Cooperative Agreement for CESU-affiliated Partner with Chesapeake Watershed Cooperative Ecosystem Studies Unit | G23AS00049

Opportunity Information: Apply for G23AS00049

This grant opportunity (Funding Opportunity Number G23AS00049) is a U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) cooperative agreement offered through the Wetland and Aquatic Research Center (WARC). It is issued under the Cooperative Ecosystem Studies Unit (CESU) Program and is specifically limited to eligible partners within the Chesapeake Watershed CESU network. The overall purpose is to fund science and technology research that strengthens conservation decision-making by applying radar ornithology, especially weather surveillance radar (WSR), to questions about flying animals and human infrastructure.

The core research need is to estimate avifauna (and more broadly, flying animal) densities detected by WSR in the Lower Rio Grande Valley of Texas, with a particular focus on conditions along the US-Mexico border. The work is framed around understanding how border fence or wall design, and the lighting associated with that infrastructure, relate to the presence, movement, and density of birds and other aerial wildlife. Because WSR can capture broad-scale movement patterns over time, the project is positioned to evaluate responses both before and after construction, which supports stronger inference about how development changes animal behavior and distribution rather than relying on single time-period snapshots.

A major emphasis is combining radar-based observations with complementary field methods when needed. The opportunity explicitly mentions approaches such as bird banding, on-the-ground surveys, and portable radar to supplement WSR data. That combination is intended to improve the biological interpretation of radar signals, strengthen estimates of density, and help translate remote-sensing patterns into information managers can act on. In practice, this kind of integrated design can help confirm what species or groups are contributing to radar detections, validate radar-derived density estimates, and connect animal movements to local habitat and lighting conditions.

The expected deliverable direction is not just academic results, but spatially explicit decision support tools. The project is meant to feed into mapping products or analytical tools that can guide management partners as they plan and implement border wall mitigation, habitat acquisition, habitat restoration, and other conservation actions targeted at flying animals. By quantifying where and when aerial wildlife activity is highest, and how it changes with infrastructure and night lighting, the resulting tools can help prioritize areas for protection, mitigation measures, or alternative design and lighting strategies.

USGS notes that recent work by WARC scientists and collaborators has already demonstrated that WSR and field methods can support management and conservation needs across multiple spatial and temporal scales. This opportunity is presented as the next step: expanding the application and conservation value of WSR by pushing further into questions that managers need answered, especially those involving human development and artificial light at night. Collaboration with CESU scientists is also described as a way to bring a more fundamental, decision-focused perspective to the research, ensuring the study addresses real management choices and produces outputs that fit partner planning processes.

Administratively, this is a discretionary funding opportunity using a cooperative agreement mechanism, indicating substantial involvement and collaboration with USGS during the project rather than a hands-off grant. The activity falls under Science and Technology and other Research and Development (CFDA 15.808). The listed award ceiling is $499,999. The opportunity was created on 2022-10-13, with an original closing date of 2022-11-28. Eligibility is restricted to participating partners of the Chesapeake Watershed CESU Program, even though the field study focus is in Texas, reflecting how CESU networks are used as partnership and contracting pathways for collaborative federal research.

• 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 Chesapeake Watershed 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 2022-10-13.
• Applicants must submit their applications by 2022-11-28. (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 G23AS00049

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