Cooperative Agreement for CESU-affiliated Partner with Rocky Mountain Cooperative Ecosystem Studies Unit | G24AS00244

Opportunity Information: Apply for G24AS00244

The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), through its John Wesley Powell Center for Analysis and Synthesis, is offering a discretionary financial assistance opportunity for a CESU-affiliated partner under the Rocky Mountain Cooperative Ecosystem Studies Unit (CESU). The project focus is a research effort titled "Interpreting the impact of global change on alpine and subalpine ecosystems - synthesizing a data legacy to provide scientific and management insight for Rocky Mountain National Park and beyond." The intent is to pull together and analyze long-running datasets and related evidence to better explain how ongoing global change is reshaping high-elevation ecosystems, with particular relevance to Rocky Mountain National Park and other alpine and subalpine public lands.

The proposed work is organized around four connected research aims that collectively address water, climate, chemistry, and ecosystem responses in mountain environments. First, the project will explore trends and drivers behind roughly 40 years of high-elevation stream and lake chemistry, using the long-term record to determine how conditions have changed over time and what factors are most responsible. Second, it will evaluate and model how soil moisture influences solute flux from old-growth subalpine forests into downstream lakes and streams, recognizing that changes in forest water balance can directly affect nutrient and chemical transport to freshwater systems. Third, the research will quantify how year-to-year variability in lake ice timing (ice phenology) and snow hydrology affects lake ecosystem processes, since shifts in freeze-thaw timing and snowmelt dynamics can cascade into changes in mixing, light availability, temperature regimes, and biological activity. Fourth, it will identify the causes and ecological consequences of interacting stressors, specifically how climate change and atmospheric nutrient deposition together influence lake primary productivity, which is a central indicator of lake food-web functioning and water quality.

A key emphasis of the opportunity is synthesis that translates into practical management value. The outcomes are expected to be communicated broadly to managers responsible for high-elevation public lands and used to help develop guidelines for managing natural resources under continuing global change. In other words, the grant is not just about advancing scientific understanding; it is also designed to produce decision-relevant insights that can inform monitoring priorities, risk assessment, and adaptive management strategies for alpine and subalpine watersheds.

This opportunity is issued as a cooperative agreement, meaning the USGS anticipates substantial involvement in the project beyond standard grant oversight, often including collaboration on project design, data synthesis, interpretation, and dissemination. The program context is the CESU network, which is built to link federal agencies with university and other partners to provide research, technical assistance, and education. Eligibility is limited to organizations that are already participating partners in the Rocky Mountain CESU program.

Key administrative details from the notice include the funding opportunity number G24AS00244, CFDA number 15.808, and an award ceiling of $499,999. The opportunity was created on January 18, 2024, with an original closing date of February 19, 2024. The funding activity category is Science and Technology and other Research and Development, reflecting the analytical, modeling, and synthesis-heavy nature of the work.

• The Geological Survey in the science and technology and other research and development sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Cooperative Agreement for CESU-affiliated Partner with Rocky Mountain Cooperative Ecosystem Studies Unit" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 15.808.
• This funding opportunity was created on 2024-01-18.
• Applicants must submit their applications by 2024-02-19. (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 $499,999.00 in funding.
• Eligible applicants include: Others.

Apply for G24AS00244

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