Cooperative Agreement for Mercury Fish Data Research - California CESU Partner
Summary
The U.S. Geological Survey issued a funding opportunity for a California CESU partner to collect mercury methylation data in freshwater environments. The $270,000 maximum cooperative agreement aims to help reduce mercury concentrations in recreational and sports fish in hydroelectric reservoirs, managed wetlands, and lakes.
What changed
The USGS is offering a cooperative agreement with a maximum award of $270,000 to a California CESU partner to study mercury biomagnification in aquatic food webs. The research will focus on methylmercury formation in water and sediments across hydroelectric reservoirs, managed wetlands, and lakes. The project seeks to address knowledge gaps regarding how mercury methylation responds to management actions and impacts mercury levels in recreational and sports fish.
Eligible applicants must be participating partners of the California Ecosystem Studies Unit Program. To apply, prospective CESU partners should review the full announcement document and contact Katie Calder at kcalder@usgs.gov for grantor information. This is a research funding opportunity, not a regulatory requirement, so there are no compliance deadlines or penalties for non-compliance.
What to do next
- Review eligibility requirements to confirm current participation in California CESU Program
- Download Full_Announcement.docx for complete application instructions
- Submit application through Grants.gov before opportunity closes
Source document (simplified)
Cooperative Agreement for Affiliated Partner with the California Cooperative Ecosystem Studies Unit (CESU)
Agency: Geological Survey
Assistance Listings: 15.808 -- U.S. Geological Survey Research and Data Collection
Last Updated: March 30, 2026 View version history on Grants.gov
Description
This work will support our ongoing collaborations with numerous partners representing America"s energy generation and recreations and commercial fishing industries. The USGS is offering a funding opportunity to a CESU partner to collect data and interpret data to help reduce the concentrations of mercury in recreational and sports fish in hydroelectric reservoirs, managed wetlands, and lakes. In these three freshwater environments, mercury biomagnification in aquatic food webs is prevalent and reducing mercury concentrations in fish remains one of the biggest issues facing management efforts.The... goal of this project is to provide data in support management actions to reduce mercury concentrations in recreational and sports fish through understanding how methylmercury is formed in water and sediments. Understanding both synergistic and antagonistic effects of key processes is necessary to have a robust ability to forecast changes in the risk mercury poses to aquatic food webs due to management of reservoirs, wetlands, and lakes. The scientific community recognizes the importance of water quality conditions of dissolved organic matter chemistry and microbial processes on mercury methylation, but key knowledge gaps remain to forecast how mercury methylation will respond to management actions and how this will cascade to mercury levels in recreational and sports fish. This project aims to address these management needs using freshwater systems currently studied by the USGS, selected because they are representative of settings across the nation with urgent needs to decrease mercury levels in fish.This funding opportunity aims to develop a research effort between the USGS and a CESU partner that brings together expertise and capabilities, respectively, to address the overall needs of the management community. The results of the project on water and sediment from a CESU partner will be used with ecological data from the USGS to provide an understanding of the risk posed by mercury to diverse freshwater environments. Show full description
Eligibility
Eligible applicants
Miscellaneous
- Other
Additional information
This financial assistance opportunity is being issued under a Cooperative Ecosystem Studies Units (CESU) Program. CESUs are partnerships that provide research, technical assistance, and education. Eligible recipients must be a participating partner of the California Ecosystem Studies Unit (CESU) Program.
Grantor contact information
Description
Katie Calder
kcalder@usgs.gov
Documents
Download all
| File name | Description | Last updated |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Full_Announcement.docx | Full Announcement.docx | Mar 30, 2026 08:57 PM UTC |
| ATTACHMENTA-Biographical-sketch-common-form-doi-omb-3145-0279_3.pdf | ATTACHMENT A -Biographical-sketch-common-form-doi-omb-3145-0279 3.pdf | Mar 30, 2026 08:58 PM UTC |
| ATTACHMENTB-Common-form-current-and-pending-support-doi-omb-3145-02793.pdf | ATTACHMENT B - Common-form-current-and-pending-support-doi-omb-3145-0279 3.pdf | Mar 30, 2026 08:58 PM UTC |
| ATTACHMENTC-ProjectAbstractSummaryRequirement.docx | ATTACHMENT C - Project Abstract Summary Requirement.docx | Mar 30, 2026 08:59 PM UTC |
| ATTACHMENTD-GeospatialData_instructions.docx | ATTACHMENT D - Geospatial Data instructions.docx | Mar 30, 2026 08:59 PM UTC |
Link to additional information
--
Closing: April 30, 2026
Electronically submitted applications must be submitted no later than 11:59 PM, ET, on the listed application due date
Application process
This site is a work in progress. Go to www.grants.gov to apply, track application status, and subscribe to updates. View on Grants.gov
Award
$270,000
Program Funding
1
Expected awards
$1
Award Minimum
$270,000
Award Maximum
Funding opportunity number:
G26AS00100
Cost sharing or matching requirement:
No Funding instrument type:
Cooperative agreement
Opportunity Category:
Discretionary
Opportunity Category Explanation:
-- Category of Funding Activity:
Science technology and other research and development
Category Explanation:
--
History
Version:
1
Posted date:
March 30, 2026
Archive date:
--
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