Eight Things You Can Do To Help Bats - Part 2

 2.      Support Bat Conservation

Supporting bat conservation can mean donating dollars or it can mean donating your time. If you are going to share your hard earned cash with conservation groups, be sure how your dollars will be invested and how efficiently they are used. You can support bats by simply sharing information about them. Many people know little about this group or are very much misinformed. I have given numerous talks to elementary schools about bats over the years and it always amazes the teachers that the kids get so excited learning about this group of animals. Simply building and setting up bat houses is another way to support bats. There is a growing movement to do this across North America, but the movement needs staying power. Most bat boxes have a lifespan of about 10 years or so. If we support bats with artificial roost structures, such as boxes, they need to be replaced or maintained. 

·         Join or support a bat conservation organization

There are several groups in Canada that support bat conservation, research and education. Bats have always needed support to protect their habitats, but with the continuing spread of the fungus responsible for White-nose Syndrome, bats have moved up to top priority status for many conservation groups.

o   Bat Conservation International

o   British Columbia Community Bat Projects

o   Canadian Wildlife Federation – Help The Bats

o   Wildlife Conservation Society of Canada

Townsend's Big-eared Bat, Denman Island, B.C. Photo: Ecologic Research.

• Bat Conservation International (BCI) is a reputable organization who has done amazing things for bats around the world. Highly respected by bat biologists world-wide, BCI’s focussed programs to promote education, conservation and management have led the way for bat and bat habitat protection.
• The Community Bat Programs of British Columbia  first initiated in the Kootenay Valley is now available in communities across British Columbia. The program aims to help homeowners conserve and report their bat roosts on private property as well as educating the public about bats and assisting with construction and deployment of bat houses. They also help to sensitively exclude bats from buildings where bat presence is not compatible with use and assist with suggestions for appropriate alternate roosting habitat for resident bats. The program receives support from a number of sources including the Habitat Conservation Trust Fund of British Columbia (HCTF) who have a history of funding bat research in the province.
• The Canadian Wildlife Federation (CWF) has been a part of the Canadian landscape since the early 1960’s. Most widely known for their “Hinterland’s Who’s Who” videos, CWF has been involved in education and conservation across Canada. Their “Help The Bats” program is focussed on education and promoting the construction of bat houses. They also run a community-based bat monitoring program coordinating with elementary schools and the public across Canada.
• The Wildlife Conservation Society of Canada (WCSC) currently supports a bat ecologist who is focussing on important bat work in Western Canada. Research includes surveys of bat diversity, fungal spore baseline work to detect the presence of Pseudogymnoascus destructans (the fungus responsible for White-nose Syndrome), as well as important work to understand the behaviour of hibernating bats. They also currently support the initiation of the new North American Bat Monitoring Program (NABat), a citizen-science-based program to detect the presence of bats across Canada and the USA using a combination of bat detectors and driving transects.

·         Volunteer for programs making a difference for bats and bat habitat, or for wildlife habitat in general (this is not an exhaustive list but includes some of the major players in Canada)

There are a number of wildlife conservation organizations across North America who purchase or protect land. Their objectives may not be directly focused on bats, but they inadvertently are providing protection for important bat habitat. National, provincial and municipal parks may protect bat habitat and this includes historic sites that may have buildings that house roosting bats. There are many experienced wildlife biologists out there who, if asked, “What is the best way to spend money to conserve wildlife in Canada?” would answer, “Buy land.” I also think it is important to support research, but I firmly support the efforts to set aside land for the purpose of protecting ecosystems.

o   Ducks Unlimited – wetland conservation, protection and management are one of the keystone mandates of DU across North America. Ducks like ponds and wetlands; bats like ponds and wetlands. Our North American bat species benefit from conservation efforts for ducks and duck habitats. There are always volunteer opportunities with Ducks Unlimited and many ways to help conserve wetlands.

o   The Nature Trust of BC – manages an important bat hibernation site in Coastal British Columbia; this organization makes land purchases for wildlife and ecological conservation.

o   The Land Conservancy of British Columbia – makes land purchases and promotes programs to conserve bats (and other wildlife and ecosystems) in British Columbia. They also maintain a property on Vancouver Island that houses a large colony of Townsend’s Big-eared Bat (Blue-listed/Vulnerable in British Columbia).

