Cooperative Agreement for CESU-affiliated Partner with the Great Plains Cooperative Ecosystem Studies Unit | G24AS00389

Opportunity Information: Apply for G24AS00389

This opportunity (Funding Opportunity Number G24AS00389) is a US Geological Survey (USGS) cooperative agreement offered through the Cooperative Ecosystem Studies Unit (CESU) Program, specifically the Great Plains CESU. The project focus is hydrologic research in the Dakotas and across the broader Missouri River basin, with an emphasis on practical, decision-relevant science that helps agencies and communities understand changing water conditions. Because it is issued under the CESU framework, eligibility is limited to organizations that are already participating partners in the Great Plains CESU.

The core purpose is to support research that improves understanding of water availability and water quality for both groundwater and surface water, and how those conditions affect connected aquifers, watersheds, and reservoirs. The Dakota Water Science Center (DWSC) is positioned as the main USGS entity driving or coordinating the work, and the funded partner would be expected to collaborate closely with DWSC and likely with a broader network of Federal, State, local, and Tribal partners. The work is framed around real management pressures in the region, including energy development, drought and flooding extremes, climate variability, land-use change, contamination concerns, and shifting surface-water dynamics.

A major theme is how climate variability and evolving land management practices are altering hydrology and water quality. The description highlights agricultural changes such as tile drainage, which can increase runoff and in turn modify river behavior. Those shifts can show up in measurable ways, such as changes to sediment loads and streamflow statistics, including both baseflow conditions and peak discharge behavior. In other words, the opportunity is not limited to basic monitoring; it explicitly calls for understanding cause-and-effect relationships between external drivers (climate and land use) and hydrologic responses that matter to planning, infrastructure, and ecosystem health.

The opportunity also elevates impacts experienced by Tribal Nations, particularly land losses along reservoir shorelines caused by extreme erosion. That signals a likely interest in research that can characterize erosion processes, shoreline change, reservoir-related geomorphology, and associated hydrologic drivers, while working in partnership with Tribal governments and incorporating their priorities. More broadly, the research is intended to characterize the physical effects of external stresses on groundwater and surface-water systems and the ecosystems tied to them, so proposals that connect hydrologic change to ecological or resource consequences would align well with the stated goals.

Another explicit objective is improving how science is used in decision-making under high uncertainty. This points to potential work that strengthens modeling approaches, risk-based planning, scenario analysis, or decision support methods that can guide water management when future climate, land use, and demand conditions are not clear. The cooperative agreement mechanism also implies substantial involvement by USGS in the project, with ongoing collaboration rather than a hands-off grant structure.

Administratively, this is a discretionary funding opportunity categorized under Science and Technology and other Research and Development (CFDA 15.808). The award ceiling is $400,000. The opportunity was created on 2024-06-06 and had an original closing date of 2024-07-22. The listing indicates eligibility as “Others,” but the narrative makes clear that applicants must be Great Plains CESU partners, which typically includes universities, non-profits, and other qualified research organizations that are formal members of that CESU network.

• 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 the Great Plains 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 2024-06-06.
• Applicants must submit their applications by 2024-07-22. (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 $400,000.00 in funding.
• Eligible applicants include: Others.

Apply for G24AS00389

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