Notice of Intent | USGS 19 FA 0081

Opportunity Information: Apply for USGS 19 FA 0081

This Notice of Intent (Funding Opportunity Number USGS 19 FA 0081) is a discretionary funding opportunity from the Department of the Interior, U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) focused on natural resources research. The project theme is "Risk of Ecological Transformation Across the US West and Pinyon Woodlands," which signals an emphasis on understanding, assessing, or forecasting the likelihood that ecosystems in the western United States, particularly pinyon-juniper woodland systems, could shift into new ecological states. In practical terms, this kind of work often centers on how stressors such as drought, rising temperatures, altered fire regimes, invasive species, land use pressures, and other climate-related drivers may push landscapes past thresholds where recovery to prior conditions becomes difficult or unlikely.

The opportunity is structured as a cooperative agreement, meaning the USGS is likely to anticipate substantial involvement with the recipient during the project. Cooperative agreements are commonly used when the federal agency expects to collaborate on elements such as study design refinement, access to federal datasets, alignment with ongoing USGS monitoring or modeling efforts, coordination with land management partners, or joint interpretation and dissemination of results. While the short description provided does not list specific tasks, the title strongly suggests deliverables that could include spatial risk assessments, models of ecosystem vulnerability and transition likelihood, scenario analyses under different climate or disturbance futures, and decision-relevant outputs that help land managers identify where transformation risk is highest and where interventions might be most effective.

Eligibility is limited to public and state-controlled institutions of higher education, so the intended applicants are typically state universities and similar public academic entities. The CFDA number listed is 15.820, which corresponds to USGS research and data programs supporting science to inform resource management and policy. Only one award is anticipated (Expected Awards: 1), which implies this was designed to fund a single lead institution or a single collaborative team under one primary agreement rather than multiple smaller awards.

The funding level indicates an award ceiling of $10,578, which is relatively small for a broad regional ecological assessment. That size suggests the Notice of Intent may have been intended to support a narrowly scoped piece of work such as a pilot analysis, a targeted synthesis, a workshop or coordination effort, a specific dataset development task, refinement of an existing model for a particular region or vegetation type, or a short-term contribution to a larger, ongoing USGS effort. The Creation Date is March 14, 2019, and the Original Closing Date is March 27, 2019, indicating a short turnaround window typical of opportunities that are either limited in scope, tied to a specific near-term need, or intended for a particular partnership framework.

In summary, this USGS Notice of Intent offered a single cooperative agreement to a public/state-controlled university to support research or analysis related to the risk of ecological transformation in the U.S. West, with specific attention to pinyon woodland ecosystems. The likely goal was to produce actionable science such as risk maps, vulnerability indicators, or modeling outputs that help anticipate and manage ecological change across western landscapes under increasing environmental and climatic stress.

• The Department of the Interior, U. S. Geological Survey in the natural resources sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Notice of Intent" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 15.820.
• This funding opportunity was created on Mar 14, 2019.
• Applicants must submit their applications by Mar 27, 2019. (Agency may still review applications by suitable applicants for the remaining/unused allocated funding in 2026.)
• Each selected applicant is eligible to receive up to $10,578.00 in funding.
• The number of recipients for this funding is limited to 1 candidate(s).
• Eligible applicants include: Public and State controlled institutions of higher education.

Apply for USGS 19 FA 0081

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