The Northwestern Bat Hub: A Model for Successful Regional Implementation of the NABat Program
The Northwestern Hub for Bat Population Research and Monitoring (NW Bat Hub) at Oregon State University-Cascades seeks to understand bat population persistence and extinction risks in the context of white-nose syndrome and rapid environmental changes occurring across the Pacific Northwest.
One way the NW Bat Hub addresses this goal is by leading the NABat program in the region through collaboration with state and federal partners.
Partners include the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife, California Department of Fish and Wildlife, Idaho Fish and Game, U.S. Geological Survey, National Park Service, U.S. Forest Service, Bureau of Land Management, and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. The NW Bat Hub and partners have surveyed across Oregon and Washington in 2016-2018, with plans to expand coordinated efforts into Idaho and Northern California. This geographic footprint aligns well with partner management units and provides common methods and coordination for the region that will economize NABat and facilitate regional analyses and reporting. This regional footprint also provides bio-geographic integrity, representing a common suite of 15 bat species. Over 100 grid cells have been surveyed since 2016 and preliminary results of population trends, leveraged with the 8 years of inter-agency Bat Grid data available from the region, have been presented to stakeholders. Other Bat Hub successes include rapport building with private landowners and a citizen science initiative that will build public engagement with NABat.
Roger Rodriguez
Bat Research & Monitoring Coordinator
Human and Ecosystem Resiliency and Sustainability Lab
Oregon State University-Cascades
497 SW Century Dr., Suite 105
Bend, Oregon 97702
Roger.Rodriguez@osucascades.edu
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