:: Northstar ::

Preamble: North Star Science and Technology, LLC was founded in 1998 and began operating in 1999. Its founders are researchers who helped to develop the very technology that we now provide to clients - satellite PTT technology. Most of North Star’s clients today are researchers themselves from all over the world. We at North Star recognize that satellite PTTs are very expensive and that the data they can provide is usually cannot be obtained via any other method. After being in business for 11 years now, we feel good about continuing to provide something back to the community we serve, the research community (i.e., YOU).

In 2003, we launched our first annual grant program and provided 3 PTTs to each of two projects in S. America, one on Pink-footed Shearwaters and one on Blue-eyed Shags. The next year, we provided 3 PTTs to a raptor migration project in N. America and another 3 PTTs to an Andean Flamingo project in S. America. In 2005, we provided 4 PTTs for a project on Christmas Island Frigatebirds, 3 PTTs to a White-rumped Vulture project in Nepal, and 1 PTT to a Whooping Crane reintroduction project in the USA. In 2006, we provided 2 PTTs to a study of Long-billed Curlews in the western USA, 1 PTT to a Black-browed Albatross project in the Falklands Islands, 2 PTTs to the continuation of the Christmas Island Frigatebird project, and 3 PTTs to a project on wintering Siberian Cranes in China. In 2007, we provided 2 PTTs to track reintroduced Whooping Cranes in the USA, 4 PTTs to track Spectacled Petrels off Brazil, and 2 PTTs to track Blue Ducks in New Zealand. In 2008, we provided another 8 PTTs to our client community for free.

To date, we have provided a total of 44 PTTs to the world’s research community, and we are continuing the program on a bi-annual basis. By the end of the 2010 grant program, we will have provided 52 PTTs with a total retail value of about $156,000. So the next time you make a buying decision for PTTs, ask yourself if you are supporting a company that is giving something back to the research community, or not. We can only hope that your buying decisions will be affected (to some small degree) by our generosity to the clients we serve. Even if your proposal does not win this year’s competition, contact us anyway and ask for all possible discounts. We offer several that are not published on our web site.

This year, we are continuing our bi-annual program to provide an opportunity for researchers to acquire PTTs for free. We have decided to continue 3 major changes to our annual grant program from earlier years: (1) We will provide a total of 8 PTTs to the winners, rather than 6; and (2) We will keep the program open to researchers from around the world, rather than limiting it to the Americas; and (3) we will allow the winners to choose the model of PTT that they want to use from our entire line of non-GPS PTTs. This line includes solar PTTs as small as 9.5 grams, along with parrot tags. If you select a solar PTT or a parrot PTT this year, we will ask you to pay a nominal amount ($200-400) for each PTT to cover the additional labor required to make these. In the past, we have limited our program to our battery PTTs, but we feel that this policy is too limiting.

See below for program details. We have teamed in this effort with American Bird Conservancy to provide expert advice and to convene a review panel to select the winning proposals.

Our goal is to provide a total of eight (8) battery or solar PTTs – a retail value of approximately $24,000. As noted above, we have awarded one to four PTTs at a time to individual projects. These PTTs are to be used to track and monitor the movements of birds anywhere in the world. We hope the resulting data will improve scientific understanding of the target species and the ability of resource managers to conserve them.

The PTTs offered include North Star’s 20, 30, and 80 gram battery units, and North Star’s 9.5 – 55 gram solar PTTs, and our 30 gram parrot tag. Please see http://www.northstarst.com/ProductPage.aspx?catid=1 for specifications on each of the offered PTT models.

American Bird Conservancy will handle the proposal submission process and will review and select the winning proposal(s). They will do so by convening an expert panel and scoring the proposals based on merit, feasibility, and potential advancement of science and conservation through the use of the resulting data. The grant program will award the 8 PTTs based on the quality of the proposals and the need(s) articulated in the proposals. In addition, American Bird Conservancy will assist North Star in publicizing the program. American Bird Conservancy reserves the right to contact proposers, if necessary, to ask questions to help make their determinations.

American Bird Conservancy

Attn: Dr. George E. Wallace

What kind of PTT do you want to use, 20, 30, or 80 gram battery PTTs, or any solar PTT (9.5–55 gram) or parrot tag?

Objectives of Study:

Problem statement (why do it)?
What do you hope to learn?
How will the results aid conservation efforts for the species?
Where is your study site? Why did you choose this site?

Methods and materials to be used:

Background of researchers and/or organization:

Other comments/special considerations?

Certifications:

Certify and explain that you have the field expertise and resources to execute the project.
Certify and explain that you have the financial resources to pay for the Argos tracking charges for the life of the awarded PTTs.
Certify that you will use these PTTs in a matter consistent with the goals and rules of this program or return them to North Star.
Certify that you agree to share the data (from the awarded PTTs) with North Star.

P.O. Box 249
Fax: 540-253-5782

4249 Loudoun Avenue

E-mail: gwallace@abcbirds.org

The Plains, VA 20198

The proposal deadline is February 5, 2010. Proposals must be received by the close of business on that day. E-mail submission is preferred.

Tel: 540-253-5780

The proposal review process will be completed by the end of March 2010, and notifications will be provided the following week.

Stipulations: Winners of this/these award(s) will agree in writing that they will share all PTT data collected through Argos from these awarded PTTs with North Star. Publishing of the data will be the right of the winner. However, if after 3 years the data is still not published, North Star reserves the right to write a paper using the data and publishing the results in a reputable journal.

The winner(s) is/are responsible for paying all Argos costs associated with the tracking of awarded PTTs. All proposers must certify that they either have an existing Argos account or will get one for this effort. All proposers must also certify that they have the financial means to pay the Argos tracking charges for the awarded PTTs for the entire life of the units.

Proposal Format: Proposals should be no longer than 3 pages, plus 1 page of certifications (11 point font minimum, please) and should follow the format presented below. Please do not include any appendices or supplementary material aside from the proposal itself.