Monitoring Bats in National Parks of the Upper Midwest-GLKN | NPS NOIP16AC00340 02

Opportunity Information: Apply for NPS NOIP16AC00340 02

Monitoring Bats in National Parks of the Upper Midwest-GLKN is a National Park Service (NPS) cooperative agreement designed to build a stronger, park-by-park understanding of bat populations across the Upper Midwest at a critical moment, before White Nose Syndrome (WNS) becomes established in those sites. The project centers on acoustic monitoring, using specialized recording devices that capture bat echolocation calls so researchers can detect bat activity and identify species present without needing to handle animals. By consistently collecting these recordings at defined locations, the parks can establish a baseline of which bat species are using particular areas, how active they are, and how those patterns change over time. That baseline is especially valuable because, as of March 2018, there were no confirmed WNS cases in the nine participating national parks, meaning the monitoring can document conditions before major disease-driven declines occur.

The agreement supports a collaboration between the Great Lakes Network (GLKN) of the NPS Inventory and Monitoring Program and Northland College, working specifically with Dr. Erik Olson, who is described as having substantial experience with this kind of wildlife research. The work is structured to jointly coordinate the full workflow of a multi-park monitoring effort: organizing field deployment and retrieval of acoustic detectors, ensuring standardized data collection across up to nine NPS units, analyzing the recorded calls to determine species occurrence and activity levels, managing and organizing datasets so they are usable long-term, and producing reports that translate results into practical information for park staff. The emphasis is not just on gathering recordings, but on turning them into consistent, comparable, decision-relevant information that resource managers can use as WNS approaches and potentially moves through the region.

A notable feature of the opportunity is its education and workforce development angle. The project is framed to provide place-based education for Northland College students, engaging them directly in fieldwork and the applied science of monitoring wildlife populations. In other words, students gain hands-on training in modern bat survey methods while contributing data that the NPS can use to assess spatial patterns and trends. The stated principal purpose is youth engagement through meaningful data collection, pairing learning outcomes with conservation outcomes so that the monitoring effort builds both scientific capacity and practical management value.

From an administrative standpoint, this was a discretionary funding opportunity offered by the Department of the Interior, National Park Service, using a Cooperative Agreement as the funding instrument. The opportunity number is NPS NOIP16AC00340 02, and it is associated with CFDA 15.944. Eligibility was limited to private institutions of higher education, aligning with the intended partnership with Northland College. The opportunity was created on June 22, 2018, with an original closing date of July 10, 2018. The expected number of awards was one, with an award ceiling of $231,584, reflecting a single, focused partnership to carry out coordinated bat monitoring and reporting across multiple national park units in the Upper Midwest.

• The Department of the Interior, National Park Service in the employment, labor and training, environment, natural resources, science and technology and other research and development sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Monitoring Bats in National Parks of the Upper Midwest-GLKN" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 15.944.
• This funding opportunity was created on Jun 22, 2018.
• Applicants must submit their applications by Jul 10, 2018. (Agency may still review applications by suitable applicants for the remaining/unused allocated funding in 2026.)
• Each selected applicant is eligible to receive up to $231,584.00 in funding.
• The number of recipients for this funding is limited to 1 candidate(s).
• Eligible applicants include: Private institutions of higher education.

Apply for NPS NOIP16AC00340 02

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