Cooperative Ecosystem Studies Unit, Great Basin CESU | Apply Online

Opportunity Summary:

This grant opportunity (Funding Opportunity Number G15AS00015) is a US Geological Survey (USGS) cooperative agreement offered through the Cooperative Ecosystem Studies Unit (CESU) network, specifically the Great Basin CESU. It supports a single expected award for research focused on golden eagle movement behavior and ecology as it relates to renewable energy development, with an emphasis on wind energy facilities in California. The total estimated funding available is $73,578, and there is no cost sharing or matching requirement noted. The opportunity was posted on November 24, 2014, with an application deadline of December 5, 2014 (and an archive date of February 24, 2015).

The core purpose of the project is to improve understanding of how golden eagles actually use landscapes where wind energy development occurs, and to evaluate how well common survey methods capture that use. In practical terms, the work is meant to help the US Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) by testing whether results from field surveys intended to measure golden eagle "use" of an area align with what eagles are truly doing on the ground. This matters because wind energy siting, permitting, and mitigation decisions often rely on survey-based estimates of eagle activity, and those estimates can be limited by detectability, observer coverage, timing, and other sources of bias. By comparing survey-based indicators of eagle presence or activity to direct evidence of movement and space use, the project aims to clarify the reliability and interpretation of survey outcomes in a renewable energy context.

The CESU partner would work in coordination with USGS scientists. USGS will provide telemetry monitoring data from golden eagles (for example, location data from tagged birds that reveal movements, habitat use, and time spent in specific areas). The partner research team will then analyze the relationship between what is potentially observable through surveys and what telemetry suggests is actual use of particular sites or zones. In other words, the analysis will look at whether survey efforts tend to overestimate or underestimate eagle use, under what conditions mismatches occur, and how survey results might be better calibrated or interpreted when assessing risk or planning wind development. The intended outcome is an applied, decision-relevant assessment that helps agencies and practitioners understand the extent to which survey data can serve as a proxy for true eagle presence and behavior.

The funding instrument is a cooperative agreement, which typically indicates substantial involvement by the federal agency during the performance of the work. Here, that involvement is reflected in the planned collaboration between the CESU partner and USGS, and the shared goal of supporting USFWS information needs. The activity category is listed as Science and Technology and other Research and Development, under CFDA (now Assistance Listing) 15.808, US Geological Survey Research and Data Collection.

Eligibility is limited to organizations that are participating partners in the Great Basin CESU Program. CESUs are designed to link federal agencies with universities and other partners to deliver research, technical assistance, and education in support of natural resource management. The listing states "Others" under eligible applicants, but clarifies that eligibility is determined by membership in the Great Basin CESU partnership.

A notable feature of the announcement is that the work is positioned to produce publishable results. The USGS notes that the analysis could be suitable for submission to a peer-reviewed journal in wildlife management, conservation biology, or applied ecology. That signals the project is not only operationally useful for wind-wildlife decision-making, but also intended to contribute to the broader scientific literature on monitoring methods, animal movement ecology, and how renewable energy development intersects with raptor conservation.

For applicants or interested parties who needed help accessing the full announcement at the time, the contact listed is Faith Graves at USGS (703-648-7356, fgraves@usgs.gov). The public listing points to grants.gov as the general source for the full opportunity information.

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