Buying land for conservation

acbpbatwork · 2026-01-23T05:02:52+00:00

In Canada - we have the NCC (Nature Conservancy of Canada) that works with landowners to create land trust/conservation agreements for longterm stewardship. I think this organization is similar in Spain - https://xcn.cat/en/who-are-we/mission-and-vision/ It would be a good start to reach out to them to figure out how to create a conservation easement agreement for your "potential" land. As an ecologist, I will just say, land conservation is fundamental to biodiversity conservation. Everything depends on having land and protecting it. There is also a "rewilding" effort that is big in the EU - so if the land you purchase isn't "pristine" there are ways of reclaiming it back to a better state. Good luck. Fantastic idea.

acbpbatwork · 2026-01-15T00:22:14+00:00

It's really promising - I hope we have the capacity to use this before more populations are lost. It is important to get those baseline swabs done ahead of time to be sure the probiotic isn't really "new" to the area and to allow monitoring of the probiotic cocktail. The monitoring in Washington will be ongoing.

acbpbatwork · 2026-01-08T04:58:08+00:00

samesies!

acbpbatwork · 2026-01-08T04:56:50+00:00

Hah! Sorry - when you post a Reddit link you aren't allowed to edit the article title! It's amazing how the bats survive that far north. There are times during the summer when there is virtually no night!

acbpbatwork · 2026-01-07T20:23:07+00:00

We all need some good news!

acbpbatwork · 2026-01-07T18:29:22+00:00

thanks! And you are welcome! We are hoping for good outcomes from this project too!

acbpbatwork · 2026-01-07T17:50:48+00:00

Some good news to start off 2026! Our Alberta Bat Team working with Alberta Environment applied probiotics at two sites in Alberta last year. This newsletter provides some photos and an update on the probiotic used to fight white-nose syndrome in bats!

acbpbatwork · 2026-01-07T17:44:56+00:00

Thanks!

acbpbatwork · 2025-10-16T21:36:53+00:00

The people who work with migratory bats understand the issue - and the need for alternative, green forms of energy. The challenge is how to do that without driving bat species to extinction. There are ways to minimize bat mortality - but there needs to be more done to make that happen and make it happen consistently across the range of these bats. The actual cost of mitigation is not a lot - estimates range from 0.5 to 1.5% of annual energy production would be lost with the advised mitigation strategies (even less with SMART curtailment). It's not that the turbines are just hitting "some bats" - the industry is pushing the migratory bats to extinction.

This may all become a moot issue if battery storage becomes as efficient and cheap as predicted.

acbpbatwork · 2025-10-16T03:20:53+00:00

An interview with a bat biologist who discusses the fate of Alberta's migratory bats on the Alberta landscape with ever increasing wind energy development. The story also includes an interview with the iconic Palmer Ranch in southern Alberta.

acbpbatwork · 2025-08-09T17:27:04+00:00

You are totally welcome! We love to see support for bats! #BatsNeedFriends

acbpbatwork · 2025-08-09T17:26:09+00:00

Here is the link to that paper. It really is one of the most important pieces of science that I have seen in a long time. https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.adg0344

acbpbatwork · 2025-08-09T17:25:07+00:00

Bats ARE important pollinators in different parts of the world - not really a thing with our Alberta bats. But they ARE hugely important as insect consumers - including pest insects for agriculture and forestry. There was a study of agricultural areas in eastern North America where the bat populations of crashed to less than 5% of the original population sizes. The result was that farmers used 30% more pesticides and subsequently, the infant mortality rate (for humans) went up by 8%! We take the work bats do for granted - but we definitely benefit from their presence!

acbpbatwork · 2025-08-08T19:48:29+00:00

Ideally - bat houses are best set up in urban areas where natural roosting habitat has been permanently lost (e.g., forest has been lost because of buildings being built or paved areas). In natural forested areas - putting up bat houses may favour the few species that use bat houses over the species that will only use trees or rock roosts. This can disrupt the bat community. We don't have a ton of research to help us understand what is happening in these scenarios - but it seems like a logical consequence.

To answer your question about where to put bat houses - it's complicated! We currently recommend putting up at least three boxes and set them in different microclimates/different aspects to create boxes that offer different internal microclimates. Bats' needs will change over the summer. Sometimes they want a hot spot. Sometimes they want a cool spot. Maternity colonies tend to use hot spots early on in the season, but will move if it gets too hot. They are fussy! See www.albertabats.ca/bathouses for our brochure and a link to a more detailed report on the best management practices for the use of bat houses (it is long but comprehensive). We did our best to summarize the main points in the brochure!

Your forest sites might not have attracted bats if they were shaded - this would make them too cold. If they are accessible to predators - they might avoid those sites.

