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 Conservation & Management
Bat Conservation and Management Workshops - 2010
Because bats are active mostly at night, they present unique challenges to wildlife biologists and naturalists trying to study their habitats and behaviors. Reliable information about the resources and natural history of local bat species is essential in managing for their protection or continued survival. Recognizing this, BCI has developed a comprehensive curriculum for an introductory field workshop designed to train serious students of bat conservation in current bat research and management techniques. In this intensive 6-day, 5-night program, BCI biologists and professional colleagues conduct a combination of lectures and discussions, field trips to examine bat habitats, and hands-on training to capture and identify bats. Because of the threat of White-nose Syndrome, participants at all BCI workshops will learn and follow approved decontamination guidelines. Workshop participants must read and sign the “WNS Decontamination Agreement” available below. Participants gain experience with various capture techniques, including mist-netting and harp-trapping. They use and compare the relative efficacy of night-vision observation, bat detectors, Anabat and SonoBat echolocation-analysis software, radiotracking devices and light-tagging and other marking devices. An array of additional bat-study equipment and resources are also demonstrated. Each workshop venue highlights local bat conservation and management initiatives as valuable case-study examples. The online workshop registration is here. Please note: a basic level of fitness is required for the workshops. Participants should be able to hike one mile over uneven terrain, carrying personal gear and a portion of the workshop equipment.
Arizona
Our field location at the American Museum of Natural History’s renowned Southwestern Research Station in the Chiricahua Mountains puts us within easy commuting distance to diverse habitats, from lowland deserts to coniferous forests and an amazing diversity of bat species. Activities emphasize bat identification and habitat assessment. Students can expect to catch and release as many as 18 species in a single evening, then return to the lodge and watch endangered long-nosed bats visit hummingbird feeders outside the front door. Participants have also enjoyed spotting ring-tailed cats, coatis and trogons. Workshop leader Janet Tyburec and biologists from Arizona Game and Fish and elsewhere share a wealth of knowledge on species identification (including acoustic identification), bat conservation, management, education and outreach, public health and nuisance issues, artificial habitats and much more. Participants will practice radiotracking a bat back to its roost, view an emergence of Mexican free-tailed bats from a local cave and learn bat-capture techniques that can be applied to any habitat in North America.
June 3 - 8, 2010
California
Hosted at Lava Beds National Monument located near Tulelake in northern California, this workshop offers an exceptional field location with ecosystems that support up to 14 bat species. The numerous and highly diverse lava-tube caves found in this area provide summer and winter roosts for many local bats (including Townsend’s big-eared bats) while providing an excellent opportunity to discuss and observe a diversity of cave environments. The nearby Modoc National Forest offers habitats used by a number of tree-roosting bats species, as well as open-water resources that are non-existent in the rugged volcanic landscape of the monument. In addition to viewing evening bat emergences and exploring the unique volcanic formations, participants at this workshop will set nets and traps at ice cave entrances, over wet meadows and in mixed-pine forests. As at all BCI workshops, students will learn to capture and identify local bats (including acoustic identification) and will explore bat conservation, management, education, public health and nuisance issues, cave-protection options and much more. One Session:
Pennsylvania
The rolling hills and mixed agricultural fields of Central Pennsylvania offer a perfect opportunity to see how bats and humans can coexist without conflict and how the spread of White-nose Syndrome has affected local bat populations. Many thousands of little brown myotis call this area home, yet few of them are surviving in natural roosts, opting instead for manmade structures such as buildings, barns, attics and old churches where they live and rear their young. Nearby mines and caves provide ideal hibernation sites that are critical for little browns and five other species of bats. We will see first hand how WNS management protocols have been applied at these sites and the results of these efforts. We’ll net, trap and release bats over trout streams and beaver ponds and may observe endangered Indiana myotis swarming at a mine entrance. We will visit a summer roost that historically contained more than 20,000 little brown myotis in a restored church and observe the current population up close. We can visit both summer and winter sites, as this is when colonies are beginning to break up and are on the move. Evening emergences and dawn returns at maternity roosts and the late-night swarms outside hibernacula and mating sites are spectacular sights. Coupled with netting activities to intercept migrating tree bats, we could catch up to eight different bat species during this workshop.
One Session:
The Fine Print - IMPORTANT
Single-room occupancy accommodations are not available. Housing is dormitory style with 2 - 6 people sharing a room. Because participants will be handling wild bats during the course of these workshops, rabies pre-exposure vaccinations are required. For information on obtaining this vaccine, contact your local health department, travel clinic, or personal physician. Prices for the vaccine series (3 separate injections) vary from state to state but can be quite costly. Please plan accordingly for this additional expense. See “Pre-exposure rabies vaccination info” below for additional information about the rabies vaccine. Registration for these workshops is on a first-come, first-served basis. The workshop sessions frequently fill to capacity, so be sure to submit your form as soon as possible. Submission instructions are provided on the registration forms below. Once your registration materials have been received, you will receive an e-mail confirmation (within 5 business days) along with a request to provide a $300 deposit and detailed information on payment options. For more information contact the Education and Workshops Coordinator at workshops@batcon.org) or 512-327-9721. Additional information and forms:
ALL refunds regardless of payment method will be charged a 10% administrative surcharge. Cancellations made 45 days prior to the workshop will be granted a refund. Participants canceling after this deadline will only be granted a refund if BCI is able to fill the spot in the workshop. Cancellations must be in writing and sent via e-mail, post or FAX and are effective upon receipt. What past participants had to say about the workshop: |
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