Opportunity Information: Apply for F13AS00259
Apply for F13AS00259
- The Fish and Wildlife Service in the consumer protection information and statistics natural resources science and technology and other research and development sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Modeling plant community composition and vegetation structure in core sage grouse habitats" and is now available to receive applicants.
- Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 15.670 Adaptive Science.
- This funding opportunity was created on Jul 22, 2013 and posted on Jul 22, 2013.
- Applicants must submit their applications by Aug 5, 2013 This opportunity is being issued under a Cooperative Ecosystem Studies Unit Program Rocky Mountain CESU Cooperative and Joint Venture Agreement (#60181AJ402). Eligible recipients must be a participating partner of the Rocky Mountain (CESU).. (Agency may still review applications by suitable applicants for the remaining/unused allocated funding in 2026.)
- The funding agency has allocated a total of $155,000.00 to eligible and selected applicants.
- Each selected applicant is eligible to receive up to $155,000.00 in funding.
- The number of recipients for this funding is limited to 1 candidate(s).
- Eligible applicants include: Others (see text field entitled Additional Information on Eligibility for clarification).
- Rocky Mountain CESU university partners possess the unique expertise to substantially involve and collaborate with the Service in the modeling and assessment of sage grouse habitats across the range of the species, and to provide for substantial cost savings to the Service by minimization of overhead through a negotiated rate in the CESU agreement.
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Opportunity Summary:
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service grant opportunity titled "Modeling plant community composition and vegetation structure in core sage grouse habitats" seeks a partner to carry out a focused modeling and analysis effort that helps guide future management of sagebrush ecosystems for Greater Sage-Grouse conservation. The core goal is to understand how climate change and different types of disturbance are likely to change soil water availability, and how those soil water changes will in turn affect the persistence, productivity, and species makeup of sagebrush plant communities that grouse depend on. The Service is looking for work that is directly useful to on-the-ground resource managers who are making decisions about protecting and restoring priority sage grouse habitats.
A central feature of the project is the use of simulation modeling that operates at a daily time step to capture soil water dynamics realistically. The Service anticipates a modeling platform that couples a daily soil moisture or soil water balance model with a plant demographic or community dynamics model. In practice, that means the project should be able to translate climate inputs and soil properties into day-by-day soil moisture conditions, then use those conditions to simulate plant establishment, survival, growth, and competitive interactions over time. The modeling framework is expected to represent not only desirable native components of sagebrush ecosystems, but also invasive annual grasses, explicitly naming cheatgrass and Japanese brome, because these invaders can strongly alter competition, fuel loads, and vegetation trajectories after disturbance.
The analysis is expected to answer four management-relevant questions. First, it should project how climate change and disturbance together may affect sagebrush plant communities during the first half of the 21st century, essentially providing a forward-looking view of likely community shifts and structural changes under plausible future conditions. Second, it should identify which environmental or model variables sagebrush communities are most sensitive to, such as particular climate metrics, soil characteristics, or seasonal water availability, so managers can better anticipate thresholds and prioritize monitoring. Third, it should evaluate how competition from invasive annual grasses like cheatgrass and Japanese brome influences sagebrush community outcomes, including implications for composition and productivity. Fourth, it should determine what kinds of disturbance sagebrush communities are most sensitive to, which could include disturbances such as fire, grazing pressure, drought stress, or other landscape disruptions, depending on how the modeling scenarios are structured.
The Service indicates that the successful applicant should have strong expertise in building and applying integrated simulation models that connect projected soil moisture conditions with plant community dynamics. Beyond producing point estimates, the work is expected to include uncertainty, meaning results should communicate ranges or confidence intervals for key outcomes like seedling establishment rates, plant survival, species composition, and overall vegetation production. The modeling should be capable of evaluating current conditions as well as climate change scenarios, and it can be structured around individual species or functional groups of plants, depending on the best scientific fit and available data.
The project is also grounded in real places rather than being purely theoretical. The Service expects the analysis to use specific locations within state-identified priority sage grouse habitats that currently support sagebrush, ensuring the findings are anchored in conditions that managers actually face in core habitat areas. Deliverables are intended to be both scientifically rigorous and practically usable: results should be written up in peer-reviewed scientific publications and also presented to interested resource managers, emphasizing technology transfer and decision support rather than keeping findings confined to academic channels.
On the administrative side, this was a discretionary funding opportunity administered by the Fish and Wildlife Service and offered as a cooperative agreement, reflecting an expectation of collaboration between the awardee and the agency. The opportunity was issued under the Cooperative Ecosystem Studies Unit program, specifically through the Rocky Mountain CESU Cooperative and Joint Venture Agreement (#60181AJ402). Because of that structure, eligibility was limited to participating Rocky Mountain CESU partners, with the rationale that these university partners can collaborate closely with the Service, bring specialized modeling expertise, and reduce overhead costs through negotiated CESU indirect cost rates. The anticipated number of awards was one, with estimated total funding of $155,000 (award floor $100,000 and ceiling $155,000), and there was no cost-sharing or matching requirement. The opportunity was posted July 22, 2013, with an original and current closing date of August 5, 2013, and an archive date of August 22, 2013. The CFDA number listed is 15.670 (Adaptive Science). Contact information in the announcement identified Greg Watson as the project officer.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
What is the title of this U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service grant opportunity?
