Bat Projects in Parks: Marsh-Billings-Rockefeller National Historic Park

Summary

Survey Post White-nose Syndrome Bat Populations in Marsh-Billings-Rockefeller National Historical Park, Vermont and Saint-Gaudens National Historic Site, New Hampshire

PI: Kyle Jones

This is a species inventory for bats with a focus on northern long-eared (Myotis septentrionalis) bats for two small historical parks--Marsh-Billings-Rockefeller NHP (MABI) in Woodstock, Vermont and Saint-Gaudens NHS (SAGA) in Cornish, NH. Bats have been inventoried at most parks in the northeastern United States with significant natural resources. However, with the increase in mortality due to White-nose Syndrome (WNS), species presence or absence and population levels have changed considerably. Species once considered common and widespread in the region are now federally listed as threatened, or are being considered for listing, and others species are listed at the state level. Park managers need more reliable, current information on bat species within their parks in order to make more informed decisions about park management activities, particularly in the managed forest at Marsh-Billings-Rockefeller NHP, and in the newly acquired Blow-Me-Down Farm bordering the Connecticut River at Saint-Gaudens NHS.