Cooperative Agreement for CESU-affiliated Partner with Great Lakes – Northern Forest Cooperative Ecosystem Studies Unit | G24AS00185

Opportunity Information: Apply for G24AS00185

This funding opportunity (G24AS00185) is a discretionary cooperative agreement offered by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) to support science and technology research focused on evaluating how well remediation and habitat restoration actions are working at Great Lakes Areas of Concern (AOCs). The core problem the grant addresses is the long-standing legacy of contaminated sediments in AOCs, where pollutants such as organic contaminants, mercury, and trace metals have persisted for decades. These contaminants have contributed to ecological and human-use impacts that are formally tracked through Beneficial Use Impairments (BUIs), including restrictions on fish consumption, degraded fish and wildlife populations, and loss or degradation of fish and wildlife habitat.

The work is framed around the practical decision needs of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), specifically the Great Lakes National Program Office (GLNPO), which manages AOC remediation under the Great Lakes Legacy Act. AOCs are not considered recovered until all listed BUIs are removed. That matters because BUI removal is the condition EPA relies on to petition for delisting an AOC, meaning the site is judged to have returned to a baseline, reference, or otherwise pre-defined condition. The opportunity highlights that, even with substantial remediation investments, there are still unresolved technical and scientific questions about how to measure "remedy effectiveness" and how to evaluate whether habitat restoration actions are truly delivering the ecological recovery implied by BUI removal targets. In other words, the focus is not simply on doing remediation, but on building and improving the assessment approaches that demonstrate whether remediation and restoration are achieving intended outcomes.

Because this is issued through the Cooperative Ecosystem Studies Unit (CESU) Program, eligibility is limited to organizations that are partners in the Great Lakes - Northern Forest CESU. CESUs are collaborative partnerships designed to link federal agencies with universities, nonprofits, and other research entities to provide applied research, technical assistance, and education tied to natural resource management priorities. The cooperative agreement mechanism also signals that USGS is likely to have substantial involvement in the project during performance (for example, collaboration on study design, data needs, interpretation, or coordination with agency partners), rather than functioning as a hands-off grantmaker.

Key administrative details included in the announcement are that the awarding agency is the Geological Survey, the assistance listing is CFDA 15.808, and the activity category is Science and Technology and other Research and Development. The funding ceiling is $200,000. The posting indicates an original closing date of December 22, 2023, and a creation date of November 21, 2023. The eligible applicant category is listed as "Others," but the narrative requirement is explicit that applicants must be active participants in the Great Lakes - Northern Forest CESU partnership.

Overall, the opportunity is aimed at generating applied research products that help agencies more confidently answer questions like: whether sediment remedies are reducing contaminant exposure and risk as expected, whether restored habitats are functioning in ways that support fish and wildlife recovery, what indicators and monitoring designs best track progress toward BUI removal, and how to interpret post-remediation data in a way that supports consistent, defensible delisting decisions across different AOCs.

• 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 Great Lakes – Northern Forest 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 2023-11-21.
• Applicants must submit their applications by 2023-12-22. (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.

Apply for G24AS00185

[Watch] Creating a grant proposal using the step-by-step wizard inside the applicant portal: