Cooperative Agreement for affiliated Partner with the Rocky Mountain Cooperative Ecosystem Studies Unit (CESU) | G25AS00343

Opportunity Information: Apply for G25AS00343

This funding opportunity is a US Geological Survey (USGS) cooperative agreement aimed at a partner organization within the Rocky Mountain Cooperative Ecosystem Studies Unit (CESU) network. The project focuses on a practical land-management problem in the western United States: how free-roaming (feral) horses share space and resources with domestic livestock and native wildlife on federal lands, especially in arid and fragile landscapes where water and high-quality forage are limited. The core idea is to produce solid, defensible science that helps public land managers understand where and when different ungulate species overlap, whether that overlap suggests competition, and how management actions (like horse gathers) may shift animal movements and habitat use.

The research centers on Utah and relies heavily on GPS telemetry collar data gathered from multiple sympatric species. The opportunity describes a study that combines field-based data collection with data-driven modeling and analytical approaches designed to handle extremely large, multi-species datasets. Species mentioned across the description include cattle, domestic sheep, mule deer, elk, pronghorn, and wild horses; however, the specific first-year modeling emphasis is on five species in Utah, with the main objectives explicitly listing free-roaming horses, mule deer, pronghorn, cattle, and domestic sheep. A key theme is that while horse population growth, broad diet, and dependence on regular water access make competition concerns reasonable, there is still a major gap in detailed, spatially explicit understanding of how horses and other ungulates actually partition the landscape through time.

From a policy and management perspective, the proposal is framed around the realities of multiple-use federal lands. Areas managed for free-roaming equids also commonly support permitted livestock grazing and provide habitat for native ungulates that may have state or federal protections and that underpin recreational hunting economies. Prior research has documented that horse grazing can affect plant community composition, biomass, soils, and riparian conditions, which can cascade into effects on livestock production and wildlife habitat quality. This project is positioned to translate movement and habitat-use data into actionable information, supporting rural economies, wildlife conservation, and hunting traditions while improving how horses and habitats are managed on shared rangelands.

The work is organized around three main research objectives. First, the project will model seasonal resource selection for each focal species and compare patterns before and after a horse gather, allowing managers to see whether removing horses from an area changes how remaining horses, wildlife, or livestock use the landscape. Second, it will model how perennial surface water and high-quality forage drive movements, home-range behavior, and overall resource use, which is especially important in dry western systems where water availability can be the primary constraint shaping distribution and overlap. Third, it will quantify seasonal home range size and configuration for each species, again with explicit pre- and post-gather comparisons, to assess whether management actions shift space use, expand or contract ranges, or change how animals concentrate near key resources.

Although the data are collected in Utah, the opportunity emphasizes broader relevance: results are intended to inform wild horse management and multi-species rangeland decision-making across the American West, including Rocky Mountain and Great Plains ecosystems. Deliverables are expected to be communicated in ways that are useful for Department of the Interior (DOI) data needs and on-the-ground management, not just academic outputs. The cooperative agreement structure also signals that USGS expects substantial involvement and collaboration between federal scientists and the selected CESU partner, leveraging university-based modelers and analysts who can manage and interpret large telemetry datasets across species.

Key administrative details in the notice include the following: the opportunity is discretionary and uses a cooperative agreement funding instrument under the CESU Program, with an activity category of Science and Technology and other Research and Development (CFDA 15.808). Eligibility is limited to participating partners of the Rocky Mountain CESU. The funding opportunity title is "Cooperative Agreement for affiliated Partner with the Rocky Mountain Cooperative Ecosystem Studies Unit (CESU)," and the funding opportunity number is G25AS00343. The agency is the Geological Survey (USGS). The award ceiling is $49,585, and the original closing date listed is 2025-09-20. The notice creation date is 2025-08-20.

• The Geological Survey in the science and technology and other research and development sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Cooperative Agreement for affiliated Partner with the Rocky Mountain Cooperative Ecosystem Studies Unit (CESU)" 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 2025-08-20.
• Applicants must submit their applications by 2025-09-20. (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 $49,585.00 in funding.
• Eligible applicants include: Others.

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