23Wm 2026 Fall Bat Acoustics

PA Game Commission

Bureau of Wildlife Management

Statewide Bat Acoustic Monitoring at Mine Portals

GENERAL SPECIFICATIONS

SCOPE OF WORK:

This aim of this work is to conduct passive acoustic monitoring of a minimum of 70 potential hibernacula portals in fall of 2026 statewide across Pennsylvania. The selected contractor will apply passive acoustic devices at cave and mine portals and analyze the results. By placing these devices during the fall swarm period at these portals, we can determine potential use by bats, which will assist the PGC in prioritizing follow-up trapping surveys and subsequent protection, a key conservation measure in the bat Habitat Conservation Plan.

This project will give us information on timing and quantity of bat activity, as well as species/guild ID. These detectors will be put in place during the fall swarm period (Sept 15 to Oct 30).

The Pennsylvania Game Commission, Bureau of Wildlife Management, seeks a qualified bat surveying team to survey 60 total sites (mostly mines, but also a few other sites) on State Game Lands (primarily), but also DCNR property, statewide. Services shall include the deployment, mid-term check (at approximately week 3), and retrieval of all detectors along with the processing and reporting of all data.

**Actual GPS locations for each site will be provided to the winning bidder. ** Each survey location will have an acoustics device placed to record appropriate high-quality calls outside of each portal. The goal of the survey is to document and confirm presence and activity of as many bats and bat species as possible, so site selection should be determined by a Pennsylvania Qualified Bat Surveyor (QBS) or Bat Identifier (BI).

Detectors should run from 12 hour prior to sunset to 12 hour after sunrise each night, for the duration of Sept 15 to Oct 30. Inclement weather does not affect the number of survey nights. Site access will be provided by the Pennsylvania Game Commission and DCNR.

Any questions concerning the technical or administrative aspects of this bid should be directed to:

Mike Scafini

Endangered Mammal Specialist

PA Game Commission

2001 Elmerton Ave

Harrisburg, PA 17110

717-409-2848

mscafini@pa.gov

Questions concerning the Purchase Order should be directed to Bobbi Mercer at 717-787-4250.

CONTRACT TASKS:

Project Location: 60 locations across all 6 regions have been preselected.

Lead surveyor (QBS or BI) will select ideal locations near the provided point to conduct acoustic surveys. Each portal will have ONE detector. This location shall be within 20 feet of each portal entrance, facing perpendicular to the opening, in an area that will yield the highest-quality bat calls. Detectors should NOT be pointed directly towards the portal entrance. PGC will provide Wildlife Acoustics Song Meter Mini Bat 2's, plus all SD cards (32 or 64 GB SanDisk), and AA batteries.

Contractors must conduct bat surveys between Sept 15 and Oct 30, 2026.

All detectors must have one mid-term check (at approximately week 3) to check on battery life, SD card space remaining, and detector condition. Batteries and SD cards will be replaced as needed. PGC will supply a few extra detectors in case they are stolen, damaged, or malfunctioning.

All detectors, SD cards, and unused batteries must be returned by Dec 1, 2026. All stolen or damaged devices must be reported immediately upon discovery. All damaged devices must be returned as well.

All acoustic calls must be analyzed using SonoBat (preferably version 30, or other recent version). This is what the PGC uses and has available to them.

Acoustic results must be recorded on the Acoustic Site Info and Acoustic Survey Results tabs of the USFWS's Bat Reporting Spreadsheet, which can be found at: . This form should be returned to Mike Scafini: , or by calling 717-409-2848 to make other arrangements. **Note: it is NOT necessary to report night-by-night results, but PGC must receive WEEKLY summary results (bat call tallies and species/guild ID) within this table.

