Description: Environmental assessments on offshore renewable energy development require accurate modeling and effective monitoring. Traditional sound propagation modeling for noise effect analysis often uses historical environmental variables that may not reflect oceanographic regime shifts due to climate change. Existing acoustic monitoring only evaluates species calls and signal/noise characteristics collected at the recording sites without incorporating oceanographic variables, and is thus unable to address broader issues such as ecological dynamics and oceanographic processes related to offshore wind development.The proposed study will deploy acoustic sensors in the vicinity of the National Science Foundation’s (NSF’s) Pioneer Array ocean observation platform to collect active and passive acoustic datasets and to conduct sound propagation measurements. Closing Date for Applications: June 13, 2024 5:00 p.m., ET Funding Source: Department of the Interior, Bureau of Ocean Energy Management
Project: Responses to this Request for Statements of Interest will be used to identify potential investigators for a project to be funded by the National Park Service (NPS) and coordinated by Carl Sandburg Home National Historic Site (CARL). The project involves the development and production of a special history study that uses research and critical analysis to document Carl and Lillian Sandburg’s views on and relationships with African Americans and the struggle for civil rights. These resources will enable CARL to develop interpretive and educational programs that expand understanding of the Sandburgs and connect visitors with African American history and culture.
This project requires a principal investigator(s) with a deep knowledge of American history and literature, with a focus on the African American experience and civil rights, as well as prior experience researching, writing, and producing government reports, especially as related to NPS interpretive histories, historic contexts, or theme studies.
Deadline: The deadline for responding to this letter of interest has been extended to May 15, 2024 by 5:00pm ET. PLEASE NOTE: A budget is not requested at this time.
During the summer season of 2023, a 14-foot white shark loomed over Herring Cove along the Cape Cod National Seashore, reminding visitors of the potential dangers that lurk beneath the waves. However, this particular shark wasn’t like its living, breathing counterparts, as it was crafted entirely out of plastic debris. This art installation from the Center for Coastal Studies (CCS) served both as a symbol of these important annual visitors to the Cape as well as a warning to the public of a greater threat to marine life: marine debris pollution.
Funded through a unique opportunity from the NOAA Marine Debris Program and the National Park Service, this project sought to highlight plastic marine debris in an engaging way to visitors. Cindy Pease Roe, a local artist with an extensive background in upcycling plastic pollution, was commissioned to design and build a steel framework in the shape of a white shark and attach various marine debris items, found along the shoreline by groups of CCS volunteers. This spectacular sculpture was given the name “Sugar, aka Mama Shug” and placed on display at the Herring Cove Bathhouse for members of the public to admire and understand the harsh truth about the amount of plastic debris in our own backyards. The plastic components of this sculpture were from everyday items, forcing visitors to think about their personal impact on the environment.
“This global environmental issue becomes not just local but personal,” says Aleutia Scott, North District Supervisor of Interpretation & Education at Cape Cod National Seashore.
When it comes to marine debris pollution in our oceans, reality bites.
“Marine debris, including consumer debris, construction material, fishing gear and miscellaneous items, impacts the Cape Cod beaches in many ways,” explains Laura Ludwig, CCS Marine Debris and Plastics Program Director. “Visually, it can interfere with an otherwise pristine land- and seascape; logistically, it can present hazards of entanglement or ingestion to animals, and to pedestrians it can pose a threat to bare feet; economically, it can stretch the budget of the National Seashore to clean it all up and dispose of it properly.”
Projects such as this are important for bringing awareness to this dynamic issue and creating a conversation around responsible plastic use. There are plans for a smaller version of the sculpture to be displayed inside the Cape Cod National Seashore Salt Pond Visitors Center, and similar plastic art installations are in the works around the Cape.
Project: The US Geological Survey is offering a funding opportunity to a CESU partner for research on the classification of riverbed substrate for the Colorado River in Grand Canyon.
Deadline: Electronically submitted applications must be submitted no later than 5:00 p.m., ET on April 8, 2024.
