Cooperative Agreement for Affiliated Partner with the Colorado Plateau Cooperative Ecosystem Studies Unit (CESU)
🏛 Geological Survey (DOI-USGS1)
✓ Free, no account · Source: Grants.gov · Last verified Oct 18, 2026
Can you apply?
This grant is for partners of the Colorado Plateau Cooperative Ecosystem Studies Unit (CESU) to advance riverscape health assessments. Eligible recipients must be current CESU affiliated partners. Activities include developing lidar-based methods to estimate floodplain connectivity, comparing approaches against existing methods, and quantifying connectivity estimates across the Great Basin. The research supports fish and wildlife recovery, riparian restoration, and public lands recreation in western U.S. riverscapes.
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Program description
U.S. Geological Survey’s (USGS), Northern Rocky Mountain Science Center (NOROCK), is offering a funding opportunity to improve assessments of floodplain connectivity and riverscape health. Current approaches to identify floodplain connectivity across the western United States rely on field data, limiting inference and spatial extent of data. However, existing lidar datasets through the USGS provide unique opportunities to develop approaches using lidar elevation data to provide robust estimates of floodplain connectivity. The ultimate use of these data would be to identify factors limiting healthy riverscapes across the Great Basin.
The CESU partner in collaboration with NOROCK’s research fisheries biologist will advance the ability to evaluate riverscape health by addressing one or more of the following considerations to improve assessments of riverscape health:
- Develop a workflow for using lidar to estimate floodplain connectivity within riverscapes in the Great Basin.
- Demonstrate the benefits this approach in comparison to existing methods.
- Quantify continuous estimates of floodplain connectivity across portions of the Great Basin.
Results will be useful to the broader community working to assess and restore the health and ecosystem services of riverscapes in the Western US in relation to drought, land management activities, and fish and wildlife populations. Biologists and geomorphologists from NOROCK and the CESU Partner will collaborate with federal and state agencies and NGO partners to ensure their approach and data are accessible, scalable, and transferable to encourage the uptake by the broader scientific community involved with riverscape health assessments and restoration actions.
This project focuses on using remote sensing products to efficiently direct resources to restoration of rivers and riparian areas. Using lidar data to map the health of riverscapes supports:
- SO 3435 – Implementation of the Expanding Public Lands Outdoor Recreation Experiences Act (June 25, 2025)
- SO 3442 – Land and Water Conservation Fund Implementation by the U.S. Department of the Interior (September 4, 2025) Improving methods beyond field data by leveraging available lidar data will provide continuous, robust measures of riverscape health, thus supporting and restoring Gold Standard Science approaches:
- EO 14303 – Restoring Gold Standard Science (May 23, 2025)
- SO 3441 Implementing the Requirements of Executive Order 14303, Restoring Gold Standard Science, May 23, 2025 (August 29, 2025)
Restoring our riverscapes will inform Land and Water Conservation Fund Implementation by the U.S. Department of the Interior: and the lead to improved riverscape health that align with the Implementation of the Expanding Public Lands Outdoor Recreation Experiences Act. Further, the benefits of this project will provide cascading benefits to fish and wildlife, thus recovering populations and species. This falls in line with the goals outlined in:
- EO 14313 – Establishing the President’s Make America Beautiful Again Commission (July 3, 2025)
- SO 3435 – Implementation of the Expanding Public Lands Outdoor Recreation Experiences Act (June 25, 2025)
- SO 3442 – Land and Water Conservation Fund Implementation by the U.S. Department of the Interior (September 4, 2025)
Who can apply
Eligible applicants
How to apply
Application links
Key dates & requirements
Required documents
- CESU partner affiliation documentation
- Project proposal/narrative
- Budget and justification
- CV or qualifications of principal investigator
- Letters of commitment from USGS NOROCK collaborators
- Letters of support from restoration partners (agencies, NGOs)
Program contact
- 👤 Geological Survey
- 📧 katherine_calder@ios.doi.gov
- 📞 916-278-9331
Funding track record
Recent awards under CFDA 15.808 from the last 3 years — real organizations that won funding through this same program.
Top 10 Largest Recent Awards
-
$240,000,000
-
$11,148,115
-
$10,533,234
-
$10,055,533
-
$8,476,627
-
$8,454,102
-
$7,659,261
-
$6,894,612
-
$6,800,079
-
$6,644,228
Top States by Funding
- CO 8 awards $247.1M
- CA 23 awards $73.1M
- AK 15 awards $34.2M
- FL 6 awards $22.8M
- WA 4 awards $16.6M
Source: USAspending.gov — federal spending transparency. Data covers last 3 years.
Funding history
Annual funding for this program — Federal obligations (CFDA 15.808). How funding has trended year over year.
| 2024 | $125,066,719 | |
| 2025 | $54,713,074 | |
| 2026 est. | $60,000,000 |
FAQ
Who is eligible to apply?
Only current partners of the Colorado Plateau CESU can apply. Verify your organization's CESU partner status before applying.
What geographic area does this cover?
The project focuses on the Great Basin and broader western United States riverscapes. This includes Colorado Plateau region priorities.
What activities are funded?
Funded work includes developing lidar workflows for floodplain connectivity, comparing methods, and quantifying connectivity estimates across the Great Basin.
How competitive are awards?
Awards range from $1 to $90,000 with a $90,000 total pool. Applicants should emphasize collaboration with USGS NOROCK staff and broader community partners.
When is the deadline?
The fixed deadline is November 14, 2026. Submit applications well in advance to allow USGS review time.
💡 Tips for applicants
- Confirm your organization is an active Colorado Plateau CESU partner before investing application effort. Contact the CESU coordinator if unclear.
- Emphasize collaboration with USGS Northern Rocky Mountain Science Center (NOROCK) research fisheries biologist as required.
- Show how results will be scalable, transferable, and usable by federal/state agencies and NGO restoration partners.
- Use existing USGS lidar datasets and demonstrate how your approach improves upon current field-only methods.
- Link your project to relevant executive orders and secretarial orders emphasizing gold standard science and land/water conservation.
⚠️ Common mistakes
Applicants forget to verify CESU partner eligibility before submitting, wasting time on ineligible proposals. Proposals fail when they don't clearly show collaboration with USGS NOROCK staff as an integral partner. Projects lack impact when they don't demonstrate broader uptake potential beyond the immediate research team.
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