Summary Report: A map, GPS coordinates of all survey locations (as shapefile or other digital format), photos (showing detector and portal in same image) must be provided to PGC for each acoustical detector location, along with a "weekly bat call tallies by Species/Guild graph". An example of this is provided below as Appendix A. A consistent nomenclature for sites should be used. For example: 3-digit game lands number (or DCNR land abbreviation), site name, and detector dates, i.e. SGL229_PA3649_08152025 to 00302026. In addition, the weekly summary of bat call data (mentioned in F above) should also be included in this report. This should include: one table showing Bat Call Tallies per Species/Guild by Site, and one table showing Maximum Likelihood Estimator (p-value) for each Species/Guild by Site.

PGC must be provided with all filtered bat call data (not all raw files that include non-bat recordings). External hard drive, not supplied by PGC, will be the best method. This will become the property of PGC upon project completion.

CONTRACT REQUIREMENTS:

A. Those deploying acoustic detectors in the field must be on our Pennsylvania Qualified Bat Surveyor (either QBS or BI) list.

The contractor agrees to comply with specifications listed in the contract tasks.

All field work must be completed by Oct 30, 2026.

All data entry and reporting should be completed prior to Dec 1, 2026.

An invoice must be submitted for the winning bid amount to PGC after all data is entered and approved, but no later than Dec 15, 2026.

BIDDING:

RECEIVING AND OPENING BIDS - Bids must be submitted via the PA Supplier Portal, found at Faxed bids and mailed bids will NOT be accepted.

The price shall include all labor to deploy and mount all detectors, and all equipment (except for detectors, batteries, and SD cards, as mentioned above) necessary for the completion of this project. Bid price shall be in dollar and cents only.

BID RESULTS - Bidders can obtain results at

The posted results will contain the information of the apparent bidders, and all bids are under review until final award of the purchase order.

Quantities herein are only estimates and may increase or decrease dependent upon the needs of the Commission. The operator shall be paid at the unit price bid for actual services performed.

The Commission reserves the right to reject any or all bids and award contracts as it determines to be in the best interest of the Commission.

PERFORMANCE SECURITY:

As further guarantee of faithful performance of the conditions set forth in this contract, the Contractor hereby agrees to furnish the Commission with Certified Check, Savings Account, Irrevocable Letter of Credit, or other security acceptable to the Pennsylvania Game Commission, in the sum of $5,000.00.

ANY SECURITY POSTED MUST HAVE AN EXPIRATION DATE A MINIMUM OF ONE YEAR BEYOND THE EXPIRATION DATE OF THE CONTRACT.

Performance Security is due no later than 30 days after written notice of the bid award. Time is of the essence with regard to the provision of Performance Security. At the option of the PGC, failure to provide an acceptable Surety within 30 days will result in cancellation of the contract and the PGC may declare the bidder ineligible on future projects.

Failure to comply with any of the conditions of the contract herein mentioned may result in cancellation of the agreement and claim may be made against the surety or the security for all or part of the damages sustained by such noncompliance.

OPERATOR REFERENCES

After bid opening and prior to awarding the Purchase Order(s), the Commission has the right to request three (3) references (name, addresses and telephone numbers) of similar work performed in the previous two (2) years as proof of qualifications to perform the work involved in the project(s).

CONTRACT TERM:

The contract term shall begin upon notification of award. All acoustics should be completed by Oct 30, 2026. All summarized acoustic results must be submitted by Dec 1, 2026.

PAYMENT TERMS:

Payment shall be dispersed after completion of field work, data entry, and approval of the summary report (see details above) submitted with an invoice. Payment will be by ACH (direct deposit) on a reimbursement basis for netting and acoustic surveys completed with data submitted and confirmed by a PA Game Commission employee unless otherwise agreed to by the Commission.

PURCHASE ORDER(S) TERMINATION

The Commonwealth may terminate the Purchase Order(s) for its convenience if the Commonwealth determines termination to be in its best interest. Operator shall be paid for work completed.

APPENDIX A.

Example of site-specific deliverables. This is in addition to the two tables mentioned in Contract Tasks (H) above.