The grant could provide up to $100,000.
The 102nd Congress recognized that the USGS and the State Geological Surveys needed a coordinated program to prioritize the geologic mapping requirements of the Nation, and to increase production of these geologic maps. The National Geologic Mapping Act (Public Law 102-285) was signed into law in 1992 and created the National Cooperative Geologic Mapping Program (NCGMP). The Act has been re-authorized three times since then, most recently by the 111th Congress in 2009 (Public Law 111-11, sec. 11001). The Act recognizes that geologic maps are the primary database for virtually all applied and basic earth-science investigations. To read copies of the original act and the two reauthorizations, visit: http://ncgmp.usgs.gov/about/.