OSMP Funded Research Program

Dates

• Request for proposals issued: Oct 21, 2024
• Proposal deadline: Jan 9, 2025
• Award notifications: Feb 20, 2025
• Draft report submission: Oct 31, 2025
• Reviewer comments to applicant: Nov. 25, 2025
• Final report submission: Dec 29, 2025

Who Can Apply

• Anyone may apply.
• Students must submit a signed letter from an academic advisor to confirm that the proposal has been reviewed, approved, and is supported.
• Faculty sponsors are responsible for providing the final report should the student fail to submit one.

Priority Topics

Proposals will be reviewed on a competitive basis, with preference given to proposals that address Priority Project Topics. However, all proposals will be considered based on their merits.

Budget

The maximum award amount is capped at $12,000. Details on allowable expenses can be found in the budget worksheet (Word). Overhead costs should not exceed 10 percent of the total grant award except in rare circumstances. Funding commitments are limited to an annual basis, but multi-year projects are encouraged, especially for studies in which year-to-year variation may influence results.

Proposal Format

Proposals must follow the format guidelines exactly.

On-going Projects

Project extensions will be considered, but the proposal must be for work that is above and beyond the scope of previously funded work (i.e., not just a proposal to complete the uncompleted work scoped previously).

Multiple Proposals

A single PI may submit multiple proposals.

Information Sharing

OSMP reserves the right to acquire and share with other researchers any grant-related intellectual property/work products, such as datasets, field protocols/manuals, and reports. Proposals received may be shared on our webpage, whether they are funded or not.

Additional requirements for funded applicants

• All successful applicants are required to abide by City of Boulder OSMP rules and regulations.
• All research and related projects conducted on City of Boulder OSMP lands will have oversight provided by an OSMP staff member.
• Successful applicants must sign a volunteer register and waiver of liability.
• Funded applicants are required to submit a draft and final report.

Where to Submit

Submit proposals to osmpfrp@bouldercolorado.gov.

Unfunded Research

Proposals that do not require OSMP funding may be submitted through our unfunded research program.

Interagency Grants

OSMP, Boulder County Parks and Open Space (BCPOS), and Jefferson County Open Space (JCOS) PDF will consider proposals for research that cross their land boundaries. See our interagency proposal instructions for more information. If interested in the possibilities of a shared research project, please contact Raquel Robles (BCPOS), Ann Lezberg (OSMP) or Julie Liggett (JCOS) to discuss custom application procedures.

Proposals not adhering to the following guidelines will be returned for revision without review. These guidelines are also available as a printable Word doc: Proposal Format Guidelines (Word).

Document parameters

• Figures and tables should be embedded in the text.
• 1-inch margins all around.
• 12-point font.
• Double line spacing.
• 8 page maximum, excluding cover page, references, budget, and personnel qualifications.
• All content is combined into a single PDF document.
• Use the exact section numbers and names described below to mark the sections of document (i.e., above the abstract, write "Section 1: Abstract").

Cover page

• Proposal title.
• Names of and affiliation of each researcher.
• Identify the lead principal investigator and include his/her contact information.
• Date of the proposal.

Section 1: Abstract (300 words maximum)

• Explain the relevance of and need for the proposed work.
• Is the work related to a priority research topic? If so, which one(s)?
• If not, explain why this work is important and timely.
• Identify problems and response variables.
• Work location(s), and timeline.
• Outline general methods.
• Describe how results will contribute to natural resource management and/or conservation or human dimensions goals on OSMP lands.

Section 2: Introduction (1-4 paragraphs)

• Briefly describe the problem to be addressed and its origin(s).
• Local/regional context and relevance.
• Explain how information from this work will benefit natural resource management and conservation, or recreation management, on OSMP lands.
• Provide with this information a scientific literature review covering relevant prior work related to the project.
• Include any previous work of key project personnel.
• Include one or more clearly stated objective(s) or hypotheses.
• Describe the anticipated value of the research to furthering scientific knowledge and public education.

