NABat's much-anticipated Status & Trends modeling results are now viewable on the Partner Portal! Explore the new findings through the various links located on the results page, including: an interactive map, the official USGS data release. A detailed report is forthcoming.

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Cleaning Up: Cells Selected for Survey

With summer swiftly approaching, many NABat field monitoring plans are beginning to take shape. NABat promotes the use of the cell selection tool to designate which cells you plan to survey and reduce redundancy in monitoring efforts. We are encouraging all NABat users to revisit their projects in the Partner Portal to ensure their cell selections are up-to-date. Users should claim all cells they intend to monitor, and release any claimed cells where monitoring has ceased. Users can review the workflow with the cell selection instructions on our Resources page. Require further guidance? Don't hesitate to reach out to our Technical Outreach team for support!

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Virtual Public Hearing on Reclassifying the Northern Long-eared Bat as Endangered

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has announced a proposal to reclassify the northern long-eared bat as endangered under the Endangered Species Act. Based on a thorough review of the species’ status, the USFWS found the species, currently listed as threatened, is now facing extinction due to the range-wide impacts of white-nose syndrome. A virtual public hearing is being held on April 7th at 7:30pm-8:30pm Central Time; an informational meeting precedes the hearing at 6:00-7:30pm Central Time. Comments on the proposal may be submitted through May 23, 2022, online at www.regulations.gov (Docket FWS–R3–ES–2021–0140) or by hard copy to: Public Comments Processing, Attn: FWS–R3–ES–2021–0140, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, MS: PRB/3W, 5275 Leesburg Pike, Falls Church, VA 22041–3803.

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USFWS Updates Range-wide Survey Guidelines for Indiana Bat, Northern Long-eared Bat

The US Fish & Wildlife Service has updated their survey guidelines for Indiana and northern long-eared bats to accommodate population-wide changes by WNS.

Find the new guidelines and supporting materials here

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Call for Applicants: NASBR Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Award

The North American Society for Bat Research (NASBR) offers a Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) Award with the goal of supporting students of color, to promote diverse participation in NASBR and bat research, and, more generally, to bolster continued involvement of minority groups in STEM education and professions. The August 2022 NASBR meeting is being held jointly with the International Bat Research Conference (IBRC), which affords attendees the wonderful opportunity to interact with colleagues from across the globe.

The award supports attendance of a first NASBR meeting, a NASBR-facilitated mentorship exchange, and professional activities that may include, but are not limited to: research expenses, travel for research or attendance of a workshop, engaging in educational outreach, participation in mentorship exchanges, attendance of a second NASBR meeting.

Click here for more details

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Notice of Funding Opportunity: MultiState Conservation Grant Programs

The primary goal of these programs is to fund projects that address regional or national priority needs of the State fish and wildlife agencies (States) and their partners that are beyond the scope and capabilities of a single State. Eligible grant proposals are reviewed by the Association’s National Grants Committee (NGC) with the assistance of one or more technical committees. Proposals must address eligible activities in one or more of the Association’s selected Strategic Priorities to be considered. Strategic Conservation Priorities are developed annually by the Association and are used to guide proposal development and grant selection for the program. A total of $3,000,000 will be allocated for Wildlife Restoration. Initial proposals are due 18 May 2022 by 5pm EST. Full details available here

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Now Accepting Proposals: 2022 WNS Grants to States and Tribes

The 2022 White-nose Syndrome Grants to States and Tribes funding opportunity is now open and receiving proposals. Like in previous years, the goal of this funding opportunity is to help State and Tribal partners fulfill information needs, implement management actions for WNS and susceptible bat species, and actively engage in the National Response to WNS. Supported activities will include population monitoring, implementation of bat conservation strategies, supporting scientific information gathering, managing WNS and Pd, maintaining expertise, and engaging in the national response to WNS. Up to $50,000 or $100,000 may be requested, depending on priorities addressed.

This funding opportunity is open to wildlife and resource management agencies in all 50 states, the District of Columbia and Federally recognized tribal governments.

