Author: Bruce

Model Intercomparison and Improvement for Carbon Sequestration and Greenhouse Gas Emission Estimation from Agriculture

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The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) is announcing this funding opportunity for a cooperative agreement to support the coordination, implementation, and management of model intercomparison studies in agricultural systems. The model intercomparison study supports the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) Greenhouse Gas (GHG) Quantification efforts. The IRA GHG Quantification work for agriculture is a collaboration among several USDA agencies.

Funding Source: U.S. Department of Agriculture – Natural Resources Conservation Service
Deadline: Oct 04, 2024 Applications must be received by 11:59 pm Eastern Time

For more information see the listing on Grants.gov

A Tick-ing Time Bomb: Parasite Populations and their Effect on Moose in Maine

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The juvenile moose of Maine face two challenges in the dawn of their lives: harsh, frigid winters and thousands of parasitic ticks slowly draining their life source. The combination of the two establishes a low survival rate for these vulnerable moose calves, a phenomenon that may be aggravated by our warming climate. 

Dr. Pauline Kamath from the University of Maine is currently working to estimate winter tick population abundance and how it might be affected by environmental change. Through her research she has observed these winter tick infestations wreak havoc on moose calves and cause a decline in moose populations across Maine. When infested with up to 70,000 – 95,000 ticks during the winter season, moose calves can experience hair loss and anemia, and many ultimately die. In 2022 and 2023, Dr. Kamath reported that greater than eighty-five percent of the collared moose calves did not survive their first winters. 

As climate change makes winters warmer, these formidable winter tick populations are able to flourish. More favorable weather conditions allow for larval tick survival in the fall, along with high moose host densities, establishing a large tick population for the winter season. In collaboration with Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife and Penobscot Nation Department of Natural Resources, Dr. Kamath’s valuable research aims to inform the management and longevity of this iconic Maine species. 

According to Dr. Kamath, the North Atlantic Coast CESU has “allowed [her] to expand upon some of [her] lab’s ongoing research questions to more comprehensively examine winter tick infections in moose.” Our partnership with Dr. Kamath’s lab and the University of Maine has supported research on the various pathogens these winter ticks carry. Future research will include examining the effects of microclimate on tick populations and their survival, giving important insight into how changes in the environment will affect their abundance and distribution and the exposure risks to moose.

Image credit: Lee Kantar
Image credit: Dan Valasuso

Marine Species Density Data Gap Assessments and Update for the AFTT Study Area

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Responses to this Request for Statements of Interest will be used to identify potential investigators for a project to be funded by the United States (U.S.) Department of the Navy (DoN) Naval Facilities Engineering Systems Command Atlantic (NAVFAC LANT). NAVFAC LANT seeks to develop updated spatially explicit, density data layers1 for marine mammals that occur throughout the Navy’s Atlantic Fleet Training and Testing (AFTT) Study Sea. The authority for this Cooperative Agreement is 16 USC §670c-1 (Sikes Act).

Funding Source: U.S. Department of Defense
Deadline: July 11, 2024
For more information see the RSOI and the Project Description

Additional information provided on July 1:
We’ve been asked to provide you with the following responses regarding some questions about this RSOI. Please distribute it to the people you circulated this RSOI to. Note in particular the increased page limit.

Question: Would you please clarify the page limit for us? Does the 7-page limit include the cover page, the statement of credentials, and the cost estimate (budget justification), or does it only apply to the statement of work?

Answer: A cover page is not required. The submission should include the 5 items listed under “Materials Requested for Statement of Interest/Qualifications.” We have re-evaluated the page limit and have increased the maximum page limit to 25.

Question: I could also use your guidance on the request for a statement of safety practices/procedures. Our proposal is a desktop data analysis project, and involves no field work.

Answer: Please provide a statement of the safety practices/procedures used – if there are no safety practices/procedures, please briefly explain why the project didn’t have safety practices/procedures.

The potential base and option year funding ranges are:

  • Base year = range: $295,705 – $361,417
  • Option Year 1 = range: $291,420 – $356,180
  • Option Year 2 = range: $367,799 – $449,533
  • Option Year 3 = range: $362,546 – $443,112
  • Option Year 4 = range: $555,531 – $678,983

Evaluating the Bioaccessibility of Lead and Other Elements in Contaminated Soils from Variety of Environments

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The US Geological Survey is offering a funding opportunity to a CESU partner for research in biogeochemistry to evaluate the bioaccessibility of lead and other elements in contaminated soils from variety of environments.

Research Objectives:

1) Evaluate the use of an established in vitro method for lead bioaccessibility (EPA method 1340) for assessing the biogeochemistry of lead and other elements in contaminated soils.
2) Analyze soil samples for lead bioaccessibility from a variety of contaminant sources including battery recycling facilities, shooting ranges, lead paint, and legacy emissions from vehicles that used leaded gasoline prior to 1990. Approximately 150 soil samples (50 samples in three size fractions) will be available for testing.
3) Analyze other elements (Al, As, Bi, Ca, Cd, Cr, Cu, Fe, Pb, Mg, Sb, Sn, and Zn) in extractions from in vitro testing to evaluate discrimination between contaminant sources using element ratios.
4) Collaborate on interpretive reports including data on the bioaccessibility of Pb and other elements in contaminated soils, and similar areas of investigation.

