The grant could provide up to $70,500.
The USGS is offering a funding opportunity to a CESU partner to leverage the expertise and infrastructure to collect data and to research to develop urban ecosystem accounts in the United States and adjust the values of urban ecosystem services to account for environmental justice and equity. Researchers will develop urban ecosystem accounts for cities across the Nation, and they will select 3-5 Department of the Interior (DOI) urban management units as case studies. This will involve the development of natural capital accounts to better inform policies related to the protection and management of the Nation's natural capital and to provide scientific and economic information about trends in the value of natural capital, including the economic impacts of climate change. The project is important to DOI, the National Park Service, and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in support of ongoing efforts to address environmental justice issues on public lands. The results will provide valuable information to inform decisions about the management of DOI urban land management units to address inequitable distribution of ecosystem services and adapt to the effects of climate change.