Cooperative Ecoystem Studies Unit, Great Plains CESU | Apply Online

Opportunity Summary:

This grant opportunity (Funding Opportunity Number G14AS00038) is a U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) cooperative agreement offered through the Great Plains Cooperative Ecosystem Studies Unit (CESU) Program. The purpose is to support research that improves how sandbar habitats are monitored in the lower Platte River Basin, particularly the sandbars used as nesting sites by two sensitive bird species: the Interior Least Tern (Sterna antillarum athalassos) and the Piping Plover (Charadrius melodus). USGS is looking for work that moves beyond an earlier pilot effort (referenced as Alexander et al. 2013) by conducting a more detailed sub-basin assessment and applying monitoring approaches at a larger spatial scale than the pilot study used.

The central technical need behind the award is better, more reliable information about how sandbars form, how long they persist, and what physical river processes cause them to stabilize, degrade, or disappear. The announcement emphasizes that existing datasets are not accurate enough to consistently support resource management decisions. Because these birds rely on specific sandbar conditions for nesting, managers need clearer, defensible measurements of habitat quality at the time sandbars are created or refreshed (for example, after high flows) and also need a way to track how those habitats change in response to fluvial and hydrogeomorphic controls over time.

USGS identifies two main research priorities for refining rapid monitoring techniques. First, the project should improve the ability to accurately quantify field-based determinations of nesting habitat characteristics at the sandbar formation or rejuvenation stage. In practical terms, this means tightening the connection between what field crews observe and record and what can be measured or verified with higher accuracy so that habitat assessments are repeatable and comparable across sites and years. Second, the work should evaluate habitat response to river processes that shape sandbar persistence and fate. This includes understanding which channel conditions and flow-related dynamics tend to produce sandbars that remain suitable for terns and plovers long enough to support nesting, and which conditions lead to rapid erosion, vegetation encroachment, inundation, or other changes that reduce suitability.

A key management-oriented deliverable implied by the announcement is the ability to map and explain, along the length of the lower Platte River, what factors control where high-quality tern and plover sandbar habitat is most likely to form and persist. The emphasis on longitudinal explanation suggests the agency wants a clearer spatial picture of habitat potential across the river corridor, not just at isolated monitoring sites, so that conservation actions and river management decisions can be prioritized where they are likely to matter most.

The opportunity is limited to eligible CESU partners. Applicants must be participating members of the Great Plains CESU Program, reflecting the CESU model of using established research partnerships to deliver applied science, technical assistance, and education in support of resource management. The funding instrument is a cooperative agreement, which typically indicates substantial involvement by the federal agency during the project compared to a standard grant.

In terms of logistics and scale, USGS expected to make one award with an estimated total funding amount of $42,000. There was no cost-sharing or matching requirement. The opportunity was posted March 4, 2014, and had an original and current closing date of March 14, 2014, with an archive date of June 4, 2014. The CFDA listing associated with the program is 15.808 (U.S. Geological Survey Research and Data Collection). For access issues related to the full announcement, the listed contact was Faith Graves at USGS (703-648-7356, fgraves@usgs.gov).

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