Cooperative Ecosystem Studies Unit, Rocky Mountain CESU | Apply Online

Opportunity Summary:

The Cooperative Ecosystem Studies Unit, Rocky Mountain CESU opportunity (Funding Opportunity Number G14AS00123) is a U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) discretionary funding announcement that supports applied research and technical evaluation of commercial small unmanned aircraft systems (sUAS) and their sensors for USGS earth science missions. The work is framed around a practical need across the U.S. Department of the Interior (DOI): DOI is responsible for protecting natural resources and cultural heritage across a very large portion of U.S. land, much of it remote, rugged, and difficult to access. Because of that scale, DOI and USGS frequently face a gap between the kinds of detailed field measurements scientists prefer to collect and what is feasible to gather safely, affordably, and consistently over large areas.

The core purpose of the award is to test and assess whether commercially available sUAS platforms and sensor packages can provide reliable, mission-ready remote sensing data that can supplement or, in some cases, replace more expensive or riskier data collection methods. The announcement highlights why alternative approaches are needed: ground-based monitoring and sample collection can be highly accurate, but often cannot be scaled to vast public landscapes; piloted aircraft can deliver high-resolution imagery and broader coverage, but may be constrained by cost and safety concerns, especially in hazardous terrain or dangerous conditions; and satellite imagery is invaluable but limited by factors such as spatial resolution and orbital timing. Against that backdrop, sUAS are presented as a promising way to collect high-quality data with more flexibility, potentially lower cost, and reduced risk to personnel.

This opportunity is closely tied to the USGS National Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) Project Office (NUPO), which exists to research and evaluate UAS operational potential for DOI and USGS needs. The project described in the notice is meant to contribute to that broader effort by examining how sUAS and sensor options might be applied to a wide range of mission areas, including wildlife monitoring, natural hazards, invasive species, climate change impacts, and documentation or monitoring of archeological sites. In practical terms, the funded work would be expected to focus on technical evaluation, performance considerations, and operational applicability of commercial sUAS solutions for these types of earth science and resource management uses.

Administratively, the funding instrument is a cooperative agreement, meaning substantial federal involvement is typically anticipated compared with a standard grant. The activity category is listed as Science and Technology and other Research and Development. The program planned to make one award, with an estimated total funding amount of $25,000, and no cost sharing or matching requirement. The award ceiling and floor were both listed as $0 in the posting fields, which generally indicates that the specific amount is controlled elsewhere in the announcement or that the listing fields were not used to set formal bounds, but the notice clearly states the estimated total funding available for the single award.

Eligibility is limited to partners within the Rocky Mountain Cooperative Ecosystem Studies Unit (CESU) Program. CESUs are collaborative partnerships designed to deliver research, technical assistance, and education services to federal land and resource management agencies, and this particular solicitation is restricted to participating Rocky Mountain CESU partners (the announcement lists the eligible applicant category as "Others" with clarification provided in the eligibility text). Key dates in the posting show it was posted July 10, 2014, with the closing date extended to July 29, 2014, and an archive date of October 10, 2014. The CFDA number associated with the opportunity is 15.808 (U.S. Geological Survey Research and Data Collection). For access issues or questions, the contact listed is Faith Graves at 703-648-7356 and fgraves@usgs.gov, and the additional information link points to grants.gov.

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