Cooperative Ecosystem Studies Unit, Pacific Northwest CESU | Apply Online

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

1) What is this funding opportunity?

This is the Cooperative Ecosystem Studies Unit (CESU), Pacific Northwest CESU grant opportunity from the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS). It is a small, targeted cooperative agreement intended to support applied research and technical development for Puget Sound restoration planning and scenario evaluation. The Funding Opportunity Number is 10HQPA0026.

2) What is the primary purpose of the award?

The award supports work to better understand and project environmental change across the Puget Sound region of Washington, with a particular emphasis on contaminant sources, transport, and fate in streams and receiving waters. Practically, it is meant to integrate a USGS modeling approach into an existing regional planning and scenario framework so contaminant outcomes can be evaluated consistently across alternative future scenarios.

3) Which geographic area does the project focus on?

The focus is the Puget Sound region of Washington, including streams and receiving waters relevant to restoration planning and scenario evaluation.

4) What types of contaminants or stressors are being addressed?

The project is specifically centered on contaminants, including where contaminants originate, how they move through watersheds/aquatic networks, and what proportion reaches downstream waters. The opportunity does not list specific contaminant types in the provided description.

5) What model is at the core of this opportunity?

The core modeling framework is SPARROW (Spatially Referenced Regressions On Watershed attributes), an empirical model used to estimate contaminant sources, transport, and delivery through a watershed or aquatic network.

6) What does SPARROW produce that is important for planning?

SPARROW produces estimates of contaminant contributions and delivery and also characterizes uncertainty. The uncertainty characterization includes uncertainty related to model coefficient error and unexplained variability in observed monitoring data.

7) What is the selected recipient expected to do with SPARROW?

The selected cooperator is expected to run Puget Sound datasets (provided under the opportunity) through SPARROW and generate outputs suitable for restoration planning and comparative scenario analysis.

8) Are there special formatting requirements for deliverables?

Yes. A key requirement is that model outputs must be delivered in a very specific format that matches prior datasets created for the Puget Sound Nearshore Ecosystem Restoration Project (PSNERP) alternative futures assessment. The goal is interoperability so SPARROW results can be used without additional translation or reprocessing.

9) What is PSNERP and why does it matter here?

PSNERP refers to the Puget Sound Nearshore Ecosystem Restoration Project. This opportunity is tied to the PSNERP alternative futures assessment workflow, and the SPARROW outputs must be compatible with the PSNERP/Envision scenario framework.

10) What is Envision in the context of this project?

Envision is described as a scenario-planning and landscape modeling platform. This project calls for implementing SPARROW execution capability within Envision using its plug-in model architecture so SPARROW-derived regression models can be run directly within alternative futures scenarios used in the PSNERP assessment.

11) Is software development required?

Yes. The opportunity specifically calls for building an Envision plug-in that implements SPARROW execution capability.

12) What programming language must the Envision plug-in use?

The plug-in is required to be written in C and must conform to Envision's model extension design.

13) What does "interoperability" mean for this award?

Interoperability means the SPARROW outputs must "drop into" the PSNERP/Envision workflow without additional translation or reprocessing, using the required format aligned to prior PSNERP alternative futures datasets.

14) Is testing and verification part of the scope?

Yes. Beyond development, the recipient is responsible for testing and verifying that the program runs correctly when executed against the provided Puget Sound datasets. This serves as a quality control step to support reliable scenario runs.

15) What kind of funding mechanism is being used?

The opportunity uses a cooperative agreement instrument and is categorized as discretionary funding.

16) What is the activity category for this opportunity?

The activity category is Science and Technology and other Research and Development.

17) Which federal agency is sponsoring this opportunity?

The sponsoring agency is the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS).

18) What is the CFDA listing associated with this opportunity?

The associated CFDA listing is 15.808, titled U.S. Geological Survey Research and Data Collection.

19) How much funding is available?

The estimated total funding amount is $5,000.

20) Is cost sharing or matching required?

No cost sharing or matching requirement is stated for this opportunity.

21) How many awards were anticipated?

The announcement anticipated a single award.

22) Who is eligible to apply?

Eligibility is restricted to organizations that are already participating partners in the Pacific Northwest Cooperative Ecosystem Studies Unit (CESU) Program.

23) Why is eligibility limited to Pacific Northwest CESU partners?

The opportunity reflects the CESU structure as a formal partnership network designed to provide research, technical assistance, and education support to federal land and science agencies. Only current participating partners in the Pacific Northwest CESU are eligible under the terms described.

24) When was the opportunity posted?

The opportunity was posted on December 15, 2009.

25) What were the application deadlines?

The original closing date was December 28, 2009. It was later extended to a current closing date of January 6, 2010.

26) When was the opportunity archived?

The archive date listed is January 27, 2010.

27) Who should be contacted for access issues or administrative questions?

The listed contact is Faith Graves, Contract Specialist, at 703-648-7356.

28) Does the opportunity specify what datasets will be used?

It states that the selected cooperator would be given specific Puget Sound datasets to run through SPARROW. The detailed contents of those datasets are not specified in the provided description.

29) What is the main practical outcome expected from this work?

The main practical outcome is a working capability to run SPARROW-derived regression models within Envision scenarios for the PSNERP alternative futures assessment, producing contaminant results in the required PSNERP-compatible format and verified against provided Puget Sound datasets.