Cooperative Ecosystem Studies Units

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Cooperative Ecosystem Studies Units
CESUs are multiagency partnerships with
universities and other institutions organized
around 17 geographic areas. They provide
research, technical assistance, and education to
federal agencies to address resource issues of
the federal land managers. Currently more than
200 universities, states, tribal and non
government agency partners along with 13 federal
agencies in 5 departments participate in the
competitively established CESU network.
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Example of NPS Authorities 1. Under the
authority provided in 16 U.S.C.1a-2(j) the
National Park Service may "enter into cooperative
agreements with public or private educational
institutions, States, and their political
subdivisions, for the purpose of developing
adequate, coordinated, cooperative research and
training programs concerning the resources of the
National Park System, and, pursuant to any such
agreements, to accept from and make available to
the cooperator such technical and support staff,
financial assistance for mutually agreed upon
research projects, 2. Under the authority
provided in 16 U.S.C. 5933, the NPS is
authorized and directed to enter into cooperative
agreements with colleges and universities
including but not limited to land grant schools,
in partnership with other Federal and State
agencies, to establish cooperative study units to
conduct multi-disciplinary research and develop
integrated information products on the resources
of the National Park System, or the larger region
of which parks are a part.
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• What are CESUs?
• Statistics
• 17 CESUs nationwide with 219 partners
• 169 University partners (41 Minority serving
  institutions)
• 37 State and NGO Partners
• 13 Federal Agencies
• Characteristics
• Government/university partnerships based on
  university campuses, organized into a
  national network
• Cooperative, involving several agencies and
  multiple
• universities where funds are leveraged among
  partners to solve resource management issues.
• Ecosystem studies include biological, physical,
  social
• and cultural disciplines
• Provide research, technical assistance, and
  education for natural and cultural resource
  managers

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• Results
• Agencies and universities collaborate on projects
  enhancing the science and reducing duplication
  of efforts among resource agencies

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• How were CESUs established?
• CESUs were established through an MOU with
  participating
• Federal agencies
• Each CESU competitively established under a
  single cooperative agreement requests for
  proposals widely distributed and published in
  CBD (today grants.gov would also be used), site
  visits and evaluations of capabilities of
  prospective CESU host universities conducted by
  CESU Council.
• Universities provide space, faculty expertise,
  students and educational services and reduced
  overhead (17.5)
• Agencies provide scientists, resource
  professionals, project funds, and provide
  oversight of agency personnel and project funds

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CESU Council representing 13 Federal Agencies
(program oversight)
Agency Regional/ State Offices
(supervision)
Federal Managers Committee
(advice/guidance)
Partner Institution (agency)
Host University
Agency Scientists/ Science Coordinators (optional)
Partner Institution (NGO)
Partner Institution (university)
(research and technical assistance)
(annual work plans)
Land management units in biome
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• What do CESUs do?
• 1. Cooperative research on critical resource
  issues identified by agencies
• Technical Assistance (workshops, bioblitzs)
• Education
• Example of the Great Basin CESU
• (2001-2006)

Agency Projects BLM 39 NPS 51
FWS 3 USGS 11 NCRS 8
NFSC 1 Total 113
Joint Fire Science Program
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• Federal Agency Authorities
• The Federal Grant and Cooperative Agreement Act
  of 1977
• The Act seeks to promote increased discipline in
  selecting and using procurement contracts, grant
  agreements, and cooperative agreements, to
  maximize competition in making procurement
  contracts, to encourage competition in making
  grant agreements, and to encourage, but not
  require, competition in entering into cooperative
  agreements.
• 2. The Federal Financial Assistance Management
  Improvement Act of 1999, Public Law (P.L.)
  106-107, was enacted to improve the effectiveness
  and performance of Federal financial assistance
  programs, to simplify Federal financial
  assistance application and reporting
  requirements, to improve the delivery of services
  to the public, and facilitate greater
  coordination among those responsible for
  delivering such services. Grants.gov, one of 24
  E-Gov initiatives, supports the requirements of
  P.L. 106-107.

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• Implications of 2006 Revision to 505 DM 2
• 1. Loss of DOI Leadership in Cooperative
  Agreement based
• partnerships,
• 2. Precedent for other agency programs that use
  cooperative
• agreements such as CRUs, Indian tribes, etc.,
• 3. Loss of long-term focus of academic partners
  on the needs
• the federal land managers,
• 4. Enormous unprogrammed burden on agency
  contracting staff
• staff,

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5. Reduces availability of local expertise and
may require additional federal staff
expertise, 6. Chilling effect on the DOIs
ability to establish cooperative partnerships
and leverage scarce funding, 7. Loss of
graduate and undergraduate student involvement in
support of the federal land managers. 8.
Loss of advantageous overhead rate for DOI and
all of the other federal partner agencies
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• Remedy
• Revise 505 DM 2 encouraging partnerships and
  competition as
• appropriate,
• 2. Moderate requirement to use grants.gov for
  all competitive actions
• for grants and cooperative agreements actions,
• Training of all personnel that initiate and
  manage cooperative
• agreements so that all legal requirements are
  met and
• appropriate procurement instruments are
  effectively
• differentiated (grants vs contracts vs
  cooperative agreements),
• 4. Report back in 18 months on progress.

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NPS Under the authority provided in 16
U.S.C.1a-2(j) and under 16 U.S.C. 5933, the NPS
is authorized and directed to enter into
cooperative agreements with colleges and
universities including but not limited to land
grant schools, in partnership with other Federal
and State agencies, to establish cooperative
study units to conduct multi-disciplinary
research and develop integrated information
products on the resources of the National Park
System, or the larger region of which parks are a
part. USFS In accordance with 7 U.S.C. 3318
and 7 U.S.C. 3319, the USFS is authorized to
enter into this joint venture agreement and
cost-reimbursable agreement. NCRSUnder section
714 Of P.L. 106-387, 7 U.S.C. 6962a, NRCS is
authorized to enter into a cooperative agreement.
MMS OCSLA Section 1345 authorizes MMS to enter
into cooperative agreements with affected States
to meet the requirements of OCSLA, including
sharing of information, joint utilization of
available expertise, formation of joint
monitoring arrangements to carry out applicable
Federal and State laws, regulations, and
stipulations relevant to outer Continental Shelf
operations both onshore and offshore.
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Federal Agency Authorities BLM In accordance
with 43 U.S.C. 1737(b), the BLM is authorized to
enter into this cooperative agreement to continue
the Pacific Northwest CESU to assist in providing
research, technical assistance and
education. BOR Pursuant to P.L. 108-447, Div. C,
206 Bureau of Reclamation is authorized to
enter into grants and cooperative agreements with
universities or non-profit institutions in FY2005
to fund water use efficiency research. USFWS In
accordance with 16 U.S.C. 742f, the USFWS is
authorized to enter into this cooperative
agreement to continue the Pacific Northwest CESU
to assist in providing research, technical
assistance and education. USGS In accordance
with 43 U.S.C. 36d, 16 U.S.C.1a-2j, 16 U.S.C.
5933, and Secretarial Order No. 3202, the USGS is
authorized to enter into this cooperative
agreement.
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Team of NPS, USGS, URI, Rutgers, scientists
provide technical assistance to Northeast parks
on critical marsh loss issue.