Cooperative Agreement for Affiliated Partner with the Pacific Northwest Cooperative Ecosystem Studies Unit (CESU)
🏛 Geological Survey (DOI-USGS1)
✓ Free, no account · Source: Grants.gov · Last verified Oct 19, 2026
Can you apply?
This grant is for Pacific Northwest CESU partner organizations conducting wildlife disease research and management planning.
Eligible recipients must be active partners in the Pacific Northwest Cooperative Ecosystem Studies Unit Program. This includes universities, tribal nations, state agencies, and nonprofit research organizations that are formal CESU affiliates.
The project focuses on chronic wasting disease (CWD) prevention and management in the northeastern and western United States. Funding supports research, decision support tool development, and science communication to inform long-term CWD management strategies.
Awards range from $1 to $200,000 depending on project scope. No cost-sharing is required.
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Program description
The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) is offering a funding opportunity to a CESU partner for research in the study of chronic wasting disease (CWD) to support its prevention and management in the northeastern, and western United States. This project builds on several existing projects in direct collaboration with natural resource agencies where, in many locations, chronic wasting disease is not yet widespread and endemic. In order to better plan for the eventual spread into the region and its wide-ranging effects, this project would focus on strategic planning for CWD management as a long-term endeavor focused on repeated, linked management decisions that span two disease states (disease-free and disease-present) and recurring decisions on surveillance, regulatory actions (e.g., harvest policy, bans on harvested animal transport and carcass disposal), and targeted actions (e.g., hunter outreach, culling). The goal of thisproject is to support those long-term management efforts by developing decision support tools that estimate the arrival of CWD, the spread and growth of disease in new locations, and the opportunities that agencies have in preventing its effects.
The USGS has developed a set of linked decision support tools that model metrics of interest (CWD prevalence, costs, active hunters) as functions of disease dynamics and alternative management strategies. While the decision support tools are currently being used to inform CWD management planning in some locations, there are opportunities to refine their structure, develop more reliable estimates for critical uncertainties, and distribute them widely to natural resource managers across regions.
In particular, it is proposed to further develop model-based estimates of the rate of disease introduction into northeastern U.S. from multiple pathways, and then test the efficacy of surveillance and public communications strategies to enhance targeted actions such as carcass disposal, hunter-harvest, and culling to reduce the long-term impacts. In combination, these tasks will advance long-term, strategic CWD management in the northeastern U.S. prior to widespread impacts to the region.
This project is designed to support and align with existing planning documents, executive orders, and congressional priorities. The CESU partner would help achieve governmental efficiency by developing risk-informed approaches to potential hazards (EO 14239 – Achieving Efficiency Through State and Local Preparedness (March 19, 2025), such as the spread of wildlife diseases that have already cost U.S. taxpayers millions of dollars (Chiavacci 2022). This funding opportunity also aligns with EO 14314 – Making America Beautiful Again by Improving Our National Parks (July 3, 2025) by considering the effect that diseases have on the recreational experience at National Parks, National Forests, and National Refuges and by examining management actions that keep animals healthy and abundant, promote hunting opportunities, and maintain economic viability of local communities that depend on our natural resources for their livelihoods. Finally, the CESU partner will develop science that supports EO 14303 – Restoring Gold Standard Science (May 23, 2025) by creating open access science (reproducibility), transparency and unbiased approach in collecting and analyzing data used to model future scenarios and communicating scientific data accurately.
Who can apply
Eligible applicants
How to apply
Application links
Required documents
- Standard USGS/DOI application forms (likely SF-424 or federal equivalent)
- Project narrative and work plan
- Budget and budget justification
- Evidence of CESU partner status
- Letters of support or commitment from partner agencies
- Biographical sketches of key personnel
- Institutional compliance documentation
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 can apply for this grant?
Only organizations that are current partners of the Pacific Northwest CESU Program are eligible. You must have formal affiliation status with the CESU to submit an application.
What types of projects does this funding support?
The grant funds research on chronic wasting disease (CWD) management, modeling, surveillance strategies, and decision support tools. Projects must advance long-term CWD planning in the northeastern or western U.S.
Is cost-sharing required?
No. This grant does not require matching funds or cost-sharing from applicants.
What is the funding range?
Awards typically range from $1 to $200,000, depending on project scope and available funds within the $200,000 total pool.
When is the deadline?
The application deadline is November 14, 2026. This is a fixed deadline, not rolling.
💡 Tips for applicants
- Confirm your organization's CESU partner status before investing time in the application. Contact the Pacific Northwest CESU program office to verify eligibility.
- Frame your project around decision support tools and strategic planning for CWD management. Emphasize long-term, recurring management decisions and cross-regional applicability.
- Include strong connections to existing state or tribal natural resource planning efforts. Show how your work will serve actual wildlife managers making CWD decisions.
- Highlight open science principles and data transparency. The grant priorities include reproducibility and unbiased data collection and analysis.
- Address the specific geographic focus: northeastern and western U.S. Be clear about which region your project serves and why CWD prevention matters there.
⚠️ Common mistakes
Applications fail when they don't verify CESU partnership eligibility first. Ensure your organization is formally affiliated before submitting.
Proposals that focus only on CWD research without connecting to actionable management decisions or decision support tools are less competitive. Tie your work directly to how natural resource managers will use your findings.
Weak project plans lack specificity about which region (northeastern or western U.S.) benefits and what existing management structures or agencies your work supports.
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