GRPL CESU: Acoustic Monitoring of Bats in Northern Great Plains Parks | NPS NOIP20AC00430

Opportunity Information: Apply for NPS NOIP20AC00430

The grant opportunity "GRPL CESU: Acoustic Monitoring of Bats in Northern Great Plains Parks" is a National Park Service (NPS) cooperative agreement focused on long-term bat monitoring across six parks in the Northern Great Plains Inventory and Monitoring Network (NGPN). The work is to be carried out by the Wyoming Natural Diversity Database (WYNDD) at the University of Wyoming, using standardized acoustic monitoring methods aligned with the North American Bat Monitoring Program (NABat). The central idea is to collect consistent, repeatable data that can reveal year-to-year and long-term changes in bat activity, helping parks and other land managers understand how bat populations may be responding to local and regional environmental change.

The project targets six NGPN park units: Badlands National Park, Jewel Cave National Monument, Missouri National Recreational River, Niobrara National Scenic River, Theodore Roosevelt National Park, and Wind Cave National Park. Monitoring is framed within NABat's continent-wide sampling design so the results can be compared across regions and contribute to broader conservation science. Bats are emphasized because they play important ecological roles and are considered useful indicators of ecosystem conditions, meaning shifts in bat activity can signal wider changes affecting wildlife and habitat.

Fieldwork centers on acoustic detection of bats, which relies on recording ultrasonic echolocation calls as bats fly and forage. A total of 14 NABat grid cells are included in the monitoring design. Within each cell, four stationary (passive) acoustic recorders are placed at selected points and left to record bat activity throughout the night for four to seven nights. This provides an index of "bat flyover activity," which is used as a practical measure of relative abundance and a way to track temporal trends. To complement the stationary recordings, each NABat cell also includes mobile driving surveys: a 25 to 48 km road route surveyed on at least two nights, beginning 30 to 45 minutes after sunset. During these transects, the surveyor drives about 32 kph with a microphone mounted on the vehicle roof to capture echolocation calls along the route. Surveys are scheduled during the core summer period of June through August, and the project stresses maintaining as much consistency as possible from year to year in equipment, settings, and timing so that trends are interpretable.

Beyond data collection, the opportunity highlights public and scientific value. The monitoring is intended to generate new knowledge about bat occurrence, natural history, and distribution across the northern plains, with benefits extending to researchers outside the NPS as results are shared. The NGPN is expected to analyze the data and produce an NPS Natural Resource Report, with the possibility of additional products such as posters for ecological meetings. Parks may also translate findings into public-facing communication through interpretive programs and outreach channels like park social media, helping visitors better understand bat ecology and the broader challenges of managing protected areas for both conservation and recreation.

Administratively, this is a discretionary funding opportunity issued by the Department of the Interior, National Park Service, using a cooperative agreement mechanism. It is associated with CFDA 15.945 and is limited in eligibility to public and state-controlled institutions of higher education. The posting listed an anticipated single award with a ceiling of $600,000. The opportunity was created April 6, 2020, with an original closing date of April 16, 2020, indicating a time-limited application window for an institution capable of carrying out standardized NABat-based acoustic monitoring across multiple park units.

• The Department of the Interior, National Park Service in the education, employment, labor and training, environment, natural resources, science and technology and other research and development sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "GRPL CESU: Acoustic Monitoring of Bats in Northern Great Plains Parks" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 15.945.
• This funding opportunity was created on Apr 06, 2020.
• Applicants must submit their applications by Apr 16, 2020. (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 $600,000.00 in funding.
• The number of recipients for this funding is limited to 1 candidate(s).
• Eligible applicants include: Public and State controlled institutions of higher education.

Apply for NPS NOIP20AC00430

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