Cooperative Agreement for CESU-affiliated Partner with Piedmont-South Atlantic Coast Cooperative Ecosystem Studies Unit | G24AS00280

Opportunity Information: Apply for G24AS00280

This grant opportunity (Funding Opportunity Number G24AS00280) is a discretionary US Geological Survey (USGS) award offered through the National and Regional Climate Adaptation Science Center (NRCASC). It will be issued as a cooperative agreement, meaning the selected recipient should expect substantial collaboration and involvement from USGS staff during the project rather than operating fully independently. The work falls under the Science and Technology and other Research and Development activity category and is associated with CFDA (Assistance Listing) 15.808.

The project focus is titled "Advancement of a Prescribed Fire Recommendation Engine: Laying the foundation for climate change-informed prescribed fire management." In practical terms, the USGS is seeking research support to improve how prescribed burning is planned and recommended in the Southeastern United States, particularly as climate change shifts weather patterns, fuels, and wildfire conditions. A core goal is to clarify how prescribed fire can be used as a management tool across ecosystems in this region while accounting for changing risks and constraints. The effort is designed to strengthen the scientific basis behind decision-support tools that help managers identify when and where prescribed burning is feasible and advisable.

A central research component described in the opportunity is characterizing land and fire managers' risk tolerances related to wildfire risk, explicitly in the context of climate change. That implies the work is not only about biophysical fire modeling but also about understanding decision-making under risk: how managers weigh the benefits of prescribed fire (fuel reduction, habitat management, ecosystem resilience) against the potential downsides (escape risk, smoke impacts, liability, narrow burn windows, public concerns), especially as climate-driven conditions may make both wildfire behavior and prescribed burning opportunities more variable. The outcome is intended to inform more realistic and usable recommendations by aligning modeled outputs with how practitioners actually make choices under uncertainty.

On the technical side, the recipient is expected to contribute to scientific advancement in fire ecology and climate change ecology, with a particular emphasis on improving modeling of prescribed fire "opportunity windows." Opportunity windows generally refer to the periods when weather, fuel moisture, staffing, and regulatory or smoke management conditions allow safe and effective prescribed burns. The opportunity also points to longer-term forecasting and prediction, suggesting an interest in extending from near-term burn window assessment toward seasonal to longer-horizon outlooks that could help agencies anticipate how burn feasibility and wildfire risk may evolve under climate change. The overarching intent is to lay groundwork for prescribed fire guidance that is explicitly climate-informed rather than based only on historical norms.

Eligibility is restricted to CESU partners within the Piedmont-South Atlantic Coast Cooperative Ecosystem Studies Unit. CESUs are formal partnerships that connect federal agencies with universities and other organizations to deliver research, technical assistance, and education, and this award is specifically routed through that mechanism. The "Eligible Applicants" field is listed as "Others," but the narrative makes clear that applicants must be participating partners of the Piedmont-South Atlantic Coast CESU to be considered.

Key administrative details include an award ceiling of $70,386, with the opportunity created on February 27, 2024, and an original closing date of March 27, 2024. The agency is the Geological Survey (USGS). The announcement does not specify the exact number of expected awards in the provided text, but it indicates a targeted effort supporting a defined project in collaboration with USGS, consistent with a focused cooperative agreement intended to advance a specific decision-support and research agenda around prescribed fire in the Southeast under changing climate conditions.

• 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 Piedmont-South Atlantic Coast 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 2024-02-27.
• Applicants must submit their applications by 2024-03-27. (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 $70,386.00 in funding.
• Eligible applicants include: Others.

Apply for G24AS00280

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