BOEM FY 2017 Environmental Studies Program | M17AS00006

Opportunity Information: Apply for M17AS00006

The BOEM FY 2017 Environmental Studies Program opportunity (Funding Opportunity Number M17AS00006) is a discretionary cooperative agreement offered by the U.S. Department of the Interior, Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, under CFDA 15.423. It is focused on applied environmental research that supports the public interest in safe, responsible, and environmentally sound energy and mineral development on the U.S. Outer Continental Shelf (OCS). For this specific announcement, BOEM is signaling its intent to undertake a particular study called Spatial Acoustic Ecology of Marine Megafauna (SPAM), which centers on improving the scientific foundation for how BOEM monitors and mitigates impacts to marine mammals in areas where offshore activities may occur.

The core problem the project addresses is that BOEM must design and implement mitigation measures that reduce or eliminate impacts from regulated OCS activities on protected and managed species, but this is difficult when key species are rarely seen, hard to study, or behave in ways that make them difficult to detect. The announcement highlights deep-diving, acoustically sensitive cetaceans such as sperm whales and beaked whales, along with poorly sampled species like sei whales, all of which can use shelf, shelf-break, and deep ocean habitats. Because these animals spend substantial time underwater, are not always visually observable, and may vocalize in ways that vary by context, there are major gaps in knowledge about their diving behavior and acoustic ecology. Those gaps translate directly into uncertainty in detection probabilities and data interpretation for passive acoustic monitoring (PAM), which BOEM relies on heavily as a primary monitoring and mitigation tool.

A major emphasis of the SPAM project is improving and validating cue rates, meaning how often animals produce detectable acoustic cues (for example, clicks, calls, or other vocalizations) across different behaviors and habitats. Cue rates are a critical input for many PAM analyses because they help convert acoustic detections into more meaningful estimates of presence, activity, and potentially density or exposure. When cue rates are unknown or highly variable, it becomes harder to interpret PAM results confidently, which can weaken impact analyses and the design of mitigation. By generating stronger, behaviorally informed cue-rate information for understudied species, the project aims to reinforce BOEM passive acoustic work not just in one region, but as a broadly applicable improvement to BOEM acoustic studies nationally.

BOEM frames the need for this work in terms of multiple federal responsibilities. The agency needs up-to-date, defensible science to analyze and disclose potential significant impacts from OCS activities across space and time under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). It also needs better information to support Endangered Species Act (ESA) consultations, including determinations about jeopardy to a species and adverse modification of designated critical habitat. In addition, BOEM needs improved estimates related to incidental take under the Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA), since take analyses depend on credible assumptions about animal presence, detectability, and exposure. The study is also intended to help BOEM meet broader assessment and consultation requirements with other federal agencies and to support the agency goal of maintaining the health and stability of marine mammals and their ecosystems. Overall, the opportunity is positioned as a way to ensure BOEMs acoustic monitoring and mitigation decisions are built on the best available science, particularly for species and settings where current information is thin.

Eligibility for this cooperative agreement is narrow and targeted. Applicants must be affected coastal state offices or public universities that are members of the Piedmont-South Atlantic Cooperative Ecosystem Studies Unit (CESU) and that currently hold a marine mammal authorization permit from the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS). The funding instrument is a cooperative agreement, which generally indicates BOEM expects substantial involvement in the project during performance, rather than a hands-off grant relationship.

In terms of funding and timing, BOEM anticipated making one award with an award ceiling of $2,350,000. The opportunity was posted with a creation date of February 2, 2017, and an original closing date of April 3, 2017. The activity category is environment, reflecting the project’s focus on environmental science that directly informs offshore management, monitoring, and mitigation related to marine mammals and offshore energy and mineral activities.

• The Department of the Interior, Bureau of Ocean Energy Management in the environment sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "BOEM FY 2017 Environmental Studies Program" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 15.423.
• This funding opportunity was created on Feb 02, 2017.
• Applicants must submit their applications by Apr 03, 2017. (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 $2,350,000.00 in funding.
• The number of recipients for this funding is limited to 1 candidate(s).
• Eligible applicants include: State governments, Public and State controlled institutions of higher education.

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