Post-WNS Bat Assemblage at Prince William Forest Park: Dormant Season | P18AS00684

Opportunity Information: Apply for P18AS00684

The National Park Service (NPS), within the U.S. Department of the Interior, announced a discretionary cooperative agreement action titled "Post-WNS Bat Assemblage at Prince William Forest Park: Dormant Season" (Funding Opportunity Number P18AS00684). The effort focuses on understanding how bat communities at Prince William Forest Park are faring after the spread of White-nose Syndrome (WNS), with particular attention to the northern long-eared bat, a federally listed threatened species. The project is framed as dormant-season work (fall through spring conditions), filling a gap left by earlier NPS-sponsored summer research conducted from 2014 to 2018 in National Capital Region (NCR) parks. In practical terms, it aims to extend seasonal coverage so managers can better understand year-round habitat use and survival strategies rather than relying mainly on summer maternity-season observations.

The central scientific and conservation question is whether northern long-eared bats and other WNS-impacted species are persisting in and around Prince William Forest Park by using unusual (aberrant) hibernation sites locally, or by shifting their overwintering behavior through migration to coastal areas or farther southeast into Virginia. If bats are successfully avoiding WNS impacts through these strategies, the implications are described as "immense" because it could indicate that the eastern NCR still supports one of the last active and reproductively viable populations for the species. The announcement also raises the possibility that NCR parks may function as maternity areas for bats that overwinter farther to the southeast, noting anecdotal observations that suggest limited maternity activity in southeastern Virginia and northeastern North Carolina despite evidence of overwintering occurrences there. In other words, bats might be surviving the winter elsewhere but relying on NCR habitats to reproduce, which would make the NCR disproportionately important to regional population persistence.

From a species-status standpoint, the work is positioned as potentially influential to conservation outcomes beyond the park boundary. If findings show that the NCR is critical to the northern long-eared bat's survival and recovery, that information could help prevent the species from being uplisted from threatened to endangered, or potentially support future downlisting or delisting if recovery trends are demonstrated. While listing decisions are not made by NPS, the announcement emphasizes that high-quality ecological evidence about where bats survive and reproduce can affect broader conservation assessments and priorities.

The opportunity also links bat biology to management needs. Even if bats overwinter in traditional caves, in trees, or in other nonstandard sites, they still require periods of intensive foraging in spring to rebuild energy reserves, support migration, and meet the demands of pregnancy. The NCR is described as rapidly urbanizing, which increases the value of remaining protected areas. NPS parks in the region represent a substantial portion of the remaining landscape that can support key bat requirements such as day-roosting sites and foraging habitat. Because WNS has reshaped bat ecology and reduced populations, management strategies that aim to optimize habitat conditions need to consider not only summer maternity habitat but also fall, spring, and potential overwinter habitat needs in the mid-Atlantic. The announcement explicitly notes that these seasonal needs have not been adequately incorporated into management approaches to date.

At the park management level, the anticipated outcome is information that can be translated into practical conservation guidelines. The results are intended to inform decisions about forest and field management, hazard tree removal (which can unintentionally eliminate roost trees), and prescribed fire use (which can both improve habitat and pose risks depending on timing and implementation). By better defining how bats use the landscape during dormant seasons, the park can craft guidance that reduces avoidable impacts while supporting habitat features that WNS-impacted bats may now depend on for survival and recovery.

Administratively, this notice is not a call for new applications. It is a notification that NPS will modify an existing task agreement under an already competed cooperative agreement (Cooperative Agreement Number P17AC01176) with Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University. The eligible applicant category listed is 501(c)(3) nonprofits other than institutions of higher education, but in this case the action is a directed modification under an existing partnership rather than an open competition. The funding instrument is a Cooperative Agreement, the activity category is Science and Technology and other Research and Development, and the CFDA number is 15.945. The announcement was created on September 13, 2018, with an original closing date of September 23, 2018, reflecting the administrative window for the notice rather than an open submission period. The expected number of awards is one, with an award ceiling of $49,900.

In summary, the grant action supports targeted dormant-season bat research at Prince William Forest Park to determine how WNS-affected bats, especially northern long-eared bats, may be persisting through altered hibernation or migration strategies. It builds on prior summer research, addresses a critical seasonal knowledge gap, and is designed to produce actionable guidance for habitat and risk management decisions in a region where protected lands may play an outsized role in sustaining remaining bat populations.

• The Department of the Interior, National Park Service in the science and technology and other research and development sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Post-WNS Bat Assemblage at Prince William Forest Park: Dormant Season" 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 Sep 13, 2018.
• Applicants must submit their applications by Sep 23, 2018 This announcement is not a request for applications. It is notification that NPS will modify a task agreement under already competed Cooperative Agreement Number P17AC01176 with Virginia Polytechnic Institute amp State University.. (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 $49,900.00 in funding.
• The number of recipients for this funding is limited to 1 candidate(s).
• Eligible applicants include: Nonprofits having a 501(c)(3) status with the IRS, other than institutions of higher education.

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