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2 0 Ye a r s o f B a t C o n s e r v a t i o n Bat Conservation Intern a t i o n a l P.O. Box 162603, Austin, Texas 78716 512-327-9721 • Fax 512-327-9724 www.batcon.org Publications Staff Volume 20, No. 2, Summer/Fall 2002 Managing Editor: Robert Locke BATS Consulting Editor: David Baxter Photo Editor: Elaine Acker Publications Designer: Elysia Wright Davis FEATURES Visual Resources Manager: Kristin Hay Visual Resources Coord i n a t o r : Sandra Forston 1 Past and Future B AT S welcomes queries from writers. Send your article proposal 20 Years of Bat Conservation and the Challenges Ahead with a brief outline and a description of any photos to the address above or via e-mail to: [email protected]. 4 The Gray Bat’s Survival M e m b e r s : Please send changes of address and all correspondence Saving a Species Built a Firm Foundation for BCI to the address above or via e-mail to [email protected]. Please include your label, if possible, and allow six weeks for the change By Robert Locke of address. An Epic Gate Founder & Pre s i d e n t : Dr. Merlin D. Tuttle 10 Executive Dire c t o r : Steven M. Walker Steel and Concrete Protect a Crucial Bat Cave B o a rd of Tru s t e e s : Wilhelmina E. Robertson, Chairperson 11 Bat Scholars John D. Mitchell, Vice-Chairman BCI Scholarships Nurture Conservation Leaders Verne R. Read, Chairman-Emeritus Peggy Phillips, Secretary of Tomorrow Mark T. Ritter, Treasurer Page 4 Jeff Acopian; Mark A. Adkins; Eugene L. Ames, Jr.; Charles 15 Workshops for Bats Chester; Eugenio Clariond Reyes; Michael L. Cook; Robert E. Gerrie; Nancy Harte; Joan Kelleher; Travis Mathis; Scott BCI Training Builds a Foundation for the Future McVay; Thomas Read; Andrew Sansom; Lee Schmitt; Patsy Steves; Dr. Merlin D. Tuttle; Roy Vaughan; Marc Weinberger. 19 North American Bat House Research Project A d v i s o r y Tru s t e e s : Sharon R. Forsyth; Dr. D.J. Sibley, Jr. Membership Manager: Amy McCartney BCI’s Volunteer Researchers Design Better Homes for Bats Development Dire c t o r : Denise Meikel By Mark Kiser Scientific Advisory Board : D r. Eduard Yavrouian, A r m e n i a ; D r. Leslie S. Hall, 22 Global Grassroots Conservation Greg Richards, Bruce Thomson, A u s t r a l i a ; D r. Irina K. Stretching Conservation Dollars by Helping Homegrown Efforts R a k h m a t u l i n a , Azerbaijan; D r. Luis F. Aguirre, Bolivia; D r. Wilson Uieda, Brazil; D r. M. Brock Fenton, C a n a d a ; Dr. Jiri 23 A Priceless Resource G a i s l e r, Czech Republic; D r. Uwe Schmidt,G e r m a n y ; D r. G. Marimuthu, Dr. Shahroukh Mistry, India; D r. Rodrigo A. Bracken Bat Cave Will Teach the World about Bats Medellín, Dr. Arnulfo Moreno, Mexico; I r. H erma n L i m p e n s , Netherlands; D r. Armando Rodriguez-Duran, 25 Bats in the News Puerto Rico; D r. Ya-Fu Lee, Taiwan; D r. Paul A. Racey, Bat-bashing Media Become Education Allies — Most of the Time United Kingdom; D r. Denny G. Constantine, Robert Currie, D r. Theodore H. Fleming, Dr. Thomas H. K u n z, Dr. Gary F. By Bob Benson McCracken, Dr. Don E. Wilson, United States; D r. José R. Ochoa G., Ve n e z u e l a . 27 Bats and Mines B AT S (ISSN 1049-0043) is published quarterly by Bat Saving the Last Sanctuaries for Millions of Bats Conservation International, Inc., a nonprofit corporation supported by tax-deductible contributions used for public education, research, and conservation of threatened and 29 The Vampire Video endangered bats. ©Bat Conservation International, 2002. All A Unique Program Spreads Bat Conservation Throughout Latin America rights reserved. By Steve Walker Bat Conservation International is dedicated to conserving and restoring bat populations and habitats around the world. Using