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PLEASE NOTE: The schedule posted here is as of 1/25/16, and is subject to change. Please check back for updates.
ABSTRACT: Disease and habitat degradation, among other factors, have caused precipitous declines in bat populations throughout the eastern United States. Within the Midwest, Indiana bat is currently listed as endangered and the northern long-eared bat is listed as threatened -- numerous other eastern/midwestern bat species may follow. Conservation planning efforts that look at bats across the landscape are essential. We discuss an approach, developed for several Habitat Conservation Plans (HCPs), to use landscape-level planning to protect species in forest ecosystems. The authors have worked with the USFWS and state agencies to develop an approach that considers the long-term ecological effects of forest management, including prescribed burning on Indiana and northern long-eared bats. By analyzing both the short- and long-term effects of forest management, an understanding of net effects can be obtained. Once short- and long-term habitat effects are understood, managers are able to focus their efforts on developing more ecologically sound management techniques that prevent the direct killing/wounding of bats. We provide a discussion of our methods and the unique considerations necessary when conserving bats across the landscape.
Tuesday January 26, 2016 3:40pm - 4:00pm EST
Ambassador W
