Cooperative Agreement for CESU-affiliated Partner with North Atlantic Coast Cooperative Ecosystem Studies Unit | G22AS00112

Funding Opportunity FAQs (USGS WARC Cooperative Agreement)

1) What agency is offering this funding opportunity?

This opportunity is offered by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), through its Wetland and Aquatic Research Center (WARC).

2) What type of award is being used for this opportunity?

The award is a discretionary cooperative agreement. This typically means there will be substantial federal involvement during the project (for example, coordination on scope, data sources, modeling choices, deliverable review, and engagement with agency stakeholders).

3) What is the main goal of the project?

The goal is to support applied research that strengthens coastal ecosystem restoration planning by improving scientific tools used to evaluate how restoration actions affect estuarine conditions, with a focus on practical, decision-ready outputs.

4) What technical focus areas does the work emphasize?

The work centers on hydrodynamic and water quality modeling, specifically building an approach that couples how water moves through estuaries, canals, and wetlands with water quality processes such as nutrient transport and mixing.

5) What does "process-driven" mean in the context of the model described?

Based on the description, "process-driven" indicates the model is intended to represent underlying physical and biogeochemical mechanisms (not just map patterns). That includes mechanisms controlling water movement and the fate/transport of nutrients and related constituents.

6) Why does the opportunity emphasize "high spatial resolution" modeling?

The model is expected to capture fine-scale coastal features that can be missed by coarser tools, such as canal-wetland connectivity, localized flow paths, and water quality gradients that matter for restoration planning and evaluation.

7) What kinds of restoration planning questions is this project meant to support?

The modeling system is intended to help planners and resource managers anticipate tradeoffs and outcomes before restoration projects are built or modified, such as how designs may influence circulation, flushing, nutrient movement, and the emergence of water quality hotspots.

8) What environmental settings are explicitly called out as priorities?

The notice highlights estuaries, canals, and wetlands, including nutrient transport and water quality processes in canals and adjacent wetlands across varying environmental conditions.

9) Does the opportunity require future scenario analysis (for example, climate change)?

Yes. The opportunity explicitly calls out climate change and sea-level rise and expects the modeling system to be capable of scenario-based simulations reflecting changing boundary conditions, altered hydrology, and shifting coastal dynamics.

10) How is the project expected to help with adaptive management?

The future-looking scenario component is meant to help managers evaluate whether restoration outcomes remain effective under plausible future conditions and to support adaptive management strategies that can be adjusted as conditions evolve.

11) What are the expected outcomes or benefits of the work?

Expected benefits are framed around improved understanding of processes controlling water quality and nutrient transport and improved decision-making for restoration planning. The emphasis is on results that support ecosystem-based decision-making in real planning contexts (not purely academic outputs).

12) Who is eligible to apply?

Eligibility is restricted to organizations that are official partners in the North Atlantic Coast Cooperative Ecosystem Studies Unit (CESU) Program.

13) What does the notice mean by listing the eligible applicant category as "Others"?

In this notice, "Others" is narrowed by the explicit requirement that applicants must be official partners within the North Atlantic Coast CESU network.

14) What is the relevant CESU framework mentioned in the opportunity?

The opportunity is issued under the CESU framework, which is designed to create partnerships that deliver research, technical assistance, and education tied to federal natural resource priorities.

15) What is the funding opportunity number?

The funding opportunity number is G22AS00112.

16) What is the Assistance Listing / CFDA number?

The Assistance Listing/CFDA number is 15.808.

17) What activity category is associated with this opportunity?

The activity category is listed as Science and Technology and other Research and Development.

18) What is the maximum award amount (award ceiling)?

The award ceiling is $158,838.

19) When was the opportunity originally posted?

The original posting date is January 5, 2022.

20) What was the original closing date?

The original closing date is February 4, 2022.

21) What kind of deliverables is USGS looking for?

The notice emphasizes practical, decision-ready outputs that restoration planners and resource managers can use to anticipate restoration tradeoffs and outcomes before projects are implemented or modified.

22) What kinds of scientific processes are specifically mentioned under "water quality"?

The description mentions nutrient transport, mixing, and conditions that influence overall water quality, along with the fate of nutrients and related constituents.

23) What is the central technical product being developed?

The central product is an innovative modeling system that couples hydrodynamics with water quality processes at high spatial resolution to support coastal restoration planning and evaluation.

24) Why is federal involvement highlighted for this opportunity?

Because the mechanism is a cooperative agreement, applicants should expect substantial federal involvement during the project, potentially including collaboration on the scope of work, data sources, modeling decisions, deliverable review, and coordination with stakeholders.