The commonwealth of the northern mariana islands (CNMI) is home to a unique bird community and two native species of bats

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS), Department of the Interior, awarded the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands Department of Lands and Natural Resources Division of Fish and Wildlife (DFW) $426,664.80 under the Wildlife Restoration and Basic Hunter Education and Safety program (CFDA 15.611) effective October 1, 2025, through March 31, 2027. This formula grant funds comprehensive avian and chiropteran monitoring and conservation initiatives across the Northern Mariana Islands' three primary islands—Saipan, Tinian, and Rota—as well as opportunistic surveys of northern islands.

The award supports five primary deliverables: (1) collection and analysis of survey data to estimate population size, trend, and distribution of resident, migratory, and invasive bird species; (2) development of acoustic data collection and analysis workflows for remote island bird populations; (3) population surveys of the endemic Mariana fruit bat; (4) rescue and rehabilitation services for injured, weak, or orphaned fruit bats, particularly following natural disasters; and (5) continuation of bird and bat population support initiatives, including establishment of redundant populations to meet endangered species down-listing criteria. These activities address the conservation needs of endemic species with limited geographic ranges and declining populations, supporting the DFW's mission to manage the Commonwealth's unique wildlife resources through long-term population monitoring and adaptive management.

Like many archipelagoes comprised of small islands, many of the birds and bats are endemic to the CNMI, have limited geographic ranges, and are facing population declines. The CNMI division of fish and wildlife (DFW) conducts annual avian and chiropteran monitoring as part of its mission to conserve and manage these important natural resources. Long-term population monitoring provides trend data that act as coarse population status measurements indicating the need for adaptive and dynamic management actions. In this grant, DFW will 1) collect survey data that enables the estimation of population size, trend, and distribution of resident, migratory, and invasive bird species on saipan, tinian, and rota 2) analyze acoustic data from bird populations in the remote islands of the CNMI and develop a robust audio data workflow 3) survey populations of the mariana fruit BAT on rota, saipan, and tinian as well as opportunistically on northern islands 4) implement rescue and rehabilitation of weak, injured, or orphaned fruit bats, especially following natural disasters and 5) continue CNMI bird and BAT population support initiatives including but not limited to the establishment of redundant bird populations to achieve down-listing criteria.