field work, 3-month administrative period to complete deliverables). There may be up to five 18-month follow-on periods based on availability of funding. Description of Anticipated Work: See attached Statement of Objectives NOTE: At this time we are only requesting that you demonstrate available qualifications and capability for performing similar or same type of work by submitting a Statement of Interest. A full proposal and budget are NOT requested at this time. Submission of Your Statement of Interest1. Statements of Interest are due by 12:00 P.M., Central Time, on 17 June 2024.2. Submit your Statement of Interest via e-mail attachments or direct questions to:Sandy JustmanGrants SpecialistUSACE, Fort Worth DistrictEmail: [email protected]: 817-886-1073David LeptienProject ManagerUSACE, Fort Worth DistrictEmail: [email protected]: 402-889-5570Review of Statements Received: All statements of interest received from a member of the CESU Region(s) identified above will be evaluated by a board comprised of one or more people at the receiving installation or activity, who will determine which statement(s) best meet the program objectives: offer the most highly qualified Principal Investigator, have the most relevant experience and the highest capability to successfully meet the program objectives. Submitters whose statements are determined to best meet the program objectives will be invited to submit a full proposal. Review Related Documents Tab for the full Project Details.