Section 3: Methods (1 – 5 paragraphs)

• Methods should detail the tasks necessary to achieve each objective, and how each task will be carried out.
• Methods should adhere to sound scientific principles.
• Please include descriptions of
• Field and analytical methods.
• Study area description and maps (please consider the timing and location of OSMP closures when proposing field work).
• A project schedule.
• A detailed explanation of any potential to harm to natural, social, or cultural resources on OSMP properties.
• To conclude the methods, describe, in a bulleted list
• All major facilities and equipment to be used in support of this project in sufficient detail to demonstrate adequacy.
• For example, indicate whether there are suitable field equipment, vehicles, laboratory and office space and equipment, life support systems for organisms, and computers.
• Identify and justify any special or high-cost equipment to be purchased with funds requested in this proposal.

Section 4: Anticipated Results and Discussion (1 – 3 paragraphs)

• Describe what the anticipated results of the research will be and discuss their relevancy to local and regional issues. If useful, include a list of predicted results.
• Conclude this section by clearly identifying all deliverables that will result from this work (e.g., reports, presentations, habitat enhancements, etc.) in a bulleted list, and describe the purpose that each product is intended to meet.

Section 5: Relationships to existing projects (1 paragraph)

• Please indicate whether (and how) this project is a collaborative effort with other proposed or existing projects, specifically those in the northern Colorado Front Range area.
• If this project requires any special permitting, explain the permit status and provide name of permit holder/applicant.
• If you are aware of any potential conflict between this proposal and an ongoing project, explain.
• If applicable, explain how this proposal is part of a larger regional effort involving multiple projects or multiple partners.

Section 6: Project history for continuing projects (1 paragraph)

• If this project is part of an ongoing study, please provide a brief history of past goals and accomplishments.
• List the years underway, past costs (amount received by year), summary of major results, project reports and technical papers, and relevant adaptive management implications.

Section 7: References

• Provide full citations for all scientific and technical documents that are referenced in the proposal.

Section 8: Budget

• Provide a detailed, itemized budget in table format. Please use this budget worksheet (Word) for City of Boulder projects and follow the guidelines carefully.
• PIs must document who the funding award letter should go to (individual or organization, contact information, anyone else to copy) and how funding is distributed (e.g., via lock box, check, money transfer, etc.)
• List information for all personnel, equipment, goods and services, and other items (e.g., per diem), required to complete the work described in this proposal.
• Also include overhead costs (not to exceed 10%).
• Subtotal within each category and provide a grand total.

Section 9: Personnel qualifications

• On one page, include names, titles, anticipated level of participation (in full-time equivalent hours), and how each will participate on the project.
• On subsequent pages, include a curriculum vitae (CV) for each key personnel (i.e., principal investigators, project managers, primary subcontractors, academic advisors).
• Each CV should be no more than 2 pages long.

Important Information About Fund Disbursement

• Fund payment schedules for all funded projects will be determined jointly with successful applicants. For City of Boulder Projects, Final payments may be held until OSMP project sponsors receive relevant deliverables described in the project proposal and related contract documents.

The City of Boulder Open Space and Mountain Parks Department (OSMP) has funding available through its funded research program for scientific inquiry on OSMP lands that address natural, cultural, and visitor resource conditions and management. Grants are awarded up to $12,000. The deadline for proposals is Thursday, Jan. 9, 2025.

Preference will be given to original proposals that address topics identified below, however, all proposals will be considered based on their merits. Each question or topic is followed by the corresponding OSMP Master Plan strategy listed on page 21 to 31 in this executive summary PDF. The topics below are also available in this printable Priority Research Topics Word doc.

Agricultural Land and Soil Restoration

1. Invertebrates: How do invertebrate populations and communities differ between different agricultural or land uses (e.g. hayfields, cash crops, orchards, and prairie dog colonies)? (ATT.3, ATT.7)
2. Soil microbial communities: What are soil microbial community responses to changes in agricultural use (e.g. perennial to annual, annual to perennial, or silvopasture)? (ATT.2, ATT.5)
3. Use of GPS collars: How can GPS livestock collars be used most efficiently to monitor livestock movement, particularly to reduce visitor conflict between livestock and trail users on OSMP? (ATT.6, ATT.9)
4. Ponds and springs: How do hydrogeologic and weather factors influence the availability of surface ponds and springs in the foothills? (ATT.4, ATT.6)
5. Wildfire behavior on ditch corridors: What will the impact of removing invasive trees and shrubs from irrigation ditch corridors have on wildfire behavior and risk on OSMP property? Possibility to use a modeling approach (EHR.6, ATT.1, ATT.7)
6. Russian olives: How many/what is the canopy cover of Russian olives on OSMP agricultural properties? Can we use remote sensing to determine? (EHR.6, ATT.4)