Proposals are due 2 May 2022. Find more information here

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Now Accepting Proposals: Bats for the Future Fund 2022

The National Fish and Wildlife Foundation (NFWF), in partnership with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS), is soliciting proposals to slow or halt the impacts of white-nose syndrome disease (WNS) in North America and promote the survival and recovery of WNS-affected bat populations and species. The Bats for the Future Fund (BFF) will award an estimated $1.5 million in grants in 2022.

Proposals are due 28 April 2022. Click here for more information

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Notice of Funding Opportunity: BLM HQ Wildlife Program

The BLM Headquarters (HQ) National Wildlife Program announced a new funding opportunity. The program helps ensure self-sustaining populations and a natural abundance and diversity of wildlife on public lands for the enjoyment and use of present and future generations. The program is responsible for maintaining, restoring, and conserving species and their habitats in cooperation with State and local governments, Tribal governments, Federal and State agencies, private landowners, and non governmental organizations (NGOs).

Awards range from $25,000-$1,500,000. Submissions are due 4 April 2022 by 5pm EST.

See here for full details

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Grad Student Seeks Data Contributions/Volunteers

Graduate student seeks data contributions and/or netting volunteers from researchers in AZ, CA, NM, or NV who are currently working with red bats. Desired data includes morphometrics, photography, or tissue samples (from live bats or carcasses).

See here for more information

April CoP Call

Join us for NABat’s April Community of Practice call on Wednesday, April 13 from 1:30-3pm ET. We’ll be talking all about field apps - apps can bring a lot of value to data collection efforts including streamlining the collection of important information about your survey, reducing metadata errors, and easing navigation in the field. Don't miss the opportunity to hear from colleagues as they discuss their favorite apps and take questions. Jump in to hear about what is working well for others and share some institutional knowledge about what works best for you!

Meeting Links

NABat Spring Training Webinars

Follow along with NABat experts as they walk through processes for prepping for summer data collection efforts. Topics include:

Many conferences, meetings, and workshops are coming up! See the NABat Events pagefor a complete list of upcoming events!

Comparing predictions of IUCN Red List categories from machine learning and other methods for bats Towards evidence-based conservation of subterranean ecosystems Multi-species, multi-country analysis reveals North Americans are willing to pay for transborder migratory species conservation Coupling validation effort with in situ bioacoustic data improves estimating relative activity and occupancy for multiple species with cross-species misclassifications Big-data approaches lead to an increased understanding of the ecology of animal movement Accounting for spatial autocorrelation and environment are important to derive robust bat population trends from citizen science data Testing accuracy and agreement among multiple versions of automated bat call classification software Can acoustic recordings of cave-exiting bats in winter estimate bat abundance in hibernacula? IEA Wind white paper: Cumulative effects analysis for wind energy development: Current practices, challenges, and opportunities Coastal onshore wind turbines lead to habitat loss for bats in Northern Germany Decline of the northern long-eared myotis (Myotis septentrionalis) in the eastern Great Plains after the arrival of white-nose syndrome Spatiotemporal patterns of riparian bat assemblages in a novel riparian ecosystem Broad-scale geographic and temporal assessment of northern long-eared bat (Myotis septentrionalis) maternity colony−landscape association Evaluation of different monitoring methods at maternity roosts of greater mouse-eared bats (Myotis myotis) Positively selected genes in the hoary bat (Lasiurus cinereus) lineage: prominence of thymus expression, immune and metabolic function, and regions of ancient synteny

Professional Positions

SUNY Oswego

SUNY Oswego is searching for an Assistant Professor of Evolutionary Biology. They will teach courses in the Biology and Zoology curricula in their area(s) of expertise, including evolution. They may also contribute to general education and Honor's Program offerings. Additional responsibilities include research with undergraduates, advising, and service.

Apply Here

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Missouri Department of Conservation

MDC is searching for an Assistant Wildlife Diversity Coordinator, whose primary responsibility will be to lead implementation of the Missouri Department of Conservation’s (MDC) Bat Habitat Conservation Plan (HCP) in coordination with the HCP Implementation Team.

