Cooperative Agreement for affiliated Partner with the Chesapeake Watershed Cooperative Ecosystem Studies Unit 2026 Grant

DOI-USGS1

About this grant

This Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) G27AS00082 is issued by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) under its National and Regional Climate Adaptation Science Center (NRCASC) program as a competitive research financial assistance cooperative agreement awarded to a partner of the Chesapeake Watershed Cooperative Ecosystem Studies Unit (CESU). CESUs are partnerships that provide research, technical assistance, and education. The opportunity supports Administration priorities including American energy dominance, critical mineral development, water security, infrastructure resilience, and natural hazard preparedness. Eligible research areas include hydrology, geology, geospatial science, biosecurity, and near-earth space science, with attention to extreme events such as drought, flooding, wildland fire, coastal erosion, severe storms, and geologic hazards. The goal is actionable science, data, and tools supporting decision-making by resource managers and stakeholders. The specified example project concerns recreational fisheries, which contribute nutritional and economic benefits. It would update estimates of harvest, consumption, and economic value using finer-scale inland recreational fisheries datasets, refine species-specific vulnerability assessments, and integrate results to strengthen adaptive management and monitoring priorities for federal and state fisheries managers. The activity is linked to several executive orders and a Secretarial Order (SO 3447) on expanding hunting and fishing access, and to EO 14303 on Restoring Gold Standard Science.

Eligibility

Eligible applicants are 'Others' as defined in the NOFO. Recipients must be a participating partner of the Chesapeake Watershed Cooperative Ecosystem Studies Unit. The opportunity is issued under the CESU Program. No cost sharing or matching is required.

Key requirements

• ✓Applicant must be an affiliated partner of the Chesapeake Watershed Cooperative Ecosystem Studies Unit (CESU)
• ✓Research must deliver actionable science, data, and tools supporting decision-making by resource managers and stakeholders
• ✓Work aligns with USGS NRCASC priorities such as water security, natural hazard preparedness, and gold-standard science (EO 14303)

Funder contact

The notice names a programme contact you can speak to before applying.

Frequently asked questions

How much funding does DOI-USGS1 offer?

Cooperative Agreement for affiliated Partner with the Chesapeake Watershed Cooperative Ecosystem Studies Unit offers $1 – $200K.

When is the Cooperative Agreement for affiliated Partner with the Chesapeake Watershed Cooperative Ecosystem Studies Unit deadline?

Applications close 1 Dec 2026 04:59.

Who can apply for Cooperative Agreement for affiliated Partner with the Chesapeake Watershed Cooperative Ecosystem Studies Unit?

Eligibility covers organisations in US; university, research-institution, nonprofit, consortium. See the eligibility criteria above for the full conditions.

Relevant sectors

About this sector

Climate adaptation funding helps communities, infrastructure and businesses prepare for heat, flooding, drought and sea level rise. Most of it is public and multilateral money, often targeted at vulnerable regions and delivered with local government. Calls usually ask for a climate risk assessment and evidence that local people shaped the plan.