Cooperative Agreement for affiliated Partner with the Great Lakes Northern Forests Cooperative Ecosystem Studies Unit (CESU) | G25AS00353

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

1) What is this funding opportunity?

This is a US Geological Survey (USGS) cooperative agreement focused on strengthening Great Lakes fisheries science by filling a specific technical gap: converting underwater imagery into very high-resolution lake-bed habitat maps.

2) Which USGS program is leading the work?

The work is being led under the USGS Great Lakes Science Center (GLSC). The GLSC operates a comprehensive, multi-lake freshwater fisheries science program that supports management decisions for the Great Lakes Council of Lake Committees and other regional partners.

3) Why is USGS funding this work now?

The immediate driver described in the notice is that several Great Lakes fish stocks are declining. Lake whitefish is highlighted as a key example where habitat degradation during spawning and early life stages may be limiting recovery and overall productivity.

4) What problem is the project trying to solve?

The project aims to improve understanding of how lake-bed habitat conditions influence fish egg deposition, hatching, and early rearing success. USGS has underwater images collected with autonomous underwater vehicles (AUVs), but needs additional expertise to convert those raw images into mapping products that researchers and managers can use.

5) What are the expected technical tasks or methods?

The selected cooperator is expected to apply underwater photogrammetric approaches to build high-resolution habitat maps from AUV imagery. The notice specifically references techniques such as Structure from Motion for turning imagery into spatial products.

6) What kinds of deliverables does USGS want from this project?

The notice emphasizes creating very high-resolution habitat maps of the lake bed derived from AUV imagery. These mapping products are intended to support studies that link habitat features to fisheries production and help identify where suitable habitat exists, where habitat has been degraded, and how those conditions may be affecting recruitment and stock health.

7) How will the results be used?

The habitat maps are intended to directly support ongoing Great Lakes fisheries and ecosystem studies, particularly work that relates habitat characteristics to early life-stage success and overall fisheries production. The goal is to provide spatial products that managers and researchers can use for decision support and analysis.

8) Is this a standard grant, or something more collaborative?

The funding instrument is a Cooperative Agreement. The notice indicates this format is being used because USGS expects substantial collaboration, not a simple pass-through award. In practice, the recipient would work closely with GLSC staff, combining USGS fisheries and ecological expertise and existing datasets with the recipient's photogrammetry and underwater mapping capabilities.

9) Who is eligible to apply?

Eligibility is restricted to partners affiliated with the Great Lakes Northern Forests Cooperative Ecosystem Studies Unit (CESU) Program. The notice describes this as not being a general open call for any organization.

10) What is the opportunity number?

The opportunity number is G25AS00353.

11) What is the agency and assistance listing information?

The agency is the Geological Survey (USGS). The activity category is Science and Technology and other Research and Development, listed as CFDA 15.808 in the notice.

12) How many awards does USGS expect to make?

USGS expects to make one award.

13) What is the maximum funding amount (award ceiling)?

The anticipated award ceiling is $480,000.

14) What is the application closing date?

The posted closing date is 2025-10-30.

15) What makes Great Lakes habitat mapping important beyond ecology?

The notice frames the work as economically significant as well as ecologically significant. Great Lakes fisheries-related industries are described as supporting roughly $7 billion in annual revenues, and improved habitat understanding is tied to maintaining fisheries productivity and regional economic prosperity.

16) Which stakeholders or partner groups are mentioned as users of this science?

The notice references information needs connected to entities such as the Great Lakes Fisheries Commission, the Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement partners, the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative, and the International Joint Commission, along with the Great Lakes Council of Lake Committees and other major regional partners.

17) What data has USGS already collected for this effort?

USGS has collected underwater images using autonomous underwater vehicles (AUVs). The gap described is the in-house capacity to process those images into high-resolution habitat mapping products via underwater photogrammetry.

18) What fish species is specifically highlighted in the notice?

Lake whitefish is specifically highlighted as a key example where habitat degradation at spawning and early life stages may be limiting recovery and productivity.