US Forest Service
$55,500  Blue Mountains 

Roosting requirements and seasonal activity patterns of forest bats in Northeast Oregon are poorly understood. This region has been subject to a history of intensive timber management, natural high-frequency fire regimes, and drought. Commercial logging has reduced availability of large-diameter trees used for maternity roosts. Availability of roosts may limit populations of bats, and dependence of bats on suitable roosts may magnify sensitivity to environmental stressors. Decreased water availability during periods of drought has been shown to reduce reproductive output for species of forest-dwelling bats that occur in this region. Understanding roosting ecology and activity patterns at relevant spatial and temporal scales is fundamental for evaluating the impacts of forest management, drought, disease, and climate change, and effectively prioritizing conservation of bats. This study will examine characteristics of maternity and winter roosts, and seasonal activity patterns of forest-dwelling bats on the Wallowa Whitman National Forest. This information is critical for development of long-term studies evaluating population trends for bats in response to forest management, drought, and climate change in Northeast Oregon. Five Strategy Species of bat will be monitored in this study; California Myotis (Myotis californicus), Fringed Myotis (Myotis thysanodes), Long-legged Myotis (Myotis volans), and Silver-haired bats (Lasionycteris noctivagans), and Townsend’s Big-eared Bat (Corynorhinus townsendii). Monitoring will occur within the Imnaha (ID 161), Wallowa Mountains (ID 163), and Upper Grande Ronde River Area (ID 160) Conservation Opportunity Areas. The US Forest Service (USFS) will lead project activities, with fieldwork and analysis support from Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife (ODFW), US Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS), and Eastern Oregon University (EOU). EOU and USFS will also partner in education opportunities for university students.