On Earth Day, California Makes $500,000 Available to Study Pesticide Impacts on Wildlife and Ecosystems

What You Need to Know: Researchers can now apply for funding to advance pesticide science and ecosystem monitoring across California’s natural landscapes.

SACRAMENTO—The California Department of Pesticide Regulation (DPR) today announced a Request for Proposals (RFP) for ecosystem monitoring research, with $500,000 available to fund studies that assess how pesticides affect California’s wildlife and natural environments.

Universities, research institutions, non-profit organizations, and other qualified entities are invited to apply. Individual awards will range from $50,000 to $500,000, with a project period of up to three years beginning July 1, 2026.

“California’s ecosystems are unique and irreplaceable, and understanding how pesticides interact with them is essential to protecting our state’s biodiversity,” said DPR Director Karen Morrison. “This ongoing investment empowers researchers to generate the science we need to make informed decisions to regulate or mitigate pesticide impacts and protect people and our environment.”

Proposals can include but are not limited to examining:

• How pesticides affect the health, diversity, and function of soil microbial communities
• Pesticide uptake in non-target plants and animals
• Impacts on pollinator populations, including survival, behavior and colony health
• How ecosystems respond to combined pressures from pesticides and climate stressors such as drought and extreme heat

This funding builds on DPR’s ecosystem monitoring studies, launched in 2021 within the department’s Evaluation Branch. The monitoring efforts have already produced critical findings. Ongoing studies track anticoagulant rodenticide exposure in Southern California coyotes, evaluate pesticide exposure in bat populations, and examine pesticide-related impacts on wildlife in protected areas adjacent to agricultural fields.

The $500,000 in annual funding was established through the 2024-25 State Budget as part of the Sustainable Pest Management (SPM) initiative, providing long-term, stable support for environmental research. DPR will publish results from all funded projects on its website, contributing to a growing body of publicly accessible science that informs the department’s ongoing work to regulate pesticides.

How to Apply

Proposals must be submitted in PDF format, no more than three pages, single-spaced, in 11-point font or larger. Each proposal must include a project summary, goals and objectives, a budget, and key personnel qualifications with CVs. Proposals must incorporate peer-reviewed or publicly accessible literature and apply statistically sound study designs.

For proposal submissions or questions, email ecosystem_monitoring@cdpr.ca.gov.

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