Notice of Intent | USGS 19 FAG 0042

Opportunity Information: Apply for USGS 19 FAG 0042

This Notice of Intent (Funding Opportunity Number USGS 19 FAG 0042) is a discretionary grant opportunity from the Department of the Interior, U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), focused on natural resources work at Gulf Islands National Seashore. The stated project theme is twofold: first, improving cultural resource adaptation planning in environments that are changing rapidly, and second, identifying and assessing research and information needs related to sediment budgets at Gulf Islands National Seashore. In practical terms, the opportunity centers on helping land and resource managers understand how dynamic coastal conditions affect both cultural resources (such as historic sites, archeological areas, and other heritage assets) and the movement and balance of sediment that shapes shorelines, barrier islands, beaches, and nearshore habitats.

The grant is aimed specifically at public and state-controlled institutions of higher education, meaning eligible applicants are typically state universities, public colleges, and similar public academic entities. The funding instrument is a grant, and the activity category is natural resources. The opportunity is tied to CFDA (now commonly referenced through Assistance Listings) number 15.820, which corresponds to USGS research and related assistance.

In terms of timing and scale, the opportunity was created on March 15, 2019, with an original closing date of March 28, 2019, indicating a relatively short application window consistent with targeted or time-sensitive project planning needs. The expected number of awards is one, and the award ceiling is $49,163, which suggests a single, focused project rather than a broad multi-recipient program. With one anticipated award and a defined ceiling, the competition likely emphasizes a clearly scoped work plan that can produce usable planning or research-need assessment deliverables within a modest budget.

Substantively, the “cultural resource adaptation planning” component indicates an emphasis on helping managers plan for how cultural resources should be protected, documented, prioritized, or adapted in response to ongoing environmental change. In dynamic coastal settings like the Gulf Islands region, shoreline migration, erosion, storm impacts, sea-level rise, and shifting dunes or overwash processes can expose, damage, or bury cultural sites. Adaptation planning in this context often involves assessing vulnerabilities, identifying which resources are most at risk, developing strategies to reduce loss or improve resilience where feasible, and creating decision frameworks for when protection, monitoring, data recovery, relocation, or other management actions might be appropriate. The “dynamic environments” phrasing reinforces that the work is meant to be grounded in real coastal change processes rather than treating sites as static features.

The sediment budget research and information needs portion points to a complementary planning objective: determining what is already known, what is missing, and what additional research or monitoring would be most valuable to understand sediment sources, sinks, and transport pathways affecting the seashore. A sediment budget is essentially an accounting of how much sediment enters, moves through, and leaves a coastal system over time. For barrier island and beach systems, sediment budgets help managers anticipate erosion or accretion trends, evaluate restoration options, understand storm recovery potential, and assess how engineering actions or natural events may alter sediment availability. By focusing on “research and information needs,” the opportunity appears oriented toward gap analysis and prioritization, potentially producing recommendations for future studies, data collection, modeling, or monitoring approaches that would improve management decisions at Gulf Islands National Seashore.

Overall, this funding opportunity supports a targeted academic partnership to strengthen planning and decision support at Gulf Islands National Seashore by linking cultural resource vulnerability and adaptation planning with a clearer understanding of sediment dynamics and the key knowledge gaps that need to be addressed. The relatively small, single-award structure and short deadline suggest USGS and its partners were seeking a specific, actionable set of outputs that could be used directly in resource management and future research planning.

• The Department of the Interior, U. S. Geological Survey in the natural resources sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Notice of Intent" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 15.820.
• This funding opportunity was created on Mar 15, 2019.
• Applicants must submit their applications by Mar 28, 2019. (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 $49,163.00 in funding.
• The number of recipients for this funding is limited to 1 candidate(s).
• Eligible applicants include: Public and State controlled institutions of higher education.

Apply for USGS 19 FAG 0042

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