non- 31 The North American Bat confrontational approaches, we educate people about the ecological and economic values of Conservation Partnership bats, advance scientific knowledge about bats and the ecosys- A Broad Coalition Opens a New Era of Progress Across the Continent tems that rely on them, and preserve critical bat habitats through win-win solutions that benefit both humans and bats. Loyal Friends Keep BCI Strong A subscription to BATS is included with BCI membership: 32 Senior, Student or Educator $25; Basic $30; Friends of BCI $40; By Merlin Tuttle Supporting $50; Contributing $100; Patron $250; Sustaining $500; Founder’s Circle $1,000. Third-class postage paid at Austin, Texas. Send address changes to Bat Conservation 33 The Challenges Ahead International, P.O. Box 162603, Austin, TX 78716. By Merlin Tuttle BATS is printed on a 50/20 chlorine-free recycled paper with a water-based coating on the cover. COVER PHOTO The yellow-winged bat (Lavia fro n s) of tropical Africa is one of the w o r l d ’s most beautiful bats. Photo © Merlin D. Tuttle, BCI \ 000-3113 Past F u t u re & 20 YE A R S O F BAT CO N S E RVAT I O N A N D T H E CH A L L E N G E S AH E A D © MERLIN D. TUTTLE, BCI \ 822-3307 or 20 ye a rs now, we have struggled to And he encountered a striking re l u c t a n c e p rotect some of the most unfa i r ly among even the most dedicated conserva t i o n reviled cre a t u res in all of nature . groups to champion an animal that was hard ly Lo oki n g back , Ba t C on se r va t i o n m o re popular than cock ro a ch e s. The gray bat I n t e rnational has ach i eved tru ly amaz- ex p e ri e n c e , n ow one of BCI’s proudest successes, ing success. Our philosophy of ch o o s- is the centerpiece of this issue. ing cooperation over confro n t a t i o n , of molding BAT S also examines some of BCI’s most import a n t Fp a rt n e r ships rather than inciting adve r s a ri e s , h a s i n i t i a t i ve s , p ro gra m s , a nd pro j e c t s , c iting ou r fi n e s t been amply vindicated. Ye t ,as we enter our third a ch i evements and the s tra t e gi es t hat pro d u c e d d e c a d e , h u ge ch a l l e n ges re m a i n : M a ny b a t s pe c i es t h e m . It fo l l ows the caree r acc omplishme nts of in di- — and the ecosystems that depend on them — v i du als BCI hel ped wi th sch o l a r s h i p s , re s e a rch still face grave peril around the wo r l d .Our journ ey gra n t s , a nd tra inin g in their ea rly ye a rs — inve s t- has only begun. ments that will pay bat-conservation dividends fo r This special annive rs a ry issue of BAT S ex p l o re s decades to come.We also pro file some of BCI’s most the history of BCI from its birth in Milwa u kee in ge n e ro us don or s a nd ste adfast frie n ds who stepped 1982 as a part-time effo rt by Merlin Tu t t l e , w i t h fo r wa rd at cr iti ca l poin ts in our histor y. one employee and a handful of stalwa rt friends as The individuals cited in this issue are but a sam- t ru s t e e s , to an organization with a wo r l dw i d e pl i ng o f t he m any fri e n d s , a l l i e s , a n d su p port e rs impact through multilingual education pro gra m s , who have made such a diffe rence for bat conser- i n t e rnational gra n t s ,re s e a rch support ,b road coali- vation over the ye a rs .Our fondest wish is that we tion building, and innova t i veconservation effo rt s . could ack n ow l e d ge and pers o n a l ly thank eve ry B C I ’s philosophical foundations — and, i n d e e d , single individual who has helped to save the the organization itself — evo l ved through Tu t t l e ’s wo r l d ’s b a ts and t he ir h ab i t a t s . U n fo rt u n a t e ly, we decades-long commitment, begun as a teenage r, t o c a n n o t .