Bat Projects in Parks: Upper Columbia Basin Inventory and Monitoring Network

Summary

WNS and Bat Projects: NABat Implementation in Pacific Northwest

PI: Tom Rodhouse

In 2016 the Upper Columbia Basin Network Inventory and Monitoring Program, with support from the NPS Biological Resources Division, hired a term biological technician to spearhead coordinated bat monitoring activities in the Pacific West Region. Surveys were conducted in parks and collected data will be rolled up into broader regional assessments of bat populations, in partnership with state and federal agencies. Other accomplishments included the completion of guidance and database tools that will greatly enhance the NPS capacity to conduct bat conservation on park lands. The arrival of white-nose syndrome in Washington State in March of 2016 was a startling and worrisome development—coordinated bat monitoring among the NPS and partners is an important step in response to this development.