The U.S. Geological Survey Southwest Biological Science Center (SBSC) is offering a funding opportunity to a CESU partner for research to help build a program to (1) increase the understanding of how new soil and vegetation mapping products can improve land management decisions on western lands, (2) improve land-potential based decision tools, including state-and-transition models, and (3) increase the understanding of how drought and herbivory impact western lands. These are currently significant scientific challenges for management of large western landscapes in the face of climate change, drought, wildfire, and ongoing and changing land uses.