GP CESU: Survey Wintering and Migratory Birds at TAPR | NPS NOIP20AC00283

Opportunity Information: Apply for NPS NOIP20AC00283

The National Park Service (Department of the Interior) is offering a discretionary cooperative agreement under the opportunity titled "GP CESU: Survey Wintering and Migratory Birds at TAPR" (Funding Opportunity Number NPS NOIP20AC00283). The project is designed to document how migratory and wintering (non-breeding) bird species use the TAPR preserve across key seasons, and to turn those findings into practical information preserve managers can use when making or evaluating management decisions. In plain terms, the grant supports structured bird surveys during migration and winter, followed by analysis and a report that connects bird presence and habitat use to on-the-ground management considerations.

The core objective is to build a clearer picture of which bird species are present at TAPR during fall migration, the winter season, and spring migration, and how they are using available habitats. The NPS is looking for data that can help managers understand existing patterns of non-breeding bird use and anticipate how management actions (for example, habitat restoration, visitor use patterns, vegetation management, or other stewardship activities) may affect bird communities. A key emphasis is that the results will not just stay internal: survey data and a final report are expected to be delivered to the preserve and shared with other audiences who have an interest in bird communities, including partners and the broader scientific community.

The project has three main required components. First, the recipient must develop a survey protocol or method, and that protocol development is expected to be collaborative. It involves coordination with park staff, partner staff, and other researchers so the methods and resulting data are comparable and transferable, meaning they can be aligned with other monitoring efforts and used over time or across sites. Second, the recipient will carry out bird surveys during three periods: fall migration, winter, and spring migration. Third, the recipient will produce a report that summarizes the bird species encountered, describes habitat use patterns observed during the surveys, and provides management suggestions informed by the findings. The deliverables are therefore both the underlying source data from the surveys and a final written product that interprets what the data mean for preserve stewardship.

This opportunity also has a strong public-purpose and workforce-development angle. The NPS explicitly frames the work as shared environmental stewardship that engages recipients, partners, and youth. By structuring the project through a cooperative agreement, the program is positioned to support hands-on training and experiential learning, particularly for students who can participate directly in natural resource research activities such as field surveys, data management, and report preparation. The intent is that the project helps build capacity in the next generation of conservation and science professionals while also producing management-relevant science that can be disseminated to preserve partners and the scientific community.

From an eligibility and funding standpoint, applicants must be private institutions of higher education. The expected number of awards is one, with an award ceiling of $25,000. The opportunity was created on March 3, 2020, with an original closing date of March 13, 2020. The listed activity categories span education and training, environmental and natural resources work, and science and technology research and development, consistent with a project that blends field ecology, applied management relevance, and student involvement.

• 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 "GP CESU: Survey Wintering and Migratory Birds at TAPR" 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 Mar 03, 2020.
• Applicants must submit their applications by Mar 13, 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 $25,000.00 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 NOIP20AC00283

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