Cooperative Agreement for Affiliated Partner with the Pacific Northwest Cooperative Ecosystem Studies Unit (CESU)

The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) is offering a funding opportunity to a CESU partner for research in the study of chronic wasting disease (CWD) to support its prevention and management in the northeastern, and western United States. This project builds on several existing projects in direct collaboration with natural resource agencies where, in many locations, chronic wasting disease is not yet widespread and endemic. In order to better plan for the eventual spread into the region and its wide-ranging effects, this project would focus on strategic planning for CWD management as a long-term endeavor focused on repeated, linked management decisions that span two disease states (disease-free and disease-present) and recurring decisions on surveillance, regulatory actions (e.g., harvest policy, bans on harvested animal transport and carcass disposal), and targeted actions (e.g., hunter outreach, culling). The goal of thisproject is to support those long-term management efforts by developing decision support tools that estimate the arrival of CWD, the spread and growth of disease in new locations, and the opportunities that agencies have in preventing its effects.

The USGS has developed a set of linked decision support tools that model metrics of interest (CWD prevalence, costs, active hunters) as functions of disease dynamics and alternative management strategies. While the decision support tools are currently being used to inform CWD management planning in some locations, there are opportunities to refine their structure, develop more reliable estimates for critical uncertainties, and distribute them widely to natural resource managers across regions.

In particular, it is proposed to further develop model-based estimates of the rate of disease introduction into northeastern U.S. from multiple pathways, and then test the efficacy of surveillance and public communications strategies to enhance targeted actions such as carcass disposal, hunter-harvest, and culling to reduce the long-term impacts. In combination, these tasks will advance long-term, strategic CWD management in the northeastern U.S. prior to widespread impacts to the region.

This project is designed to support and align with existing planning documents, executive orders, and congressional priorities. The CESU partner would help achieve governmental efficiency by developing risk-informed approaches to potential hazards (EO 14239 – Achieving Efficiency Through State and Local Preparedness (March 19, 2025), such as the spread of wildlife diseases that have already cost U.S. taxpayers millions of dollars (Chiavacci 2022). This funding opportunity also aligns with EO 14314 – Making America Beautiful Again by Improving Our National Parks (July 3, 2025) by considering the effect that diseases have on the recreational experience at National Parks, National Forests, and National Refuges and by examining management actions that keep animals healthy and abundant, promote hunting opportunities, and maintain economic viability of local communities that depend on our natural resources for their livelihoods. Finally, the CESU partner will develop science that supports EO 14303 - Restoring Gold Standard Science (May 23, 2025) by creating open access science (reproducibility), transparency and unbiased approach in collecting and analyzing data used to model future scenarios and communicating scientific data accurately.

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 Pacific Northwest Cooperative Ecosystem Studies Unit (CESU) Program.

Katie Calder