Apply Here

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Bat Conservation International

BCI is seeking a Development Coordinator who will support funder and partner relationship management needs and activities. The position is based remotely. The position will support BCI staff who serve as the primary point of contact for donors and partners. They will also work with additional departments, including Operations and Networks and Partnerships to ensure positive supporter relationships.

Apply Here

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Bat Conservation International

BCI is hiring for a New Mexico Cultural Resources Specialist. They will work with BCI’s lead Cultural Resources Specialist to document and analyze archaeological sites, primarily Historic period abandoned mines.

Apply Here

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National Renewable Energy Laboratory

NREL is seeking a year-round graduate intern to support several projects including advancing monitoring and minimization technologies, writing research briefs, technical reports, planning and convening workshops or similar forums, and sharing information within and outside of NREL.

Apply Here

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Stantec Consulting Services Inc.

Stantec is hiring a bat biologist skilled in bat acoustic surveys and analyses to support environmental services projects. This position will include opportunities for both field and office work.

Apply Here

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University of Michigan

The Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology (EEB) and the Michigan Center for Infection Disease Threats (MCIDT) invite applications for a full-time tenure-track position at the intersection of ecology, evolution, and epidemiology of zoonotic pathogens.

Apply Here

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University of Waterloo

The Broders lab is looking to recruit potential graduate students for opportunities to study various aspects of the ecology of bats in Canada. Programs will involve fieldwork in Ontario and Atlantic Canada. If interested please reach out to Hugh Broders at the University of Waterloo.

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Technician/Field Work

Delaware Natural Resources and Environmental Control

DNREC's Div. of Fish and Wildlife seeks a bat educator for Fort Delaware State Park. Primary responsibilities include educating visitors to Fort Delaware on the importance of bats, the effect of White-nose Syndrome on bats and what people can do to help protect bats.

Apply Here

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Bat Conservation International

BCI’s bats and wind energy program anticipates hiring 3-4 seasonal Crew Leaders to join their research team. These positions will be located at a wind energy facility in southwest Iowa.

Apply Here

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Northwestern Bat Hub

The Northwestern Bat Hub is still accepting applications for seasonal crew lead positions to conduct acoustic monitoring as part of our North American Bat Monitoring (NABat) effort in Oregon, Washington, and Idaho.

Apply Here

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Bat Conservation International

BCI's Fat Bat project is now hiring technicians in multiple states!

Apply Here (Illinois) Apply Here (Missouri)

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Sanders Environmental

Sanders Environmental is a small environmental consulting firm based out of Bellefonte, Pennsylvania, seeking seasonal technicians for a variety of bat related projects in the Eastern US.

Apply Here

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Delaware Natural Resources and Environmental Control

DNREC's Div. of Fish and Wildlife is hiring a technician. Primary responsibilities will include preparing for and conducting field work for bat acoustic projects. Technicians will assist with the Delamarva fox squirrel project, and may also conduct bat catches and telemetry studies, or assist with education outreach.

Apply Here

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Alliance Consulting, Inc.

Alliance Consulting seeks a technician to assist state and federally permitted bat biologists in conducting presence/absence surveys and monitoring for federally threatened and endangered bat species.

Apply Here

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Pittsburgh Wildlife & Environmental, Inc.

PWE is seeking summer mist-netting technicians for Indiana bat surveys in the eastern United States.

Apply Here

March's Featured Resource:

We made BIG changes to the Resources section of NABatmonitoring.org! Use the buttons at the top of the page to follow along, step-by-step, through the entire NABat workflow. New tools, tips, tricks, and notes are embedded in the updated pages. Whether you're a seasoned Partner Portal user or just getting started, check out the new Resources section where you're guaranteed to learn something new!

Still have questions? Users who need project guidance or assistance are encouraged to reach out to our Technical Monitoring teamfor consultation.

In case you missed it, the NAWEA/WindTech 2022 call for abstracts is still active!

The call for abstracts for the North American Wind Energy Academy (NAWEA) Symposium and International Conference on Future Technologies in Wind Energy (WindTech) is open through 15 April 2022. The NAWEA/WindTech 2022 Conference will take place on 19-23 September 2022 in Delaware, US.

NABat News: March 2022

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