Cooperative Agreement for CESU-affiliated Partner with Desert Southwest Cooperative Ecosystem Studies Unit | G24AS00348

Opportunity Information: Apply for G24AS00348

This grant opportunity (Funding Opportunity Number G24AS00348) is a US Geological Survey (USGS) cooperative agreement focused on improving the science behind wild horse population demography and ecology across the Western United States. The work is meant to directly support better understanding and management of wild horse populations by generating new field data and strengthening analytical approaches, especially through modeling. The project sits at the intersection of on-the-ground ecological research and quantitative population analysis, with the goal of producing information that can be used to address long-standing uncertainty about wild horse population dynamics and the ecological factors that shape them.

A major driver behind this opportunity is the 2013 National Academies of Science (NAS) review of the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) Wild Horse and Burro Program. That review highlighted important data gaps and research needs, and it offered recommendations aimed at making population estimates, growth-rate projections, and management decisions more scientifically defensible. This funding is positioned as a way to help fill some of those identified needs through collaborative research conducted jointly by USGS and an eligible partner organization. In practical terms, applicants should expect a project that is cooperative in nature, meaning substantial involvement from USGS is part of the design, execution, and/or interpretation of the work rather than a simple pass-through grant with minimal federal engagement.

The research scope emphasizes two complementary components. First is field-based data collection and applied research related to wild horse demography (such as survival, reproduction, age structure, and population change over time) and ecology (such as habitat use, resource relationships, and environmental drivers). Second is analysis using modeling techniques, which may include statistical population models or other quantitative approaches that help translate field observations into estimates and forecasts. The intent is to produce rigorous, decision-relevant science that helps reduce uncertainty around population status and trends while improving the broader ecological understanding of wild horses in western ecosystems.

This opportunity is issued under the Cooperative Ecosystem Studies Unit (CESU) Program, which is a network of partnerships designed to provide research, technical assistance, and education supporting federal land and resource management. Eligibility is restricted: applicants must be participating partners of the Desert Southwest Cooperative Ecosystem Studies Unit. In other words, this is not an open competition for all institutions; it is specifically set aside for organizations already affiliated with that CESU.

Administratively, this is a discretionary funding opportunity using a cooperative agreement as the funding instrument, with an activity category of Science and Technology and other Research and Development. The CFDA number associated with the program area is 15.808. The posting lists an award ceiling of $11,000, indicating a relatively small budget that is likely intended to support a targeted piece of work, a pilot effort, or a defined component of a broader collaborative research agenda rather than a large multi-year study. The original closing date for applications was May 22, 2024, and the opportunity was created on April 22, 2024.

• 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 Desert Southwest 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 2024-04-22.
• Applicants must submit their applications by 2024-05-22. (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 $11,000.00 in funding.
• Eligible applicants include: Others.

Apply for G24AS00348

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