Cooperative Agreement for CESU-affiliated Partner with Piedmont-South Atlantic Coast Cooperative Ecosystem Studies Unit | G23AS00086

Opportunity Information: Apply for G23AS00086

The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), through its Wetland and Aquatic Research Center, is offering a discretionary financial assistance opportunity in the form of a cooperative agreement to support applied research focused on how climate change could affect watershed hydrology and water-control operations at major reservoirs managed by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE). The core of the work is modeling: developing or applying tools that can represent how changing climate patterns (and related land-use change) may alter rainfall-runoff processes, streamflow timing and magnitude, reservoir inflows and releases, and the downstream consequences of those operational decisions. A key feature of the opportunity is that the modeling is not just for academic insight; it is intended to produce science that water-resource managers can use when making operational and planning decisions about how to adapt reservoir management under future conditions.

This research is framed around connected systems from upland watersheds to downstream aquatic habitats and forested floodplain ecosystems. In practical terms, the project is expected to link terrestrial hydrologic responses (such as changes in runoff generation, soil moisture, groundwater contributions, and seasonal flow regimes) with reservoir regulation strategies and downstream ecological outcomes. Because USACE reservoirs are often operated to meet multiple objectives (flood control, water supply, navigation, hydropower, environmental flows), the project emphasis on water-control management suggests attention to tradeoffs and decision support: how different operational rules or release patterns might perform under a range of plausible future climates, and what those choices mean for downstream wetlands, floodplains, and aquatic communities that depend on particular flow pulses, inundation patterns, and water-quality conditions.

The award is being issued under the Cooperative Ecosystem Studies Unit (CESU) Program, specifically tied to the Piedmont-South Atlantic Coast CESU. CESUs are structured partnerships designed to connect federal agencies with universities, nonprofits, and other research organizations to deliver research, technical assistance, and education that directly support resource-management needs. Because this is a CESU-based opportunity, eligibility is restricted: applicants must already be an official participating partner within the Piedmont-South Atlantic Coast CESU network. The choice of a cooperative agreement (rather than a standard grant) also signals that USGS anticipates substantial involvement during the project, such as collaboration on study design, data integration, model development, interpretation of results, and translating outputs into actionable guidance for managers.

Key administrative details from the notice include the opportunity title, "Cooperative Agreement for CESU-affiliated Partner with Piedmont-South Atlantic Coast Cooperative Ecosystem Studies Unit," with Funding Opportunity Number G23AS00086. The issuing agency is the Geological Survey (USGS). The activity category is listed as Science and Technology and other Research and Development, and the CFDA (assistance listing) number is 15.808. The opportunity was created on 2022-11-29 and originally closed on 2022-12-30. The posted award ceiling is $114,588. The eligible applicant type is listed as "Others," but the narrative requirement clarifies that eligibility is limited to partners of the specified CESU.

Overall, the opportunity is best understood as targeted, management-relevant climate adaptation research: using hydrologic and reservoir-operations modeling to help USACE and other water managers anticipate climate-driven hydrologic shifts, evaluate operational alternatives, and better protect or sustain downstream aquatic and floodplain ecosystems while continuing to meet human water-management objectives.

• 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 Piedmont-South Atlantic Coast 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 2022-11-29.
• Applicants must submit their applications by 2022-12-30. (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 $114,588.00 in funding.
• Eligible applicants include: Others.

Apply for G23AS00086

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