Cooperative Agreement for CESU-affiliated Partner with Rocky Mountain Cooperative Ecosystem Studies Unit | G21AS00609

Opportunity Information: Apply for G21AS00609

This opportunity (Funding Opportunity Number G21AS00609) is a discretionary funding announcement from the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) under CFDA 15.808, offered as a cooperative agreement rather than a standard grant. It is issued through the Cooperative Ecosystem Studies Unit (CESU) Program, specifically tied to the Rocky Mountain CESU. Because it is a CESU-based award, eligibility is limited to organizations that are already participating partners in the Rocky Mountain CESU network. The CESU structure is meant to support applied research, technical assistance, and education through close collaboration between federal agencies and partner institutions, and the use of a cooperative agreement signals that USGS expects to be substantially involved in guiding or participating in the work.

The core purpose of the project is amphibian conservation research, with a strong emphasis on both field and laboratory investigations. The primary focal species is the boreal toad (Anaxyrus boreas), which is state-listed as endangered in parts of its range and is a high-priority conservation concern. In addition to boreal toads, the work is intended to consider other amphibians that share the same habitats and ecological conditions, including species such as tiger salamanders, chorus frogs, and wood frogs. By looking beyond a single species, the project is framed to address community-level dynamics and to produce findings that managers can use across multiple amphibian taxa occupying high-elevation or otherwise sensitive environments.

A major theme running through the announcement is climate change and its downstream ecological effects, particularly for species already living near the upper limits of their elevational range. The notice highlights observed and anticipated shifts in precipitation patterns at high elevations, such as more precipitation falling as rain instead of snow, alongside longer and more severe drought conditions. It also notes that increasing temperatures can change the length and timing of amphibian active seasons. Those shifts could create short-term opportunities (for example, longer activity windows for feeding or breeding), but they may also increase risks by favoring pathogens, facilitating invasive species, or altering habitat conditions in ways that amphibians cannot tolerate. In practice, the project is positioned to help answer applied questions about how these climate-driven changes may affect amphibian survival, reproduction, population persistence, and interactions with disease and other stressors.

The outcomes USGS is looking for are described in management-relevant terms: predictions and evidence-based understanding of how amphibian communities, individual species, and disease dynamics will respond under changing climate conditions. This kind of forecasting and mechanism-focused research is emphasized as a critical input to real-world management and mitigation planning, where agencies need to decide how to prioritize monitoring, habitat protection, restoration actions, translocations or reintroductions (where applicable), and disease prevention or response strategies.

While the boreal toad is the central species, the announcement also makes clear that the work is expected to have broader spill-over value. Findings should be useful for conserving other amphibians that could be headed toward listing or are being considered for pre-listing actions, with the Arizona toad mentioned as an example. More generally, USGS frames the project as contributing to herpetofaunal conservation overall, meaning the lessons learned about climate sensitivity, habitat constraints, and disease or community interactions could inform conservation approaches for amphibians and related taxa in similar ecological contexts.

From an administrative standpoint, the funding opportunity was created on 2021-08-06 and had an original closing date of 2021-08-30. The award ceiling is listed at $200,000, and the expected number of awards is not clearly specified in the provided source text. The activity category is Science and Technology and other Research and Development, consistent with a research-focused cooperative agreement where deliverables are likely to include analyses, reports, and other products that directly support resource managers and conservation decision-making.

• The Geological Survey in the science and technology and other research and development sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Cooperative Agreement for CESU-affiliated Partner with Rocky Mountain Cooperative Ecosystem Studies Unit" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 15.808.
• This funding opportunity was created on 2021-08-06.
• Applicants must submit their applications by 2021-08-30. (Agency may still review applications by suitable applicants for the remaining/unused allocated funding in 2026.)
• Each selected applicant is eligible to receive up to $200,000.00 in funding.
• Eligible applicants include: Others.

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