BOEM Now Accepting Environmental Study Ideas for Fiscal Years 2026 and 2027

The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) is responsible for managing the development of U.S. Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) energy, mineral, and geological resources in an environmentally and economically responsible way. A critical component of BOEM's mission is protecting the environment while overseeing the development of OCS energy and marine mineral resources.

BOEM's Environmental Studies Program (ESP) develops, funds, and manages rigorous scientific research specifically to inform policy decisions on the development of energy and mineral resources on the OCS, as required by law. This environmental and social science research is designed to provide BOEM the necessary information to assess, predict, monitor, and manage potential environmental impacts of the activities it authorizes.

As part of this effort, ESP staff prepare BOEM's annual Studies Development Plan to cover a two-year planning period. The plan includes brief study descriptions, or profiles, that describe proposed studies for the upcoming fiscal year and for one successive year. These studies are designed to collect the information necessary to meet the needs of BOEM scientists, rule writers, modelers, decision makers, and other users. Proposed studies are evaluated for program relevance, programmatic timeliness, and scientific merit.

BOEM is beginning to formulate its Fiscal Year 2026-2027 Studies Development Plan covering all of BOEM's offshore energy and minerals activities. We invite you to submit study ideas for consideration in OCS areas offshore the Atlantic, Gulf of Mexico, and Pacific coasts, Alaska, and the U.S. territories. Study ideas must be relevant to BOEM's information requirements in the areas of biological, oceanographic (physical and chemical) or social sciences (including economic and cultural research), or Indigenous knowledge.

Please review BOEM's National Studies List for Fiscal Year 2025, which identifies studies BOEM intends to procure in FY 2025 (subject to funding availability). The current Studies Development Plan is online and the ESP Hub provides access to completed reports. Brief summaries of recently completed studies can also be found in the ESP 2023 Year in Review and in the archive of ESP Quarterly Reports. Please carefully consider BOEM's ESP Strategic Framework - particularly the criteria and questions - when formulating your study ideas. Study ideas focusing on environmental monitoring and cumulative effects of offshore energy development or marine mineral extraction are of particular interest. Further, BOEM is also interested in studies incorporating innovative technologies or techniques.

Send your suggestions in a short paragraph via email to ESP by close of business December 9, 2024, including an explanation of why BOEM should consider funding them in light of the points noted above.

Please note that all submissions become property of the federal government. While suggestions will be reviewed on a case-by-case basis, there is no guarantee they will be accepted. Some ideas may be combined with other suggestions. Incorporation of an idea does not imply that the submitter will receive funding.

-- BOEM --

The Department of the Interior's Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) manages development of U.S. Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) energy, mineral, and geological resources in an environmentally and economically responsible way.