Cooperative Ecosystem Studies Unit, Colorado Plateau CESU | G19AS00121

Opportunity Information: Apply for G19AS00121

The Cooperative Ecosystem Studies Unit, Colorado Plateau CESU opportunity (Funding Opportunity Number G19AS00121) is a small, targeted U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) funding call designed to support collaborative research on wildfire impacts in western U.S. conifer forests. Issued by the Department of the Interior, USGS, this discretionary opportunity uses a cooperative agreement mechanism, meaning the work is expected to involve active coordination and shared involvement between USGS staff and the selected recipient rather than operating as a hands-off grant. The overall intent is to strengthen general cooperation between USGS and an eligible CESU partner while advancing analysis related to fire-driven Vegetation Type Conversion (VTC), a process where wildfire contributes to long-lasting shifts from one vegetation type to another, potentially altering forest structure, ecosystem function, and recovery pathways.

The scientific focus centers on the growing wildfire problem in the southwestern United States and, more broadly, in the western U.S. The opportunity highlights that fire size, frequency, total area burned, and burn severity have been increasing across many vegetation types. Because plant species and ecological communities are adapted to particular fire regimes (the typical patterns of fire size, frequency, seasonality, and severity), major departures from historical fire regimes can push ecosystems into new states. In practical terms, when fires become larger, more frequent, or more severe than what local forests historically experienced, post-fire regeneration can fail or shift toward different vegetation assemblages, increasing the risk of conversion away from conifer-dominated forests into shrublands, grasslands, or other vegetation types. The project supported by this award is meant to help analyze these dynamics, contributing to a better understanding of where and why conversion is happening and what conditions make it more likely.

The opportunity description also lays out key drivers behind these intensifying fire impacts in forests that historically experienced frequent, low-severity fire. It points to increased fuel loading and fuel connectivity that allow fire to spread more continuously and intensely across landscapes. It emphasizes weather conditions that raise flammability and accelerate fire spread, alongside land-use legacies such as past excessive grazing and long-term fire exclusion that altered forest structure and fuel conditions. Finally, it underscores the role of contemporary climate change signals, specifically rising temperatures and increased vapor pressure deficit (VPD), which together dry fuels and vegetation and can make both fire behavior and post-fire recovery more challenging. In combination, these factors create conditions where fires can more readily exceed ecological thresholds and trigger lasting vegetation change.

From an administrative standpoint, the award is capped at $35,000 (Award Ceiling) with one expected award, indicating a limited-scope project or a discrete component of a larger research effort. The activity category is listed as Science and Technology and other Research and Development, and the CFDA number provided is 15.808. Eligibility is restricted to CESU partners, with the listing indicating “Others” and directing applicants to additional eligibility language in the full notice. The posting date was July 10, 2019, with an original closing date of July 26, 2019, reflecting a short application window typical of some focused CESU cooperative agreement opportunities.

Overall, this funding opportunity supports a specific research collaboration aimed at improving understanding of fire-driven vegetation type conversion in western conifer forests under changing fuel conditions, land-use legacies, and a warming, drying climate. The deliverable value is primarily scientific and management-relevant: better analysis of the conditions that disrupt historical fire regimes and the mechanisms by which those disruptions can lead to significant, potentially persistent ecosystem change.

• The Department of the Interior, U. S. Geological Survey in the science and technology and other research and development sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Cooperative Ecosystem Studies Unit, Colorado Plateau CESU" 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 Jul 10, 2019.
• Applicants must submit their applications by Jul 26, 2019. (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 $35,000.00 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).

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