Department of the Interior – Natural and Cultural Preservation and Bat Monitoring Interns Grant

This is a Task Agreement under a Youth Master Cooperative Agreement P15AC00031.  The Recipient with recruit 2 interns. The purpose of this project is to provide youth hands-on experience in natural and cultural restoration and toenhance the scientific communities knowledge adding to the study/ monitoring of bats. This is in regards to the White Nose Syndrome (WNS),a deadly disease that affects North American bats. The work done by the interns will help the management and provide for public awareness. The primary goal is to continue with a landscape project involving 22 acres that was started in 2017.The objectives are to re-seed with native grasses and forbs.

This project incorporates these public purposes:  The information, products and/or services identified or developed by this project will be shared through a variety of strategies to increase public awareness, knowledge and support for historic preservation and stewardship of the nation’s cultural and historical heritage.
The principal purpose of the project is to support the Government’s objective to provide opportunities for youth to learn about the environment by spending time working on projects in National Parks. The NPS receives the indirect benefit of completing conservation projects.
The project motivates its youth participants to become involved in the natural, cultural and /or historical resource protection of their communities and beyond. Students gain “real world” or hands-on experience outside of the classroom of natural, cultural and/or historical resource projects. The scientific community and/or researchers external to NPS gains by new knowledge provided through research and related results dissemination of natural, cultural and/or historical resource information.
The work done by the interns will help the management and provide for public awareness. The hands-on experience will be outdoor work on the historic ground seeding and planing native grasses and broad leaf plants. There will be watering that is needed on a fairly strict schedule and two butterfly gardens,created to increase pollinator habitat, to plant, weed, and water. There may be temporary fencing to put up.
Current bat house locations will be considered, possibly moved, and an acoustic method study will take place.