Funding Wizard

The U.S. Geological Survey, Northern Rocky Mountain Science Center (NOROCK), in collaboration with the Alaska Science Center (ASC), is offering a funding opportunity to study the effects of wildfires, forest structure and composition, and fuel treatments on demography and habitat characteristics of Plethodon neomexicanus (Jemez Mountains salamander, hereafter, PLNE) in the Jemez Mountains of north-central New Mexico, including the Valles Caldera National Preserve (VALL) and identified critical habitat zones in the neighboring USDA Santa Fe National Forest (SFNF). The Jemez Mountains salamander is a federally listed (USFWS Endangered, 2013) species endemic to the Jemez Mountains; this species spends much of its life belowground but exhibits periods of surface activity associated with reproduction and foraging. Recent large, high-severity wildfires that are not in alignment with natural fire regimes have been identified as the greatest threat to the species, with ~65% of all historic locations burned in recent wildfires, leading to rapid population decline. Little research has been conducted on fire effects on salamanders, but the few studies that exist point to wildfires degrading habitat by altering the thermal and moisture conditions. VALL and SFNF are working to reintroduce fire into forested ecosystems in the Jemez Mountains in a way that reduces the risk of catastrophic wildfires but protects important micro- and macrohabitat features for PLNE; however, it is unknown how the species will respond to fuel reduction treatments and ongoing changes in climate and fire regimes.

The US Geological Survey, Southwest Biological Science Center (SBSC), is offering a funding opportunity to a CESU partner for field data collection of plant species composition, vegetation structure, and soil conditions in big sagebrush ecosystems. Big sagebrush ecosystems provide habitat for a range of wildlife species and support livestock grazing, which is an important contributor to the sustainability of rural western economies and is nearly ubiquitous within the sagebrush biome. However, big sagebrush plant communities are in decline and being transformed by multiple threats including invasive annual grasses and changing climate. The goal of this opportunity is to enable scientists of CESU Partner to sample vegetation and soils in big sagebrush ecosystems. The objective of this opportunity is data characterizing the species composition, vegetation structure and soil conditions at selected big sagebrush shrubland sites.

The USGS is offering a funding opportunity to a CESU partner for research that will develop independent assessments and reporting tools within a user-friendly front-end application as a component of the National Early Detection and Rapid Response Information System. The objective of this research is to help accelerate management action and information exchange to aid in the prevention of the spread and establishment of invasive species and wildlife disease.

The USGS is offering a funding opportunity to a CESU partner for research in working with DOI management agencies whose trust resources are impacted or at risk from chronic wasting disease (CWD) and other wildlife diseases to 1) frame their decision problems as a way of helping management agencies navigate difficult tradeoffs and improve decision-making under uncertainty, and 2) to provide a generalizable framework for CWD and other wildlife disease decisions that may be applicable in other management jurisdictions as well.

The United States Geological Survey (USGS) is offering a funding opportunity to a CESU partner for research on multi-scale remote sensing of spectral and structural traits of biological soil crusts. The Western Geographic Science Center (WGSC) has a CESU requirement for work to be performed by a remote sensing specialist to contribute research to a USGS project titled “Biological soil crust ecology and function from space” This project is made up of a multi-disciplinary biocrust remote sensing research team that leverages USGS expertise in biocrusts, remote sensing, dryland ecology, and biogeochemistry to significantly advance dryland and remote sensing science. The objective of the project is to explore the use of multiple cutting-edge remote sensing data sets and techniques in order to assess plant, biological soil crust, and mineral soil under varied conditions. Will integrate measurements from field-based and aerial sensors (terrestrial lidar, hand-held and aerial thermal and hyperspectral) with hyperspectral and multispectral satellite data to map functional and structural traits and life history strategies across the landscape, enabling first-time insights into novel aspects of dryland ecosystem functioning. The team is looking for a CESU partner to help complete tasks essential to the success of the project.

The U.S. Geological Survey Southwest Biological Science Center (SBSC) is offering a funding opportunity for research to help build a program to use global manipulation experiments and fundamental biogeochemistry tools and concepts to improve our understanding of dryland biogeochemistry of the Colorado Plateau, as well as its responses to and controls over anthropogenic change. This includes a focus on improving our understanding and management options for sequestering carbon on public lands.

The USGS Water Mission Area (WMA) Next Generation Water Observing System (NGWOS), is offering a funding opportunity to a CESU partner for research and development of technology for microplastic detection and identification. Microplastics, including microbeads, fragments, and fibers are defined as plastics smaller than 5 mm in size. Water pollution due to microplastics is a top emerging concern for ecological and human health. One of the challenges for microplastic data collection is that the analytical process is time-consuming (days to weeks), labor-intensive, costly (equipment plus labor), and baseline data are limited. A low-cost portable sensor that can be deployed at testing fields with multiple sensing modalities and edge computing capabilities for microplastic identification is of interest to NGWOS. A reliable and low-cost microplastic sensor would be beneficial to the WMA and the water monitoring community.

The USGS Water Mission Area (WMA) Next Generation Water Observing System (NGWOS), is offering a funding opportunity to a CESU partner for research and development in underwater swarming technology and wireless data transmissions with aquatic vehicles. The applications of these technologies are of interest to NGWOS. Using a fleet of coordinated autonomous underwater vehicles, also known as underwater swarming, enables the collection of new types of measurements, and it enhances temporal and spatial sampling resolutions that are needed for advanced modeling. Wireless data transmission capabilities support efficient field operations.

The USGS Water Mission Area (WMA) Next Generation Water Observing System (NGWOS), is offering a funding opportunity to a CESU partner for research and development in the field of cosmic ray neutron sensing (CRNS) technology for soil water content (SWC) and snow water equivalent (SWE) measurements. The USGS has strong interest in upgrading its hydrological monitoring infrastructure to include CRNS detectors using stationary networks and synoptic surveys. Current research and development through NGWOS (1) evaluating stationary CRNS at three innovations testbeds located in Pennsylvania, California, and Colorado, (2) deploying a dense network of CRNS along a tributary to the upper Colorado, and (3) developing experiments using portable CRNS surveys. However, there is a general lack in consistency and transparency in data processing of both stationary and portable CRNS data. The current USGS workflow is primarily being pushed through the equipment vendor and research staff would prefer a more hands-on and open approach. Therefore, a functional, standardized CRNS processing workflow would be beneficial to the WMA and the water monitoring community as a whole.

The USGS Water Mission Area (WMA) Next Generation Water Observing System (NGWOS), is offering a funding opportunity to a CESU partner for development and execution of a Technology Transition Framework (TTF). The TTF will facilitate and incentivize new needed innovations and a robust process to guide the transition of technologies from the identification of specifications and requirements, through market research, prototype/beta testing and independent verifications, and into USGS operations.