Summary
Title: Inventory of Bats at Minute Man National Historical Park to Inform Building Management, Visitor Use Planning and Potential Consultation
Minute Man National Historical Park (MIMA) needs an inventory of bats to determine presence in areas of proposed building demolition and hazard tree management along trail corridors. An understanding of bat occupancy in these areas will allow proactive planning and appropriate timing of management actions.
Goals and Objectives
This project will assess bat presence and species occurrence at up to 17 building locations and along approximately 5 linear miles of park trails. Ideally, the sampling effort will occur in 2024 to allow sufficient lead time for park planning workflows. Bats are expected to be present between spring and fall. NPS can provide supporting information to assist sampling design.
Specific Project Objectives:
Survey selected buildings and trail extents within the park for bat occurrence using statistically valid sampling approaches, documenting spatial locations, habitat characteristics, and relevant covariate data.
Utilize appropriate sampling protocols to allow potential detection of rare, threatened, and endangered species.
Produce a final report suitable for the NPS Natural Resource Report series, and provide data, GIS products, and metadata related to the project to the NPS using NPS Inventory Program deliverable standards.
Project Timeframe
Deadline for responding to this request for LOI is January 24, 2024. Funds will be obligated in winter 2024, with work starting by April 2024. The anticipated completion date for the project is September 30, 2025.
Funds Available
Project funds available are approximately $50,000; this includes the CESU overhead rate of 17.5%. The project will be funded by the National Park Service Inventory Program within the NPS Inventory and Monitoring Division.
Materials Requested for Letters of Interest
Letters of interest must include:
Name, Organization, and Contact Information
Pre-Proposal (4 pages maximum): Description of the proposed approach for conducting the project, including proposed sampling methods that could be considered for this project. Describe in brief the proposed approach to collect new field data in a manner that will provide information on bat species presence, and how you will use the new and existing data to summarize bat occcurrence for this project.
Brief Statement of Qualifications (2 pages maximum) including:
Biographical Sketch(s) for key personnel (faculty, staff), including a description of discipline(s) of expertise. Curricula vitae can be submitted as an attachment.
Relevant past research projects.
Note: A proposed budget can be submitted (note CESU overhead rate above).
Evaluation Letters of Interest
Based on a review of the Letters of Interest received, an investigator will be invited to prepare a full study proposal, schedule, and detailed budget. Letters will be evaluated based on the following criteria and scoring:
Soundness and validity of the proposed approach for meeting project objectives (15 points maximum).
Demonstrated experience surveying bats (10 points maximum).
Demonstrated experience assessing bat populations (5 points maximum).
Demonstrated ability to produce technical reports within schedule and budget and demonstrated record of professional publications (5 points maximum).
Contact
Direct questions and responses to Lisa Nelson, Inventory Project Manager ([email protected]). The deadline for responding to this request for LOI is January 24, 2024.