Climate Change

1. Wind erosion: How can OSMP staff accurately measure the rate and spatial variability of soil erosion caused by wind and water? What methods and techniques are available to mitigate this type of soil loss? (ATT.2, EHR.3)
2. Visitor emissions: How can we refine our initial estimate of greenhouse gas emissions associated with visitor travel to OSMP access points? Additionally, how can OSMP staff develop a spatially explicit model to better understand and manage these emissions? (EHR. 9)
3. Post-fire reforestation: What are the most effective reforestation strategies for promoting native species recovery and long-term ecosystem resilience in post-wildfire landscapes? (EHR.1)
4. Post-wildfire ecological health assessments: How can ecological health assessments, focusing on soil stability, water retention, vegetation regrowth, and biodiversity, be used to measure and enhance the success of these reforestation efforts? (EHR.7)

Forest & Grassland Plant Ecology and Restoration

1. Scaling up grassland plant composition data: How can we extrapolate plot-level plant composition data across our larger grassland system? Evaluate key edaphic, environmental, geological, topographic or land use/disturbance variables that influence or predict patterns of grassland vegetation using existing grassland transect data, remotely sensed or existing map layers, modeling and/or field testing. Can the abundance of non-native species be predicted by any of these variables? (EHR.2, EHR.7)
2. Biological soil crusts: Where are biological soil crusts found on OSMP lands and how do we characterize their microhabitat affinities and compositional types? Evaluate threats to the persistence of biological soil crusts and how climate change and land-use activities (grazing, trampling, fire) may impact them (EHR.7).

Technology and Analytic Applications for Resource Assessment and Scaling

1. Crowd sourcing: Can application programming interfaces and existing mobile data sources be used to characterize visitors, visitor satisfaction, or resource conditions across seasons and years? (RRSE.1, RRSE.9)
2. Automated species identification: Can current machine learning algorithms used to identify species based on acoustic recordings be improved? (EHR.1, EHR.7)
3. Drone imagery: Is it feasible to map non-wetland vegetation communities and/or noxious weeds using multiband imagery obtained from drone flights? (EHR.6, EHR.7)
4. Photo series interpretation: Can resource conditions be assessed using photograph time series and machine learning algorithms? (EHR.7)
5. Phenological change: Is it possible to use satellite imagery to track long-term phenological changes for vegetation communities on OSMP property? (EHR.6, EHR.7)
6. Environmental sensors: What is the feasibility and performance of LoRaWAN sensor networks for remote environmental monitoring in the challenging terrain of OSMP lands. (EHR.7)

Vegetation Stewardship and Invasive Plants

1. Reed canary grass management: What are the most effective methods of management for reed canary grass utilizing products that are currently on the approved pesticide list for the City of Boulder (including clethodim, which is only allowed for tall oatgrass but has other invasive grasses such as cheatgrass and reed canary grass on the label of species controlled)? (EHR.6, ATT.8)

Visitor Experience and Human Dimensions of Recreation

1. Multimodal trailhead access: What are the key factors that motivate or discourage visitors from using alternative transportation options (e.g., public transit, biking, carpooling) to access OSMP trailheads? Note the overlap with climate change topic above (RRSE.4)
2. Accessibility and inclusivity: What are the barriers to access and participation in outdoor recreation at OSMP for people with disabilities, diverse cultural backgrounds, or economic disadvantages, and how can these barriers be overcome? (CCEI.1, RRSE.8)
3. Perceptions of risk and safety: How do visitors perceive and respond to different types of risks (e.g., wildlife encounters, weather/health hazards, trail difficulty) on OSMP, and how can communication and education be used to promote safe and responsible recreation? (CCEI.2, EHR.3)
4. Dog waste: What messaging techniques are most effective in motivating visitors to pick up dog waste? (CCEI.2)
5. Regulations: To what extent can visitors accurately interpret and follow regulations depicted on OSMP maps? How does the design and layout of maps influence visitor comprehension of regulations? (CCEI.2)
6. Visitor segmentation and targeted communication strategies: How can OSMP visitors be segmented based on their motivations, behaviors, and demographics, and what are the most effective communication strategies for reaching each segment? (RRSE.9, CCEI.2)
7. Well-being: How does OSMP contribute to human health and wellbeing? For example, how do different types of natural environments within OSMP (e.g., forests, grasslands, riparian areas) differentially impact psychological restoration and stress reduction? What is the optimal "dose" of nature exposure (e.g., frequency, duration, type of activity) on OSMP to achieve significant improvements in mental and physical well-being? (CCEI.5)

