USA-NPN Collaborating Projects address topics ranging from specific data collection efforts to the development of visualization tools. These efforts are typically short-term (lasting a few years), have specific goals, and are grant-funded.

Current USA-NPN Collaborating Projects include:

• Tucson Buffelgrass Monitoring Network: USGS scientists are collaborating with the USA-NPN to monitor "green-up" in invasive buffelgass. Buffelgrass is a perennial grass that threatens desert ecosystems by out-competing native species and altering fire regimes. Managers have concluded that efforts to eradicate buffelgrass must include applications of herbicide, which is only effective if applied when the buffelgrass is green. 
• PopClock. Researchers at the University of Maryland are working to identify genes that could ensure tree survival as the climate changes, especially as spring occurs earlier and summer becomes warmer.As part of this effort, they are comparing ground-based observations of spring leaf emergence and fall color change, collected via Nature's Notebook, to satellite images, which they will use to create maps of “green-up” and “green-down” across large landscapes.