Cooperative Ecosystem Studies Unit, Rocky Mountain CESU | Apply Online

Opportunity Summary:

This grant opportunity, titled "Cooperative Ecosystem Studies Unit, Rocky Mountain CESU" (Funding Opportunity Number 09HQPA0031), is a US Geological Survey (USGS) discretionary cooperative agreement focused on strengthening collaboration with a Rocky Mountain CESU university partner. The central purpose is to support the long-term monitoring of riparian vegetation along the Colorado River through Grand Canyon, Arizona, with an emphasis on building a defensible, statistically sound monitoring design that can track vegetation change over time and inform management decisions tied to Glen Canyon Dam operations.

The project is rooted in the Glen Canyon Dam adaptive management framework established by the 1996 Record of Decision. That framework recognizes that dam operations can alter downstream resources and that long-term monitoring is necessary to understand and respond to those effects. Riparian vegetation in the Grand Canyon includes both native plants and introduced/exotic species, and it is influenced not only by dam-driven flow regimes but also by the canyon's complex environmental gradients. These gradients include climate variation along the river corridor, shifts in floristic zones the river crosses, and geomorphic conditions (such as channel and terrace features) that shape habitat availability and plant community composition. Because these drivers vary across the canyon, the monitoring approach needs to be designed in a way that captures that variability rather than relying on a small or biased set of sites.

A main technical deliverable is the development of a spatially balanced sampling framework for long-term riparian vegetation monitoring. The work is to be done in coordination with the Grand Canyon Monitoring and Research Center (GCMRC). The university partner is expected to help stratify the Colorado River corridor into distinct units based on climatic, hydrological, geomorphic, and ecological factors known to control riparian vegetation structure and dynamics. After stratification, the project calls for applying a GRTS (Generalized Random Tessellation Stratified) survey design to select monitoring sites. GRTS is used to produce probabilistic, spatially balanced samples, which helps ensure that sites are distributed across the landscape in a way that supports robust statistical inference and reduces clustering or location bias. The resulting design is intended to ensure representation of all major habitats within the Grand Canyon so that changes can be detected and analyzed across different environmental settings, not just in a few easily accessed reaches.

The monitoring goal is explicitly tied to detecting vegetation changes associated with Glen Canyon Dam operations. In practical terms, this means the sampling design should be capable of distinguishing broad-scale patterns and trends over time and should be structured so that future monitoring crews can revisit sites consistently. Long-term monitoring development is framed as a critical link in the overall adaptive management process because managers need credible, repeatable measurements to evaluate whether operational changes are affecting riparian ecosystems as intended or producing unintended consequences, including shifts in native versus invasive species.

Another emphasized outcome is information dissemination. The opportunity highlights that adaptive management depends not only on collecting data but also on making protocols and findings accessible. Data and monitoring protocol plans produced through this effort are expected to be incorporated into materials made available through the GCMRC website, with the intent that they be usable by the general public, K-12 schools, universities, public interest groups, and state management agencies. The broader idea is that a well-documented monitoring design and openly available protocols can support transparency, education, and replication in other river systems using adaptive management approaches.

In terms of funding and award structure, USGS anticipated making one award with an estimated total funding amount of $20,000. There was no stated cost-sharing or matching requirement, and no explicit award ceiling or floor was listed (both shown as 0), which typically indicates the funding level is defined by the single estimated total amount and the negotiated agreement rather than a range. The opportunity was posted April 22, 2009, with an application closing date of May 4, 2009, and it was later archived on June 3, 2009. The CFDA number associated with the program is 15.808 (U.S. Geological Survey Research and Data Collection), and the activity category is Science and Technology and other Research and Development.

Eligibility was limited to Rocky Mountain CESU partner institutions (as part of the Cooperative Ecosystem Studies Unit network) that can demonstrate the experience and capability to conduct the type of research described. The solicitation specifies that the applicant should not be employed by a federal agency, though federal employees are allowed to participate as collaborators. The sponsoring agency is the USGS. For access issues or questions about the full announcement, the contact listed is Faith Graves, Contract Specialist, at 703-648-7356.

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