Cooperative Ecosystem Studies Unit, North Atlantic Coast CESU | G19AS00067

Opportunity Information: Apply for G19AS00067

The grant opportunity titled "Cooperative Ecosystem Studies Unit, North Atlantic Coast CESU" (Funding Opportunity Number G19AS00067) is a U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) funding call under the Department of the Interior focused on applied research and product development related to coastal tidal wetlands across the conterminous United States. The work is meant to be carried out through the Cooperative Ecosystem Studies Unit (CESU) network, specifically involving a partner within the North Atlantic Coast CESU. The central goal is to improve how land use change over the past several decades is detected and described in tidal wetland environments using remote sensing, and then turn that improved methodology into tangible national-scale mapping products and publishable scientific findings.

At its core, the project is about identifying a remote sensing approach that can reliably detect and characterize human-driven landscape changes in coastal tidal wetlands over multi-decade timeframes. Rather than focusing on general land cover shifts alone, the opportunity emphasizes changes tied to built infrastructure and hardscape development, such as roads, bridges, and similar construction that can disrupt or re-route tidal flows and reshape salinity gradients. These kinds of alterations can have outsized ecological impacts in tidal habitats because even subtle barriers, fill, or reconfiguration of drainage connections can change inundation patterns, sediment dynamics, and the distribution of brackish versus saline conditions that many wetland plant and animal communities depend on.

The expected outputs extend beyond method selection or a single case study. The USGS is seeking research that results in maps and regional summaries describing these land use and infrastructure-related changes for the entire CONUS coastal tidal wetland extent, implying a need for consistent, repeatable processing that can be applied across regions with different wetland types, coastal geomorphology, and development histories. In addition to producing the maps and summaries, the award anticipates the development of science papers that document the methodology and findings, suggesting the work should be rigorous, transparent, and suitable for peer-reviewed publication or equivalent USGS science reporting. The methodology component likely needs to address common remote sensing challenges in tidal wetlands, such as variable water levels, vegetation phenology, cloud cover in optical imagery, mixed pixels at land-water boundaries, and the difficulty of distinguishing narrow linear features like roads and causeways from surrounding marsh or upland edges when using moderate-resolution imagery.

Administratively, this is a discretionary opportunity using a cooperative agreement as the funding instrument, which typically indicates substantial involvement or collaboration with the USGS during the period of performance rather than a hands-off grant. The activity category is listed as Science and Technology and other Research and Development, with CFDA number 15.808. The opportunity was created on May 28, 2019, with an original closing date of June 11, 2019. The award ceiling is $198,161, and the USGS anticipated making one award, meaning it was structured as a single-project competition at a modest research budget scale, aimed at delivering a focused set of national products and publications rather than supporting multiple parallel teams.

Eligibility is limited to CESU partners, described in the notice as "Others" with clarification in the additional eligibility text, which in practice means institutions that are formally part of the CESU network and aligned with the North Atlantic Coast CESU. Overall, the opportunity targets a partner capable of combining remote sensing expertise, geospatial analysis, and coastal wetland science to produce a defensible, scalable approach for detecting long-term infrastructure and land use changes that influence tidal hydrology and salinity, and then translating that work into standardized national maps, regional change summaries, and documented scientific contributions.

• The Department of the Interior, U. S. Geological Survey in the science and technology and other research and development sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Cooperative Ecosystem Studies Unit, North Atlantic Coast CESU" 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 May 28, 2019.
• Applicants must submit their applications by Jun 11, 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 $198,161.00 in funding.
• The number of recipients for this funding is limited to 1 candidate(s).
• Eligible applicants include: Others (see text field entitled Additional Information on Eligibility for clarification).

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