Notice of Intent - Predicting the effects of climate change on the spread of fire-promoting plants in Hawai‘i: assessing emerging threats to rare native plants and ecosystems | USGS 20 FA 0073

Opportunity Information: Apply for USGS 20 FA 0073

This notice is a public announcement from the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) stating its intent to fund a specific project without holding a competitive application process. It is explicitly not a call for proposals and not an opportunity for organizations to submit applications. Instead, it serves as formal transparency that USGS plans to make an award for defined research and project activities related to climate change, wildfire risk, and invasive or fire-promoting vegetation in Hawaii.

The project focus is on predicting how climate change may influence the spread of fire-promoting plants in Hawaii and what that spread could mean for rare native plants and ecosystems. In practical terms, the work implied by the title involves assessing emerging ecological threats where changing temperature, rainfall patterns, drought frequency, and other climate-driven shifts can make landscapes more vulnerable to wildfire. Fire-promoting plants, which often include invasive grasses and other species that increase fine fuel loads and carry fire more readily, can transform native ecosystems that historically experienced little fire. The overall intent is to improve understanding and forecasting so that land managers and conservation practitioners can identify where risk is growing and where rare species and sensitive habitats may be most exposed.

From an administrative standpoint, the listing identifies the opportunity as a cooperative agreement, which typically means USGS expects substantial involvement or collaboration during the project rather than simply providing a grant with minimal agency engagement. The funding activity category is natural resources, and the associated CFDA (now commonly referred to under assistance listings) is 15.820, which corresponds to USGS research and data activities. The opportunity is labeled under an "Other" category rather than a standard competitive grant program, consistent with the fact that it is a non-competitive notice of intent to award.

Key details provided include the funding opportunity number (USGS 20 FA 0073), the posting/creation date (April 3, 2020), and an original closing date of April 16, 2020. In notices like this, the closing date generally functions more as an administrative timeline for the public notice period than as an application deadline, since applications are not being solicited. The award ceiling is listed as $207,974, and the number of expected awards is not clearly stated in the provided text (it appears blank), which often indicates a single planned award tied to the described project.

Eligibility is broadly labeled as "Others," but because this is not a competitive solicitation, that field does not imply open eligibility in the usual sense. Instead, it reflects that the intended recipient is likely a specific organization, partner, or research entity already identified by USGS for this work. The announcement also references additional details being available via a "Related Documents" link, implying that the full notice would include more specifics such as the intended awardee, period of performance, scope of work, and justification for using a non-competitive process.

Overall, the notice communicates that USGS plans to directly support a targeted research effort aimed at anticipating how climate change could accelerate or redirect the spread of vegetation that increases wildfire risk in Hawaii, and how those changes could threaten rare native species and ecosystems. The emphasis is on forecasting and risk assessment to inform early intervention, conservation planning, and on-the-ground management in a region where invasive fire-adapted plants and climate-driven drying can combine to create new and escalating wildfire pressures.

• The Geological Survey in the natural resources sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Notice of Intent - Predicting the effects of climate change on the spread of fire-promoting plants in Hawai‘i: assessing emerging threats to rare native plants and ecosystems" 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 2020-04-03.
• Applicants must submit their applications by 2020-04-16. (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 $207,974.00 in funding.
• Eligible applicants include: Others.

Apply for USGS 20 FA 0073

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