Wetland, Aquatic and Riparian Ecology

1. Wetland condition assessments: Develop and test a monitoring and assessment protocol to be implemented as part of OSMP’s wetland ecological condition assessment at a subset of OSMP monitored wetlands for one of the following: amphibian survey, macroinvertebrate survey, soil sampling, water quality testing, groundwater sampling. Other monitoring protocols will be considered if they help assess wetland conditions. (EHR.1, EHR.7)
2. Soil properties by wetland type: How do soil physical, chemical, and biological properties differ by wetland type on OSMP? (EHR.2)

Wildlife Ecology

1. Abert’s squirrel: How do Abert’s squirrels utilize habitat in ponderosa pine forest stands? (EHR.2, EHR.7)
2. Drone mapping of falcon nest sites: How can falcon nest site locations, size of eyries and level of protection from weather, etc. be evaluated using drones? (EHR.7)
3. Grassland birds in managed and native grasslands: What is the nesting success, productivity, and/or breeding chronology of grassland birds nesting in irrigated hayfields or in native grasslands, including impacts of agricultural management on nesting success? (EHR.1, ATT.7)
4. Preble’s meadow jumping mouse ecology: How does Preble’s meadow jumping mouse use habitat on OSMP, especially as related to influences of land management actions such as grazing and habitat restoration? (EHR.1, EHR.2)
5. Bat diversity: How does bat diversity vary across various water sources on OSMP? (EHR.2, EHR.7)
6. Insects in prairie dog-occupied grasslands: What pollinators (e.g., bumble bees, ground nesting bees) and other insects are present in prairie dog-occupied native grasslands that could be affected by insecticidal control of fleas for sylvatic plague. (ATT.3)
7. Prairie dog exclusion: What is the feasibility and success of novel approaches to prairie dog exclusion? (ATT.3)

City of Boulder Open Space and Mountain Parks (OSMP), Boulder County Parks and Open Space (BCPOS), and Jefferson County Open Space (JCOS) are happy to announce that they will once again consider proposals for research that cross their land boundaries.

Working with multiple agencies can have many benefits: researchers can use a broader spatial extent, access a greater number of environments and environmental histories, use a larger breadth of methods, and attract more funding. These benefits can produce higher quality research studies and help facilitate inter-agency collaboration.

Here are the custom procedures for applying to work with more than one land agency. There is also a printable Interagency Proposal Instructions Word doc.

1. You should create just one proposal for submission to multiple agencies. Follow the proposal format guidelines for OSMP (However, you may need to provide multiple budget worksheets to meet agency-specific requirements). Please check with the agency staff listed in item 4 below.
2. In addition to the regular proposal, please add to the top of your proposal an additional cover page (one page maximum) formatted as follows:
   1. Title: Your title 
   2. Subtitle: "This proposal is for consideration by X, Y, and Z agencies," where X, Y, and Z are the two (or more) agencies involved.
   3. Section 1: Importance of the proposed research to each agency
      1. Briefly describe the unique benefits that each agency will receive.
   4. ​Section 2: Correspondence history
      1. Briefly describe the history of your correspondence with staff about the research.
   5. Section 3: Funding request. Please check individual agency RFPs as maximum funding amount may differ.
      1. Specify how much you are requesting from each agency in a bullet list, for example:
         1. OSMP: $8,500
         2. BCPOS: $5,100
         3. Jefferson County: None
3. Proposal deadlines are listed below:
   1. OSMP: 1/09/2025
   2. BCPOS: 1/09/2025
   3. JCOS: 1/09/2025
4. When you submit your proposal, be sure to cc the appropriate parties from each agency. 
   1. OSMP: Ann Lezberg, osmpfrp@bouldercolorado.gov
   2. BCPOS: Raquel Robles, rrobles@bouldercounty.org
   3. JCOS: Julie Liggett, jliggett@co.jefferson.co.us

Note: Interagency grants are not guaranteed to be funded by all agencies; proposals should still be stand-alone projects if one agency decides not to fund it.