Great Lakes Integrated Cladophora Research and Modeling in Support of GLWQA Annex 4 Phosphorus Target Setting | EPA R5 GL2017 CLA

Opportunity Information: Apply for EPA R5 GL2017 CLA

The grant opportunity titled "Great Lakes Integrated Cladophora Research and Modeling in Support of GLWQA Annex 4 Phosphorus Target Setting" is a U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) funding call under the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative (GLRI) Action Plan II. It is structured as a discretionary cooperative agreement, meaning the selected recipient would not just receive funds and operate independently, but would carry out the project with substantial federal involvement, coordination, and shared technical direction typical of cooperative agreements. The overall intent is to strengthen the scientific basis for setting phosphorus targets under the Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement (GLWQA), specifically Annex 4, which focuses on nutrient (phosphorus) management to reduce harmful impacts in the Great Lakes.

At the core of this opportunity is the problem of nuisance algal growth, particularly Cladophora, a filamentous green algae that can form dense mats in nearshore areas. Cladophora growth is strongly influenced by nutrient availability (especially phosphorus), light conditions, water temperature, and hydrodynamics, and it is often associated with degraded shoreline conditions such as fouled beaches, odor, and ecosystem disruption. Because management agencies use phosphorus loading targets to control these impacts, they need reliable models that can translate phosphorus conditions into expected Cladophora growth outcomes. This funding opportunity is designed to fill key gaps by pairing real-world field observations with improved modeling tools.

The project has two linked objectives. First, it seeks the collection of in situ observational data, meaning direct field measurements gathered in the lake environment rather than laboratory-only or remote-only approaches. Second, it uses those field data to support the development of enhanced Cladophora growth models. The practical end goal is to enable defensible phosphorus target setting for multiple Great Lakes locations: the eastern basin of Lake Erie, as well as Lakes Michigan, Huron, and Ontario. In other words, the work is intended to produce data and modeling capability that resource managers can use to determine what phosphorus conditions are consistent with reduced nuisance Cladophora growth in these specific basins.

To achieve this, the EPA expects a consortium of investigators rather than a single narrow research team working in isolation. The funded group would establish "sentinel monitoring sites" across Lakes Michigan, Huron, Erie, and Ontario. Sentinel sites are strategically chosen locations that are monitored consistently over time to detect trends, characterize conditions, and provide comparable datasets across regions. These sites would operate for one or more growing seasons, reflecting the seasonal nature of Cladophora blooms and the need to capture variation within and between years. The in situ data collected at these locations would then be used directly in the development and improvement of Cladophora models, helping ensure those models are grounded in observed conditions and can be applied to management decisions.

From an administrative standpoint, this opportunity is listed under Funding Opportunity Number "EPA R5 GL2017 CLA" and is associated with CFDA (Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance) number 66.469, which corresponds to Great Lakes Program funding. The EPA is the issuing agency, and the activity category is environment. The award ceiling is $600,000, and EPA anticipated making one award, indicating a single lead applicant or lead institution would likely coordinate a broader collaborative team. The announcement was created July 18, 2017, with an original closing date of September 5, 2017, and applicants were directed to consult the full announcement (including Section IV) for the official submission methods, due dates, and other procedural requirements. Eligibility is summarized as "Others (see text field entitled Additional Information on Eligibility for clarification)," which signals that applicants needed to consult the full solicitation to confirm which types of institutions or organizations could apply and under what conditions.

In practical terms, this RFA sits within a larger set of FY2017 GLRI funding opportunities across federal agencies, but it is specifically targeted at producing the field datasets and improved predictive tools needed to connect phosphorus management to nuisance benthic algae outcomes in key Great Lakes basins. The emphasis on coordinated monitoring across multiple lakes, coupled with explicit use of those measurements to enhance models, reflects a management-driven research design: the deliverables are not only scientific publications, but also improved decision-support capability for phosphorus target setting under GLWQA Annex 4.

• The Environmental Protection Agency in the environment sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Great Lakes Integrated Cladophora Research and Modeling in Support of GLWQA Annex 4 Phosphorus Target Setting" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 66.469.
• This funding opportunity was created on Jul 18, 2017.
• Applicants must submit their applications by Sep 05, 2017 Please refer to the announcement, including Section IV, for additional information on submission methods and due dates.. (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 $600,000.00 in funding.
• The number of recipients for this funding is limited to 1 candidate(s).
• Eligible applicants include: Others (see text field entitled Additional Information on Eligibility for clarification).

Apply for EPA R5 GL2017 CLA

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