Cooperative Agreement for CESU-affiliated Partner with Gulf Coast Cooperative Ecosystem Studies Unit | G24AS00416

Opportunity Information: Apply for G24AS00416

This opportunity (Funding Opportunity Number G24AS00416) is a US Geological Survey (USGS) discretionary funding announcement that will be awarded as a cooperative agreement, meaning the work is expected to involve active collaboration with USGS staff rather than operating as a hands-off grant. It is issued under the Cooperative Ecosystem Studies Unit (CESU) Program, which is designed to link federal agencies with partner institutions to deliver research, technical assistance, and education. Only organizations that are official, participating partners of the Gulf Coast CESU are eligible to apply.

The purpose of the award is to support technical assistance for wildlife disease surveillance and disease investigations covering both native and invasive wildlife. The project is framed around generating practical, management-relevant disease information and then making sure that information is distributed through the appropriate channels so it can be used for wildlife management decisions and for public-facing communications. In other words, the work is not just about collecting field or lab data; it is also about packaging results in a way that supports real-world response, coordination, and messaging.

USGS identifies several priority areas for disease investigation. These include white-nose syndrome (a major disease impacting bats), cervid health with particular attention to Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD), diseases affecting reptiles and amphibians (often referred to as herptile diseases), and wildlife zoonoses (diseases that can spread between wildlife and people, directly or indirectly). The emphasis on these topics signals that the award is aimed at improving detection, understanding, and reporting of high-concern pathogens and mortality events that have ecological, economic, and sometimes public health implications.

A central deliverable is information dissemination through national data systems used for wildlife health reporting. The CESU partner is expected to integrate its surveillance and investigation data into the National Wildlife Disease Database infrastructure, specifically including USGS systems such as WHISPers (Wildlife Health Information Sharing Partnership - Event Reporting System) and AquaDePTH (Aquatic Disease and Pathogen Repository). This database integration is tied to a federal mandate under Section 6003(a) of the American Rescue Plan Act (Public Law 117-2), which underscores that timely, standardized reporting is not optional window dressing but a key outcome of the funded work. Practically, this means applicants should anticipate responsibilities around data management, formatting, and submission workflows that meet system requirements, along with coordination to ensure events and findings are captured accurately and consistently.

Beyond database reporting, dissemination also includes more direct collaboration and communication activities with USGS scientists. The project expects the recipient to participate in meetings and deliver presentations that help build and sustain academic-federal collaborations on wildlife disease surveillance, morbidity and mortality investigations, and evidence-based disease management strategies. This reflects a broader goal of strengthening networks: connecting field observations and diagnostic findings with researchers and managers who can interpret them, act on them, and translate them into prevention or response actions.

Financially, the announcement lists an award ceiling of $131,500. The notice indicates an expected awards field but does not provide a clear number of awards in the supplied text; the practical takeaway is that applicants should plan around the stated ceiling as the maximum anticipated federal share for this cooperative agreement. The opportunity was created on 2024-06-27, and the original closing date is 2024-07-29.

In summary, this is a targeted CESU-only cooperative agreement focused on strengthening wildlife disease surveillance and investigation capacity for high-priority diseases, paired with a strong requirement to share results in nationally recognized USGS reporting platforms (WHISPers and AquaDePTH) and through active engagement with USGS scientists. The end goal is better coordinated, evidence-driven wildlife health management supported by timely data sharing and clear communication suitable for both technical decision-making and public relations.

• 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 Gulf 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 2024-06-27.
• Applicants must submit their applications by 2024-07-29. (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 $131,500.00 in funding.
• Eligible applicants include: Others.

Apply for G24AS00416

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