Monitoring Bats in National Parks of the Upper Midwest - GLKN

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BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Cooperative Agreement Number P12AC31164 was entered into by the Department of the Interior, National Park Service (NPS), as a member of the Great Lakes – Northern Forest Cooperative Ecosystem Studies Unit to provide research, technical assistance and education to federal land management environmental, and research agencies and their potential partners. The objective of this Task Agreement, P16AC00340 is for GLKN and Northland College to cooperative in the coordination of field data collection, data analysis, data management, and reporting of results on bats from up to nine NPS unites in the upper Midwest. The project will provide place-based education for students and quality data for the NPS to assess spatial patterns and trends in bats. The principal purpose of this project is to engage youth to collect useful data and thereby learn about bat populations and methods for monitoring them. Moreover, the resulting data will be useful for the NPS, Northland College, and many other science partners across the Midwest. STATEMENT OF WORK: The NPS Great Lakes Inventory and Monitoring Network (GLKN) is developing a long-term program to monitor bats to track their status and serve as an indicatory of environmental change in nine national parks across the upper Midwest. Northland College will hire limited-term employees (LTEs) to help the NPS conduct natural resource monitoring and management in national parks of the upper Midwest. The focus of this project is monitor bats and other natural resources duties may be assigned as time allows. Field technicians will set up bat acoustic recording devices and check them periodically; technicians may also be involved in data management data summary, spatial data assessments and writing of reports. The NPS will train in the technical aspects of initializing and maintaining the devices, recording field data, and managing the data. The LTEs will gain technical proficiency in maintaining bat monitoring stations and will help park staff with other natural resources projects throughout the summer and get hands-on experience in fieldwork and data analysis while the NPS gets data on an important ecological indicator. RECIPIENT AGREES TO: Appoint the principal investigator; provide LTEs to help the NPS set up acoustic recording units as national parks and acquire and summarize data for all NPS sites; allow GLKN to mutually select LTEs; allow the LTEs to work on other NPS projects as assigned in parks or the GLKN office; adopt and adhere to GLKN’s Safety Plan and Standard Operating Procedures for all fieldwork conducted in NPS units to include local park safety policies and standards if stipulated by park managers; follow the written protocols provided by GLKN for the collection and summary of data; work with NPS data managers to ensure data are validated, certified, and archived; work with the principal investigator to jointly write an annual technical report documenting methods, results, and interpretations and recommendations for future efforts. NATIONAL PARK SERVICE AGREES TO: The NPS is substantially involved with this agreement and agrees to: assign an NPS principal investigator as technical advisor and a resource staff member from each park location and a point of contact on data management; provide Northland College LTEs with training regarding GLKN’s Safety Plan and Standard Operating Procedures; provide the LTE’s with training in use of monitoring protocol, use of recording devices, handling of data (validation, certification, and archival of data), analysis of data, and interpretation of data; provide access to computers, information technology services, and office requirements at each NPS location; determine in collaboration with participating parks, which sites will be sampled; provide NPS data management staff to oversee data quality checks, and help certify data sets; oversee recipient performance under this task agreement.

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