The opportunity is titled "Modeling plant community composition and vegetation structure in core sage grouse habitats."
What agency is offering this funding opportunity?
The funding opportunity is offered by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (the Service).
What is the main purpose of the project?
The project is intended to carry out a focused modeling and analysis effort that helps guide future management of sagebrush ecosystems for Greater Sage-Grouse conservation, with an emphasis on producing results that are directly useful to on-the-ground resource managers working in priority sage grouse habitats.
What is the core scientific goal of the work?
The core goal is to understand how climate change and different types of disturbance are likely to change soil water availability, and how those soil water changes are expected to affect the persistence, productivity, and species composition of sagebrush plant communities used by Greater Sage-Grouse.
What kind of modeling approach is the Service expecting?
The Service anticipates an integrated simulation modeling framework that operates at a daily time step and couples a daily soil moisture (or soil water balance) model with a plant demographic or community dynamics model.
Why does the modeling need to run on a daily time step?
The daily time step is intended to capture soil water dynamics realistically, translating climate inputs and soil properties into day-by-day soil moisture conditions that can then drive simulated plant establishment, survival, growth, and competitive interactions over time.
What processes should the modeling framework represent?
The modeling is expected to translate climate inputs and soil properties into daily soil moisture conditions and then use those conditions to simulate plant establishment, survival, growth, and competitive interactions through time.
Does the project need to include invasive species?
Yes. The modeling framework is expected to represent invasive annual grasses, explicitly including cheatgrass and Japanese brome, in addition to desirable native components of sagebrush ecosystems.
Why are cheatgrass and Japanese brome explicitly mentioned?
They are identified because invasive annual grasses can strongly alter competition, fuel loads, and vegetation trajectories after disturbance, which affects sagebrush community outcomes relevant to sage grouse habitat.
What management-relevant questions should the analysis answer?
The analysis is expected to address four questions: (1) how climate change and disturbance together may affect sagebrush plant communities during the first half of the 21st century; (2) which environmental or model variables sagebrush communities are most sensitive to; (3) how competition from invasive annual grasses influences sagebrush community outcomes; and (4) what kinds of disturbance sagebrush communities are most sensitive to.
What time period should climate change impacts be projected for?
The projections are expected to cover the first half of the 21st century.
What types of variables might be included in the sensitivity analysis?
The opportunity notes that sensitivity could be evaluated for variables such as particular climate metrics, soil characteristics, or seasonal water availability, focusing on factors that help managers anticipate thresholds and prioritize monitoring.
What kinds of disturbance might be considered in the scenarios?
The announcement notes that disturbances could include fire, grazing pressure, drought stress, or other landscape disruptions, depending on how the modeling scenarios are structured.
What expertise is expected of the successful applicant?
The Service indicates the applicant should have strong expertise in building and applying integrated simulation models that connect projected soil moisture conditions with plant community dynamics.
Is the project expected to address uncertainty in results?
Yes. Beyond producing point estimates, the work is expected to include uncertainty, communicating ranges or confidence intervals for key outcomes such as seedling establishment rates, plant survival, species composition, and overall vegetation production.
Can the modeling evaluate both current and future conditions?
Yes. The modeling should be capable of evaluating current conditions as well as climate change scenarios.
Should the model be organized by individual species or functional groups?
Either approach may be used. The opportunity states the modeling can be structured around individual species or functional groups of plants, depending on scientific fit and available data.
Does the project need to be tied to real locations?
Yes. The Service expects the analysis to use specific locations within state-identified priority sage grouse habitats that currently support sagebrush, so results are grounded in conditions managers face in core habitat areas.
What kinds of deliverables are expected?
Deliverables are intended to be scientifically rigorous and practically usable, including results written up in peer-reviewed scientific publications and presentations to interested resource managers, with an emphasis on technology transfer and decision support.
Is this funding opportunity a grant or another type of award?
It was offered as a cooperative agreement, which reflects an expectation of collaboration between the awardee and the Service.
What program was this opportunity issued under?
The opportunity was issued under the Cooperative Ecosystem Studies Unit (CESU) program, specifically through the Rocky Mountain CESU Cooperative and Joint Venture Agreement (#60181AJ402).
Who was eligible to apply?
Eligibility was limited to participating Rocky Mountain CESU partners.
Why was eligibility limited to Rocky Mountain CESU partners?
The stated rationale is that these university partners can collaborate closely with the Service, bring specialized modeling expertise, and reduce overhead costs through negotiated CESU indirect cost rates.
How many awards did the Service anticipate making?
The anticipated number of awards was one.
What was the estimated funding amount for this opportunity?
The estimated total funding was $155,000.
What were the award floor and ceiling?
The award floor was $100,000 and the award ceiling was $155,000.
Was cost sharing or matching required?
No. The opportunity stated there was no cost-sharing or matching requirement.
When was the opportunity posted and when did it close?
It was posted on July 22, 2013. The original and current closing date was August 5, 2013.
When was the opportunity archived?
The archive date was August 22, 2013.
What is the CFDA number associated with this opportunity?
The CFDA number listed is 15.670 (Adaptive Science).
Who was listed as the project officer or contact?
The announcement identified Greg Watson as the project officer.
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