Volume 5, Number 2 Fall 2009 Pallid bat, Antrozous pallidus. L. Andrusiak photo. WESTERN BAT WORKING GROUP NEWSLETTER Fall 2009 Volume 5, Number 2 PRESIDENT’S CORNER ................................................................................................ 4 INTRODUCING THE EDITORS ...................................................................................... 4 WBWG ANNOUNCEMENTS .......................................................................................... 4 Bob Berry Donations Requested ................................................................................. 4 Bob Berry Equipment Library Established ................................................................... 5 2011 WBWG Las Vegas Conference .......................................................................... 5 STATE/PROVINCIAL UPDATES .................................................................................... 6 Canada ........................................................................................................................ 6 BRITISH COLUMBIA ............................................................................................................. 6 ALBERTA ............................................................................................................................... 7 ARIZONA ............................................................................................................................... 8 CALIFORNIA ........................................................................................................................ 11 COLORADO ......................................................................................................................... 11 NEVADA ............................................................................................................................... 12 NEW MEXICO ...................................................................................................................... 15 SOUTH DAKOTA ................................................................................................................. 17 UTAH .................................................................................................................................... 17 WASHINGTON ..................................................................................................................... 17 WBWG News ................................................................................................................ 21 Education Committee Report ..................................................................................... 21 White-Nose Syndrome Update .................................................................................. 22 White-Nose Syndrome Discussion Forum ................................................................. 22 PDF CORNER .............................................................................................................. 22 UPCOMING EVENTS ................................................................................................... 24 Canada ...................................................................................................................... 24 USA ........................................................................................................................... 24 International ............................................................................................................... 25 UPCOMING BCI WORKSHOPS ................................................................................... 25 OREGON BAT WORKSHOP ........................................................................................ 26 2009 NASBR HIGHLIGHTS .......................................................................................... 26 WBWG Newsletter, Fall 2009 Page 2 The Western Bat Working Group (WBWG) is a partner in the Coalition of North American Bat Working Groups. The WBWG is comprised of agencies, organizations and individuals interested in bat research, management, and conservation from 13 western States, the Provinces of British Columbia and Alberta, and Northern Mexico. Membership in the WBWG is open to anyone who is interested in participating in bat conservation. There are no membership fees or dues. Funding for bat conservation work accomplished by the WBWG is generated by State and Federal land management agencies, non-governmental organizations, and by donations from individual members. Visit our web page http://wbwg.org to contact us, find information on bat conservation and upcoming meetings, become a member, link to state or provincial bat working groups, or download previous issues of this newsletter. WBWG OFFICERS President Rita Dixon Vice President Cori Lausen Treasurer Brad Phillips Secretary Heather Johnson At-large representatives Martin Grenier Dave Johnston Presidential appointees Tim Snow Angie McIntire NOTE: Generally common names are used for bat species in the newsletter. Corresponding scientific names are listed below. Common Name Scientific Name Allen’s lappet-browed bat Idionycteris phyllotis Andrusiak Big brown bat Eptesicus fuscus Brazilian (Mexican) free-tailed bat Tadarida brasilensis California leaf-nosed bat Macrotus californicus California myotis Myotis californicus Canyon bat (formerly western pipestrelle) Parastrelleus hesperus Cave myotis Myotis velifer Fringed myotis Myotis thysanodes Hoary bat Lasiurus cinereus Little brown myotis Myotis lucifugus Long-eared myotis Myotis evotis Long-legged myotis Myotis volans Northern myotis Myotis septentrionalis Pallid bat Antrozous pallidus Pocketed free-tailed bat Nyctinomops femorosaccus Silver-haired bat Lasionycterus noctivagans Spotted bat Euderma maculatum Townsend’s big-eared bat Corynorhinus townsendii Western mastiff bat Eumops perotis Western red bat Lasiurus blossevillii Western small-footed myotis Myotis ciliolabrum Yuma myotis Myotis yumanensis WBWG Newsletter, Fall 2009 Page 3 PRESIDENT’S CORNER Our president Rita Dixon is preparing to defend her dissertation and was unable to prepare a column for this issue. We wish her the best of luck on her defense and look forward to her future contributions. INTRODUCING THE EDITORS The WBWG has two new co-editors! Lorraine Andrusiak is a Registered Professional Biologist employed by Keystone Wildlife Research Ltd. in British Columbia, Canada. Lorraine completed a Master’s thesis on Barn Owls before joining Keystone, where she now works on a variety of projects on everything from Terrestrial Ecosystem Mapping to conducting owl surveys. Her interest in bats was sparked by a recent hiking trip encounter with a beautiful hoary bat roosting in a shrub alongside the trail. Since then, she has participated in bat survey work in northeastern and southwestern BC, mentored by David Nagorsen, Mike Sarell and Mandy Kellner. Her hobbies include whippet racing and building needlefelted bats. Julie York works as a wildlife biologist with the U.S. Forest Service in Central Oregon on the Deschutes National Forest. Julie works on both the Sisters and Bend-Ft. Rock Ranger Districts on a variety of projects including owl surveys and cave management. She has participated in winter hibernacula counts for Townsend’s big-eared bats and Bat Grid surveys on the Forest. We thank the outgoing editors Cori Lausen and Kristi DuBois for all their hard work! WBWG ANNOUNCEMENTS BOB BERRY DONATIONS REQUESTED Pat Brown-Berry will again match donations up to $1,000 in 2009 for the Bob Berry Fund. The hope is to make an award every other year at the meeting of WBWG. The impetus behind the generous donations to this fund is to perpetuate Bob’s legacy of assisting others. Bob used his engineering and computer skills to refine the tools used for bat-related field work, and to help people to understand the different and changing technologies. Bob worked best one-on-one and offered his expertise to many students and agency biologists. The goal of these awards is to facilitate research by providing current technology and training from the developers of the technology. Donations can be made by mail or via Pay Pal on the WBWG website at http://www.wbwg.org/business/donate.html. Some excellent proposals were received and awards presented at the annual meeting of the WBWG in Austin April 17, 2009. The WBWG scientific research advisory committee reviewed the proposals. The following awards were given: The Bob Berry Holohil Award Elizabeth Braun de Torrez of Boston University for Foraging behavior, habitat selection and ecosystem services of bats in a Texas pecan agro-ecosystem. She received six transmitters donated by Holohil and a $1,000 cash award for receiver purchase or to cover research expenses. The Bob Berry Titley Electronics Award Tammy Branston and Eric Weiss of the California Department of Fish and Game for Acoustic monitoring of bats during the rewatering of the Lower Owens River. They received an SD1 receiver and Eric participated for free in one of the Anabat trainings donated by Titley Electronics. WBWG Newsletter, Fall 2009 Page 4 The Bob Berry Binary Acoustic Technology and Sonobat Award Janene Lichtenberg, Wildlife Biologist with the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes for Bat survey of the Flathead Reservation based on the Montana Bat Grid Protocol. He received AR125 Ultrasonic Receiver, SPECT’R software and an FR125 field recorder donated by Mark Jensen, and a Sonobat full software suite donated by Joe Szewczak. Awards criteria were: 1) the need for specific equipment