Cooperative Agreement for affiliated Partner with Colorado Plateau Cooperative Ecosystem Studies Unit
Funds a cooperative agreement for a Colorado Plateau CESU participating partner to conduct ecological research and related validation/modeling on Colorado River conditions in Grand Canyon, including parasites, diseases, invasive species, and fish prey base.
⚑ Only eligible to participating partners of the Colorado Plateau Cooperative Ecosystem Studies Unit (CESU). · Cooperative agreement with USGS; project is framed as collaborative research, not a general open competition. · Award ceiling: $475,000.
This is ecological/biomedical field research on river parasites, fish disease, invasive species, and eDNA validation in the Colorado River system. That is far outside IPPRA’s core social-behavioral, risk-perception, policy, weather, energy, and education lines, so it would not plausibly be pursued by this team as a PI-led grant.
JUDGED AGAINST THE ROSTER'S PUBLICATION DOSSIER · GPT-5.4-MINI · 2026-10-31
Unit fits — one characterization, each unit's own rules
| Physical Sciences & Engineering (demo) | 70 strong | technical depth: substantial; funds applied research |
| IPPRA | 45 partial | portfolio topics: environment, water_resources (primary); social/behavioral work is none; funds applied research; biomedical core — IPPRA health lane is communication/crisis/policy (capped); capped at 45 (limited social-science role) |
| Tom Love Innovation Hub | 30 weak | funds applied research; deep-tech content |
Description
The Southwest Biological Science Center of the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) is offering a Cooperative Agreement to one member of the Colorado Plateau CESU Program.
The goal of this project is to promote continued cooperation between the USGS and a university partner of the Colorado Plateau CESU to support ecological research along the Colorado River in the Grand Canyon, Arizona.
This project will improve understanding of the Colorado River in the Grand Canyon and the role that drought and Glen Canyon Dam operations may be playing in driving dynamics of parasites and diseases of both humans and fish, invasive species, and the aquatic insect prey base for fishes. Important elements of the university research roles will include validating new e-DNA detection tools for monitoring parasites and diseases, invasive species, and the aquatic insect prey base and new modeling tools that will inform predictions about possible future conditions.
Eligibility
This financial assistance opportunity is being issued under a Cooperative Ecosystem Studies Units (CESU) Program. CESU's are partnerships that provide research, technical assistance, and education. Eligible recipients must be a participating partner of the Colorado Plateau Cooperative Ecosystem Studies Unit.
Apply
View on Grants.gov → CONTACT: Geological Survey <Rachel_miller@ios.doi.gov>
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