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Your help with any of these special needs will directly improve BCI’s ability to protect bats and bat habitats. To contribute or for more information, contact BCI’s Department of Development or call (512) 327-9721.
Tools for Bat Gates
Caves and abandoned mines provide critical habitat for countless bats throughout the American West, but they often require bat-friendly gates both to protect the public and prevent disturbing the bats. BCI and its partners have been protecting many of these mines and caves for years, but the need for gates has increased sharply. We have relied in the past on gate-building equipment provided by partners and select contractors, but now schedules are being threatened by limited availability of tools. We are trying to build a reliable inventory of equipment. A key requirement is a Miller Maxstar 200 portable arc-welder with welding leads and power cables. The welder costs $2,226 and the cables and accessories add another $1,000.
Bat Education for Cameroon
Cameroon is home to about 75 species of bats, but few residents of this African country know anything at all about them. Many bat populations are declining sharply because of habitat loss, hunting and vandalism. Eric Moise Bakwo fils, who received a BCI Scholarship in 2009, hopes to win friends for bats by educating schoolchildren and decision-makers about the value of insect-eating, seed-dispersing and pollinating bats in their midst. His plans include a series of fun presentations with posters and videos at 10 grade schools, training for potential bat volunteers at secondary schools, and a field-research workshop for professional foresters in northern Cameroon. Bakwo fils requests a $3,700 grant from the Global Grassroots Conservation Fund in hopes of changing "the current status of bats from persecuted to protected."
Europeans Fight WNS
Research to combat White-nose Syndrome is an international effort, even though the bats are dying in North America. The fungus that causes WNS, but not the disease, has been confirmed in Europe for years. BCI hopes to bring several European bat experts to Madison, Wisconsin, in June 2012 for the next National WNS Symposium. Several top biologists are studying the European version of this fungus, and the opportunity to share their findings could prove invaluable for the battered bats of North America. Travel budgets are tight and each scientist needs approximately $2,400 to make the trip. |