Project: The National Park Service (NPS), Interior Region 2 (IR-2)- South Atlantic-Gulf, is seeking the services of a principal investigator(s)/editor(s) for a project to be funded by the National Park Service (NPS) and coordinated by Natchez National Historical Park (NATC). The project involves the development and production of a multi-authored and multi-chaptered Special History Study detailing the history and significance of the Fort Rosalie Site, with a special focus on the experiences and interactions between people of Native American, European, and African descent.
Deadline: The deadline for responding to this letter of interest is April 15, 2024 by 5:00pm ET.
The Northeast Region of the National Park Service is working to tackle the challenges created by climate change and other stressors through regional initiatives targeting key resources. With funding from the 2021 Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL) and the 2022 Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), these initiatives are moving forward as funded projects. Each initiative is working to bring the best available science and indigenous knowledge to bear on restoring or enhancing the resilience of cultural and natural resources entrusted to the National Park Service.
Deadline for Responding: March 22, 2024
Funds Available: $100,000 to $150,000 is available for the first two years of this project, inclusive of the CESU overhead rate of 17.5%.
The Joshua A. Nickerson Conservation Fellowship, offered in partnership by Cape Cod National Seashore Advisory Commission, Atlantic Research & Learning Center, and Friends of the Cape Cod National Seashore, has provided support to qualified individuals since 1992. At least one fellowship is awarded each year to individuals whose work will contribute to our knowledge of natural and cultural resources within Cape Cod National Seashore, and of the relationships of these resources to the local communities in which they are found.
Proposals may be submitted for research in the broad areas of the natural and social sciences. Topics of interest include terrestrial and aquatic ecosystem processes, biotic and abiotic ecosystem components, cultural and natural resource management, and the political and social implications of resource protection and management.
The amount of the fellowship varies from year to year. Housing may also be available to fellowship recipients while research is being conducted in the park. Laboratory equipment and field equipment may be available as well.
The National Park Service (NPS) is requesting proposals from partners of the Cooperative Ecosystem Studies Units (CESU) Network to synthesize, analyze and summarize multiple files, sources of literature, agency records, university records and other NGO records on the distribution and abundance of birds in Mojave National Preserve to assist in the development of fire management plan revisions.
Award Ceiling: $57,000 Closing Date for Applications: 11:59pm PT, March 15, 2023 For More Information: See the listing on Grants.gov
Minute Man National Historical Park (MIMA) needs an inventory of bats to determine presence in areas of proposed building demolition and hazard tree management along trail corridors. An understanding of bat occupancy in these areas will allow proactive planning and appropriate timing of management actions.
Funding Source: National Park Service Project Timeframe: Deadline for responding to this request for LOI is January 24, 2024. Funds will be obligated in winter 2024, with work starting by April 2024. The anticipated completion date for the project is September 30, 2025. Funds Available: Project funds available are approximately $50,000; this includes the CESU overhead rate of 17.5%. The project will be funded by the National Park Service Inventory Program within the NPS Inventory and Monitoring Division.
The USGS Water Mission Area (WMA) Next Generation Water Observing System (NGWOS), is offering a funding opportunity to a CESU partner for a laboratory evaluation of a multi-parameter standard solution for water-quality analysis. The standard solution, recently patented by the USGS (US 11,768,160), is a combination of a xanthene dye, distyryl biphenyl (DSBP) and a pH buffer that is intended as a quick, easy, and stable standard solution for the verification and/or calibration of field sensor performance. The standard solution can be used to calibration several field sensors at once including sensors for fluorescent dissolved organic matter (fDOM, e.g. excitation at 350 nm and emission at 450 nm) and chlorophyll-a fluorescence (excitation at 465 nm and emission at 665 nm).
Research Objectives and Tasks: The objective of this funding opportunity is to test a standard solution for chemical stability of time and a range of temperatures. There are two primary tasks: Task 1 Determine the chemical stability of a standard solution provided by the USGS over a period of 90+ days with testing at intervals of at least weekly for relevant chemical properties; Task 2 Determine the chemical stability of a standard solution provided by the USGS over a range of temperatures from 0 to 30 degrees Celsius; Task 3 Determine the chemical stability of a standard solution provided by the USGS as influenced by physical agitation such as stirring and shaking.
Funding Source: USGS Current Closing Date for Applications: Dec 13, 2023 Electronically submitted applications must be submitted no later than 5:00 p.m., ET, on the listed application due date.
