Your help with any of these special needs will directly improve BCI’s ability to protect bats and bat habitats. To contribute or for more information, contact BCI’s Department of Development at (512) 327-9721 or development@batcon.org.

Decontamination for WNS
White-nose Syndrome is the most devastating scourge ever faced by North American bats. WNS is spreading rapidly and threatens bats around the continent. BCI is attacking this threat on a number of fronts, including our popular field workshops, which prepare professionals and serious amateurs for bat research and conservation. Each workshop will provide training and continuous use of the WNS-decontamination procedures recommended by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. This effort will provide instructions for future use by participants and also protect against inadvertently spreading the fungus associated with WNS. Two decontamination kits are required at $770. Disposable items, such as chemicals and wipes, cost $187 per year for each kit.

City Bats of New Zealand
New Zealand long-tailed bats are found only in the island nation, where their population has declined more than 30 percent in a decade, largely because of habitat loss and non-native predators. Hamilton is one of a few cities where small populations of this threatened species find refuge. Biologist Darren Le Roux says little is known about the habits and needs of these insect-eating, tree-dwelling bats that use two forest fragments within the city. He plans to investigate their numbers, activity patterns, microhabitats and response to environmental variables as a first step toward long-term conservation and monitoring. Le Roux will use infrared video equipment, remotely monitored bat detectors hoisted near treetops, and tests with bat houses. He seeks a BCI Global Grassroots Conservation Fund grant of $2,000 for this pioneering program.

Field Guides for the Philippines
Cave bats in the Philippines face constant dangers. They are hunted for food, and their roosts are disturbed by inappropriate guano mining, tourists and even treasure hunters. BCI is working with a growing network of partners to protect these important bats through collaborative conservation ­campaigns. Some of our colleagues have designed a field guide to aid this growing network of cave-bat researchers and conservationists, and to raise awareness among Filipinos of the ecological and economic value of their bats. The alliance needs $1,300 to print 3,000 of these unprecedented field guides for national distribution. Help get these much-needed field guides into the hands of bat ­conservationists working with local communities to protect the bats of the Philippines.