Cooperative Ecosystem Studies Unit (CESU): Phenology Monitoring Technical Assistance | F19AS00096

Opportunity Information: Apply for F19AS00096

The Cooperative Ecosystem Studies Unit (CESU): Phenology Monitoring Technical Assistance opportunity (Funding Opportunity Number F19AS00096) is a U.S. Department of the Interior, Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) National Wildlife Refuge System award designed to strengthen and standardize phenology monitoring across National Wildlife Refuges. Phenology, the timing of seasonal biological events like leaf-out, flowering, insect emergence, and migration, is a key indicator of how species and ecosystems respond to environmental variability and climate change. This grant sits under CFDA 15.678 and is supported by several major conservation and wildlife statutes, including the Fish and Wildlife Coordination Act, Endangered Species Act, Fish and Wildlife Conservation Act, Fish and Wildlife Act, Migratory Bird Treaty Act, Coastal Barrier Resources Act, and the Public Lands Corps Act. The overall goal is to improve how refuges collect, manage, compare, and use phenology data so that refuge-level observations can be scaled up into broader regional and national insights.

This notice is specifically a Notice of Intent to make an incrementally funded, single-source Cooperative Agreement through the CESU network to the Arizona Board of Regents, University of Arizona, working through the USA National Phenology Network (USA-NPN) in the School of Natural Resources. Rather than being an open competition, it signals the government’s plan to directly fund this partner because of their established role operating USA-NPN tools and infrastructure, especially Nature’s Notebook and the National Phenology Database. The award structure is a cooperative agreement, meaning USFWS is not just providing funds but will be substantially involved in shaping the work, including project design, protocols, analytical approaches, and communication of results. The anticipated period of performance runs from February 20, 2019 through January 31, 2023. The posted award ceiling is $688,093, with one expected award.

The technical focus centers on using Nature’s Notebook as the common platform to bring together refuge phenology efforts, align monitoring methods with USA-NPN protocols, and ensure that observations collected across many sites can be analyzed consistently. A major deliverable is the integration of existing phenological datasets that refuges have already collected (often in different formats and with different methods) into the National Phenology Database. In parallel, the recipient is expected to provide hands-on assistance to individual refuges so they can adjust their current monitoring approaches to match USA-NPN phenology protocols going forward. This combination addresses both the “back end” challenge of rescuing and harmonizing legacy datasets and the “front end” challenge of ensuring future data are collected in a standardized, reusable way.

A key component of the work is continued support for existing regional phenology projects that align with USFWS priority needs. The opportunity highlights three main geographic or thematic emphasis areas: the Middle Rio Grande (Bosque) ecosystem, the Mississippi River corridor with a focus on mayflies, and the Monarch Butterfly central flyway. These targeted efforts are intended to help USFWS connect refuge-based monitoring with off-refuge observations, which makes it possible to interpret biological timing changes across broader landscapes rather than treating each refuge as an isolated case. In practice, this improves the agency’s ability to detect patterns related to climate change and other environmental drivers at ecologically meaningful scales.

Another major deliverable is the development of interactive “Phenology Trail Dashboards.” These dashboards are described as dynamically updating visualizations that let refuges compare phenological patterns across sites, including comparisons between refuge and non-refuge locations. The dashboards will be hosted on the USFWS Phenology Network website and are meant to build on existing refuge-level dashboards that already exist for individual refuges. This is aimed at turning raw observations into accessible decision-support and communication tools, useful both for internal refuge management and for outreach to partners and the public.

Training and capacity-building are also central. The recipient will provide training to refuge staff on how to participate in Nectar Connectors, a USA-NPN platform focused on tracking milkweed leafing and nectar plant flowering, especially in habitats planted or managed to support monarch butterflies. This training is intended to help staff adopt consistent monitoring practices and contribute data that can inform habitat effectiveness and timing of resources needed by monarchs and other pollinators.

The project also includes convening focus groups to figure out how refuges can realistically integrate phenology monitoring with Nature’s Notebook into their existing monitoring programs. The idea is to reduce duplication, fit phenology observations into current workflows, and clarify practical use cases so staff understand how the data can support management decisions. Alongside that, the recipient will educate refuge staff using examples of how Nature’s Notebook phenology data can be applied, which helps bridge the gap between data collection and real-world decision-making.

Finally, the agreement leverages USA-NPN’s program planning process to guide USFWS in developing site-level protocols for phenology monitoring. In other words, beyond general national standards, the work will help create refuge-ready monitoring guidance that can be implemented consistently while still accounting for differences among sites, focal species, and management objectives.

Because this is a cooperative agreement, USFWS has clearly stated responsibilities and an active role throughout. The Service will oversee the design and execution of the regional citizen-science phenology projects, provide USA-NPN with specific goals and needed specifications for the database, project website, mobile applications, and animal-related data products, and guide choices about focal species and data-collection protocols (including where adaptation is needed). USFWS will also advise on when and where to convene focus groups, provide input on training and dashboard development, and participate as co-authors on manuscripts reporting environmental change assessment results. Those analyses are expected to follow a model USA-NPN previously developed with the U.S. National Park Service, signaling that peer-reviewed or formal technical reporting is part of the long-term value of the work.

In short, this opportunity funds a focused partnership between USFWS and USA-NPN (via the University of Arizona) to (1) standardize and expand phenology monitoring across refuges, (2) integrate past and future data into a national database, (3) deliver practical tools like interactive dashboards, (4) train refuge staff and support targeted initiatives like monarch habitat monitoring, and (5) create implementation-ready protocols and guidance, all with strong USFWS involvement to ensure the outputs directly serve refuge management and climate-change assessment needs.

• The Department of the Interior, Fish and Wildlife Service in the natural resources sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Cooperative Ecosystem Studies Unit (CESU): Phenology Monitoring Technical Assistance" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 15.678.
• This funding opportunity was created on Feb 11, 2019.
• Applicants must submit their applications by Feb 19, 2019 This is a Notification of Intent to award a single source cooperative agreement to the Arizona Board of Regents through a Cooperative Ecosystem Studies Unit award.. (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 $688,093.00 in funding.
• The number of recipients for this funding is limited to 1 candidate(s).
• Eligible applicants include: Native American tribal organizations (other than Federally recognized tribal governments).

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