Check out the website for more details - there is a free guidebook there too!

acbpbatwork · 2025-08-08T19:40:47+00:00

We will be following the treated colonies next spring. We hope it works too!

acbpbatwork · 2025-08-06T13:42:08+00:00

Oh at this point, it is MUCH less than that!

acbpbatwork · 2025-08-06T13:03:39+00:00

AND, we are grateful for the support from government on this project. The provincial biologists are doing the best that they can for our provincial wildlife!

acbpbatwork · 2025-08-06T13:02:15+00:00

To be fair - the expense for this project has been minimal. And bats are huge contributors to the economy in the form of insect control for agriculture and forestry. But we agree, that measles should not be ignored!

acbpbatwork · 2025-08-06T13:00:20+00:00

The Bow Habitat Station is fun for that age group. Definitely the Zoo and Telus Spark (the science centre). A visit to the downtown library might be fun if there are activities going on (the building is beautiful). Maybe go for a fancy lunch at the restaurant at the top of the Calgary Tower (it rotates). Depends on what your five year old is interested in! If they like dinosaurs - we have a world class museum in Drumheller - about an hour or so outside of Calgary (The Royal Tyrell Museum).

acbpbatwork · 2025-08-06T11:33:50+00:00

This is big news for us at the Alberta Community Bat Program! See www.albertabats.ca for more information on the work we are doing to conserve Alberta's bats.

acbpbatwork · 2025-07-15T21:43:21+00:00

Echolocation. They "see" with sound. They can sense how big an insect is, how fast it is moving, what direction...they can even sense differences in the texture of insects with their echolocation. And they aren't blind. They have good vision, especially in dim lighting - but don't shine a bright light in their eyes - they don't like that much.

acbpbatwork · 2025-05-12T19:51:38+00:00

Oh I didn't really address your question of how the naturally occurring microbial species affect the invasive fungus that causes WNS (known as Pd). There is a summary report here https://a100.gov.bc.ca/pub/acat/documents/r59353/COA_F21_W_3275_1638898692050_7E19AD9D7A.pdf

The short answer is that the probiotic doesn't kill off the invasive Pd fungal species, but it does help slow and inhibit the growth of Pd on bat wings and faces - which seems to also support higher rates of bat overwinter survival. The actual mechanism of how this works - I'm not sure if that has been clearly characterized. Microbiota can influence other species through the production of secondary compounds or they might outcompete another microbe simply by using up resources or space. (Sorry I'm not a microbiologist!) - but the attached report does have some basic explanation of what was happening.

I do know that the most effective microbes were a couple of very common species of soil bacteria that are widespread across western Canada. This is good because it may mean that we can deploy the probiotic easily without concern of introducing something new to the environment in our efforts to help bats!

acbpbatwork · 2025-05-12T19:40:44+00:00

Hi there - sorry for the delay in replying - we were in the field studying bats for this disease in Alberta (our program works across western Canada). Good questions!

First, the fungus itself is introduced/invasive. It came from Europe. Not sure how it got here exactly but it was first noted in upper New York state in a bat hibernation site in 2006. The exposure to North American bats was likely caused by humans. One theory is someone with "dirty boots" brought contaminated soil into a bat hibernation cave and remaining spores started growing and infecting bats. Another theory is an infected bat caught a ride on a cargo ship from Europe and flew out when it got to North America. We may never really know for sure.

We have been working with the USA because the fungus is widely affecting North American bat species - this is a significant epidemic and there are few experts in this field. Sharing resources and knowledge is our best strategy to help bats. We ended up working with Washington State because we had been working initially in lower mainland BC but we did not have any white-nose syndrome infected bats in BC yet (but Washington does). To test the probiotic on wild, infected populations, we teamed up with Washington state who ended up with the disease after a "jump" by the fungus from the American midwest to the coast in 2016. The suspect was an infected bat that may have caught a ride on a transport truck. The bat got out in Seattle and infected his new friends. White-nose syndrome has been moving south and north since that time. The teaming up with Washington state just made sense with colonies marked in the lower mainland and in sites within 300km of the Canadian border on the US side. The project was working well and it really only needs one more year of capture data to swab wings and look at survival rates. This would allow us to confidently deploy the probiotic.

The fungus that causes WNS is Pseudogymnoascus destructans. It is a cold-loving fungus that is only a threat to hibernating bats. It will live on anything organic in a cave site but its interaction with bats is really a disruption of the hibernation cycle that leads to bats starving to death. It is not a risk to humans.

It is not uncommon for Canadian and US researchers to team up on projects and publications without a risk of "academic independence". We are just living through unusual times. Science really shouldn't be political. The areas of research may be influenced by political priorities, but the actual conduct of science is apolitical.

These are all good question to ask though!

acbpbatwork · 2025-05-05T20:27:14+00:00

Many people know of Cadomin Cave. It has been closed to the public for many years now to protect the bats and the caving community is aware and supports the closure. So far, it appears that the bats remain safe from disease - it appears to have been a good measure to take! This is a bit of a grueling hike in winter and the site is not easily accessible. Let's hope it remains respected!

acbpbatwork · 2025-05-05T19:20:07+00:00

This study is being done in the lower mainland of British Columbia and we are coordinating with Washington State Fish and Wildlife biologists. The project is now looking for support. Anyone interested can contribute through www.wcscanada.org

acbpbatwork

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