o   British Columbia Conservation Foundation (BCCF) – a federally registered charity dedicated to the conservation and stewardship of British Columbia’s ecosystems and species; one of their goals is habitat acquisition to conserve wildlife in BC, including bats.

o   Ontario Nature (formerly the Federation of Ontario Naturalists) – non-profit organization that promotes protection and conservation of a number of natural areas in Ontario with their own system of 24 natural reserve areas totalling 2400 hectares in Ontario. They also promote education and produce a quarterly magazine called “ON Nature”. They currently have no specific program for bats, but their efforts to preserve land and manage forests for birds also benefits bat species.

o   The Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society (CPAWS) – a long-standing, non-profit organization that promotes the protection and conservation of large, connected natural areas across Canada. CPAWS has no specific program targeted towards bat conservation, but its efforts to conserve natural areas protects habitat for bats.
o   The Nature Conservancy of Canada (NCC) – an established non-profit organization in Canada with branches represented across Canada, the NCC works to conserve and manage natural areas across the country. 

Eight Things You Can Do To Help Bats

Start with understanding....

There is a lot of negative news about bats these days. It gets depressing if you just think about all that is going wrong in the world of bats these days, so I thought it would be helpful to create a list of things ANYONE can do to help bats. This is my first go at blogging - so I will write about eight things over a series of blog posts. Hopefully someone finds these useful!

First Step:

 1.     Get to know the bats in your area.

•             Bats are fascinating mammals that provide valuable ecosystem services through their consumption of huge numbers of insects. One study estimated the value provided by bats in pest control in the United States for one year was up to $53 billion US. Another study calculated that a colony of 100 Little Brown Myotis (Myotis lucifugus) would consume about 19 kilograms (42 pounds) of insects in a four month period! Another study calculated that a colony of 150 Big Brown Bats (Eptesicus fuscus) could consume 38,000 cucumber beetles, 16,000 June bugs, 19,000 stinkbugs, and 50,000 leafhoppers over a single summer! A mother bat nursing a young bat learning to fly can eat more than their own weight in insects in one night! 

•       Bats are also amazingly long-lived. Biologists have found bats that are 38 and 42 years old in Alberta and eastern North America! However, they reproduce very slowly. Most insectivorous bats give birth to only one pup per year (although some may have twins) and they only have one litter per year. Less than half of young bats likely survive their first winter. These facts mean that recovery of population losses can be very very slow. 

•           Many people think of their local bat population as a single “type” or as a single species. The truth is that there are many different kinds of bats – different sizes, using different parts of the ecosystem, eating different things and some of them are quite different in appearance! In Canada, the province of British Columbia has the most species with 18 different kinds of bats. Across Canada, there are 21 different species in total. The Prairie Provinces have around 8 or 9 different species. The further south you go in North America – the greater the variety of bat species. Worldwide, there are over 1000 different kinds of bats.  

•           Bats are found just about everywhere on the planet. They will use urban landscapes as well as wild lands including marshes, forests, cliffs, caves, from high elevations to low elevations. The only places without bats are those that are too cold and without available roosting habitat (e.g., the Antarctic and Arctic Regions).

Where do I start?

·         Look online for bat educational resources, especially Bat Conservation International who has been instrumental in bat conservation throughout North America and the world.

·         Look online for bat information provided by your province or state. Almost all provincial/state governments have a Department that handles Fish and Wildlife issues and many provide great local information on bats.

·         Consult your local library for a mammal guide for your area and figure out which species should be present.

·         Check out your local naturalist club and see if there are any bat enthusiasts. Join in and learn together!

·         Useful online resources for bats in Canada and the US:

o   Bat Conservation International (International batwork, based in Austin, Texas)

o   Western Bat Working Group (bat biologists, researchers, wildlife managers from Western North America)

o   BC BAT British Columbia Bat Action Team (bat biologists, wildlife managers, consultants working to promote bat conservation)

o   ABAT Alberta Bat Action Team (bat biologists, wildlife managers, consultants working to promote bat conservation)

o   Alberta Environment – Bats of Alberta

o   White-nose Syndrome Team

o   The Toronto Zoo – Bat Conservation Guide 

o   Organization for Bat Conservation (American organization, based in Michigan, USA)