Cooperative Ecosystem Studies Unit, Rocky Mountain | G19AS00079

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

What is the name of this funding opportunity?

This opportunity is the Cooperative Ecosystem Studies Unit, Rocky Mountain opportunity (Funding Opportunity Number G19AS00079) led by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Northern Rocky Mountain Science Center (NOROCK).

What type of award is being offered?

The funding instrument is a cooperative agreement.

Which federal agency is offering the grant?

The opportunity is offered by the Department of the Interior, U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), through the Northern Rocky Mountain Science Center (NOROCK).

Is this a competitive or discretionary funding opportunity?

It is described as a discretionary funding opportunity.

What is the CFDA number associated with this opportunity?

The CFDA number listed is 15.808.

What is the main purpose of the project?

The project focuses on pulling together and analyzing existing information on North American porcupines across the contiguous western United States to produce a unified, defensible picture of where porcupines occur now, how patterns may have shifted over time, and what factors might explain those patterns.

What geographic area does the project cover?

The scope spans the contiguous western United States, broadly described as the West Coast eastward through the interior West to Texas and north to Montana.

Does the project involve collecting new field data?

The opportunity emphasizes synthesizing and analyzing existing records from many sources. It is framed as a data compilation and analysis effort rather than extensive new field collection.

What are the main scientific goals of the project?

The project has three main goals: (1) quantify current patterns of porcupine occupancy and abundance using existing records and test for management-relevant trends, (2) evaluate potential drivers of observed changes in distribution, and (3) examine how porcupine occupancy and density may influence forest stand structure and fire frequency while accounting for other factors affecting fire risk.

What does the opportunity mean by “occupancy” and “abundance” in this context?

Based on the announcement language, occupancy refers to where porcupines occur across the region, while abundance refers to relative patterns in numbers or density where data allow, using existing records as the basis for inference.

Is the project just about mapping porcupine sightings?

No. The description explicitly goes beyond plotting presence points by requiring evaluation of whether there is evidence of meaningful change in distribution or numbers using the best available information.

What kinds of drivers or explanatory factors should be evaluated?

The opportunity highlights several candidate drivers, including forest community type, climate-related factors such as ecological water availability (with latitude mentioned as a possible proxy), silvicultural or timber-harvest strategies, and the extent of historic poisoning campaigns.

Is there a preferred analytical approach?

The solicitation encourages a rigorous approach such as an information-theoretic framework to compare competing models and the use of multi-model inference for prediction, while also stating that multivariate analytical approaches are acceptable.

What is the fire-related question this project is trying to answer?

The project seeks to examine whether porcupine occupancy and density are associated with forest stand structure and, in particular, fire frequency, while accounting for other known factors that affect fire risk.

Why is this project being done now?

A stated motivation is that porcupines are widespread, but many managers suspect declines in parts of the West, and there has not been a comprehensive broad-scale analysis to test that perception.

How will the results be used by agencies?

The results are intended to be directly useful to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) and state agencies as they consider whether the species warrants elevated conservation status, by reducing uncertainty and providing a stronger technical basis for decisions.

What are the expected deliverables?

Deliverables include (1) a compilation of high-confidence porcupine records assembled into a centralized database from numerous sources, (2) development and evaluation of alternative quantitative models describing spatial and temporal patterns in distribution, (3) a report providing statistically valid, spatially explicit estimates of the probability of current and future porcupine distributions across the region incorporating key drivers, and (4) two peer-reviewed journal articles.

What does “high-confidence porcupine records” imply?

It implies the database should prioritize records with reliable identification and documentation, suitable for rigorous analysis, as opposed to unvetted or uncertain observations.

What sources of porcupine records are specifically mentioned?

Examples named in the opportunity include state wildlife agencies and Natural Heritage Programs, nongovernmental organizations, global biodiversity aggregators such as GBIF, museum and research collections such as ARCTOS and the Museum of Vertebrate Zoology (MVZ) at the University of California, Berkeley, other museums, and state Departments of Transportation (for example, roadkill or incident reports).

What outputs are expected from the modeling work?

The work should produce spatially explicit, statistically valid estimates of the probability of current and future porcupine distributions across the region, and evaluate alternative models that incorporate habitat, climate/water availability, forest management, historic control/poisoning, and relationships to stand structure and fire frequency.

Are peer-reviewed publications required?

The solicitation calls for two peer-reviewed journal articles, indicating that publishable scientific standards are expected.

How much funding is available?

The listed award ceiling is $35,000.

How many awards are expected?

One award is expected.

What does the size of the award suggest about project scope?

The relatively small ceiling and single expected award suggest a targeted effort focused on synthesizing existing data and conducting analyses, rather than supporting extensive new field programs.

When was the opportunity posted and when did it close?

The opportunity was created on July 8, 2019, with an original closing date of July 22, 2019.

Who is eligible to apply?

Eligibility is listed broadly as “Others,” with additional eligibility details referenced in the full announcement, which is consistent with CESU opportunities that often involve partner institutions and research organizations.

What is the role of the Cooperative Ecosystem Studies Unit (CESU) in this opportunity?

The opportunity is described as a CESU Rocky Mountain opportunity, indicating it is offered within the CESU framework and is associated with cooperative research and analysis aligned with CESU partnerships.