Award Information: It is anticipated that one award will be made with one base year and one renewal year. The total estimated funding for this project is $33,100.  Funding in the amount of $22,000 is estimated to be available for Fiscal Year 2024. Additional funding in the amount of $11,100 is estimated to be available for Fiscal Year 2025. Additional funding may be available, based upon satisfactory progress.

Funding Source: Department of the Interior, U.S.G.S.

Deadline: July 15, 2024, 5pm ET

For more information see the posting on Grants.gov

Social Network Analysis of the Environmental Justice and Climate Justice Community Active in Climate Adaptation and Conservation

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The funding opportunity is being offered to develop and test a methodology for conducting social network analyses nationally and at each regional Climate Adaptation Science Center (CASC) in order to identify organizations engaging in environmental justice and climate justice work that might overlap with CASC efforts. The recipient will develop the methodology for a social network analysis to identify, map and measure relationship patterns. The recipient will then apply the methodology in a national analysis for NCASC and a minimum of two Regional CASC analyses.

Funding Source: U.S. Geological Survey
Closing Date for Applications: Aug 09, 2024 Electronically submitted applications must be submitted no later than 5:00 p.m., ET, on the listed application due date.
For more information see the listing on Grants.gov

2024 SPSD Collaborative Soil Survey Research

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The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA)’s Natural Resources Conservation Service Soil and Plant Science Division (NRCS SPSD), is announcing the potential availability of funding for agreements for the purposes of supporting cooperative research in soil science and soil survey. The purpose of the 2024 Soil Survey Cooperative Research Proposals is to promote research that informs and improves soil survey. Each proposal must include significant collaboration with soil survey personnel (such as those at the National Soil Survey Center, MLRA Soil Survey or Regional offices). The proposal’s deliverables and their connection to soil survey must be clearly explained. Extra consideration will be given to proposals that include Dynamic Soil Survey research support, with close collaboration with National Soil Survey Center Research Soil Scientists. The work should have national or broad regional application to fill gaps in soil survey databases, provide new approaches to collecting or interpreting soil survey data, and/or address emerging issues in the national research priority areas.

Funding Source: U.S. Department of Agriculture
Closing Date for Applications: July 08, 2024 Applications must be received by 11:59 pm Eastern Time.
Eligibility: Limited to institutions of higher education in the Cooperative Ecosystem Studies Unit (CESU) network
For more information see the listing on grants.gov

White-nose Syndrome Research for Conservation Grants – 2024

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The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service) makes funding available for research and conservation action to support the management of white-nose syndrome (WNS) and susceptible bat species. The Service leads the coordinated National Response to WNS and provides financial and technical assistance to nongovernmental, university, and private researchers, as well as state and local governments, Native American tribes, and federal agencies to support management of WNS and conservation of bats. Projects receiving WNS Research for Conservation Grants will investigate priority questions to improve our collective ability to manage the disease and conduct actions that conserve affected bat species.

Deadline: Dec 15, 2024, 11:59PM ET
For more information see the listing on Grants.gov
This grant requires a 30% match, that could be at least partially met through the reduced CESU indirect cost rate.

Free Black Communities in the Shenandoah Valley Special History Study

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The National Park Service (NPS), through Cedar Creek and Belle Grove National Historical Park and the Interior Region 1 (IR-1), North Atlantic-Appalachian History and Preservation Assistance Office, requires the performance of research and writing of a Special History Study about free Black communities in the Shenandoah Valley in the years immediately preceding the Civil War and into the Reconstruction Era.

Deadline: Deadline for responding to this letter of interest is Wednesday, May 8, 2024.
Funding: Available funds will support a project up to $65,000 (including indirect costs)
For more information see the Request for Letters of Interest and the Scope of Work.
Additional Documents: Budget Worksheet (Excel)

Great Smoky Mountains National Park- Long-Term Ecological Monitoring Data Analyses

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Project: The National Park Service (NPS) is seeking the assistance of principal investigator(s) for a project involving the analysis of long-term ecological monitoring data to provide trends in resource condition and to address inter-disciplinary questions that provide insight on the health of the Park’s ecosystems.
This project requires a principal investigator with experience in quantitative ecological analysis of terrestrial and/or aquatic systems.
Funding Source: National Park Service
Deadline: The deadline for responding to this letter of interest is May 31, 2024, by 5:00pm ET.
For more information see the Request for Letters of Interest and the Dataset Summary Spreadsheet.

Heritage Documentation Programs Recordation, Nationwide

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Project: The Heritage Documentation Program is interested in cooperating with a CESU partner(s) to accomplishing the following in accordance with the Secretary of the Interior’s Standards and Guidelines. Some elements may not be applicable to each project and are noted by and an “*”: Written Historic Report, Large Format Photographs, *Measured Drawings, Address peer review comments and revise report accordingly, Arrange documentation in accordance with Preparing HABS/HAER/HASLS Documentation for Transmittal to the Library of Congress.
Funding Sources: National Park Service.
Deadline for responses: June 1, 2024
For more information see the Request for Letters of Interest.