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Island Bats & Long Nights Mark Start Of Long-Term Survey

Georgia Department of Natural Resources

SOCIAL CIRCLE, Ga. --(Ammoland.com)- State wildlife biologist Trina Morris and interns Julia Nawrocki and Craig Bland found a bat honey hole on Cumberland Island last month.

The trio, with help from interns at the National Seashore, set up 20-foot-tall mist-nets over a small water hole on the island and caught and released more than 100 bats in one night.

“It was like Bat Central,” Morris said recently with a grin.

The processing of bat species, weights and other details that kept the researchers busy deep into the hot, buggy night is central to a State Wildlife Grants project focused on Georgia’s bats. For more than a decade, the federal grants program has been the main funding source to help states keep common species common and protect others before they become critically imperiled and more costly to recover.

Morris, of the Georgia Department of Natural Resources’ Nongame Conservation Section, and the interns visited seven islands, netting bats and setting up routes for the Anabat, technology that identifies bats by their echolocation calls. Netting helps confirm what the Anabat records.

“It’s the beginning of a long-term project to look at yellow bats specifically and Coastal Plain bats in general,” Morris said.

The No. 1 question for yellow bats is whether low catch rates mean they are elusive or simply “there aren’t many in the landscape,” Morris explained. Researchers caught one in the seven-island trip.

Ga. DNR intern Julia Nawrocki and a yellow bat netted on Cumberland. Credit: Katrina Morris/Ga. DNR

Northern yellow bats are a high-priority species in the State Wildlife Action Plan, the strategy guiding DNR efforts to conserve biological diversity. Scientists are working to learn more about this coastal bat in Georgia, including how rare it is. More information is also needed on the state’s other 15 bat species. Bats help control insects and fill other vital roles in healthy ecosystems. Yet these flying mammals face significant threats, from habitat loss to white-nose syndrome. White-nose has killed more than 1 million cave-dwelling bats and been documented in 17 states from Maine to North Carolina, but not Georgia.

The State Wildlife Grants project Morris is leading will build on previous surveys, plus the work of former DNR interns who examined yellow bat roosting habitats on Sapelo Island and the habitat associations of foraging bats on barrier islands.

Morris said the Anabat project also feeds into a national effort that could result in a citizen scientist monitoring network, much like the successful public-powered surveys for amphibians and birds.

STATE WILDLIFE GRANTS
Since 2000, the State Wildlife Grants program has been the main funding source to help keep common species common and protect others before they become critically imperiled and more costly to recover from the brink of extinction. Administered by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, these grants enable DNR and its conservation partners to protect wildlife and wild places to maintain the state’s natural heritage.

GIVING WILDLIFE A CHANCE
The sandhills project is another example of how buying a nongame license plate or donating to the Georgia Wildlife Conservation Fund through the state income tax checkoff and other ways supports wildlife conservation. Contributions benefit DNR’s Nongame Conservation Section, which receives no state general funds for its mission to conserve wildlife not legally hunted, fished for or trapped, as well as rare plants and natural habitats in the state.

For more information, visit www.georgiawildlife.com/conservation or call Nongame Conservation offices in Social Circle (770-761-3035), Forsyth (478-994-1438) or Brunswick (912-264-7218). For details on The Environmental Resources Network, or TERN, a nonprofit advocacy group for Nongame Conservation, call the Forsyth office or go to http://tern.homestead.com.

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Six Foreign Bird Species Receive Endangered Species Act Protection

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service

Washington, DC --(Ammoland.com)- The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service) announced today a final rule to protect six foreign bird species found on islands in French Polynesia and in Europe, Southeast Asia, and Africa as endangered under the Endangered Species Act (ESA).

The rule implements federal protections provided by the ESA for the Cantabrian capercaillie, Marquesan imperial pigeon, Eiao Marquesas reed-warbler, greater adjutant, Jerdon’s courser, and slender-billed curlew. Populations of each of these species are small, fragmented, and declining, making them particularly vulnerable to genetic threats associated with small populations and extinction.

This determination follows a thorough review of the best available scientific information, comments from the general public, peer reviews, and any new information received during the public comment period following publication of the proposed rule to list these species.

Significant threats to these six foreign bird species include habitat loss, overutilization and inadequate existing regulatory mechanisms. Information on climate change was available for only one species, the slender-billed curlew; based on this information the Service found climate change to be a potential threat to this species.

Granting foreign species protection under the ESA means that the import or export of any of the species, or their parts or products, as well as their sale in interstate or foreign commerce, is prohibited. Permits for these prohibited actions may be issued for specific purposes consistent with the ESA.

The final rule will publish in the Federal Register on August 11, 2011, and become effective on September 12, 2011.

The ESA provides a critical safety net for fish, wildlife and plants and to date has prevented the extinction of hundreds of imperiled species, as well as promoting the recovery of many others. The Service is actively engaged with conservation partners and the public in the search for improved and innovative ways to conserve and recover imperiled species. To learn more about the Endangered Species program’s Branch of Foreign Species, visit: http://www.fws.gov/endangered/what-we-do/international-activities.html.

The mission of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is working with others to conserve, protect and enhance fish, wildlife, plants and their habitats for the continuing benefit of the American people. We are both a leader and trusted partner in fish and wildlife conservation, known for our scientific excellence, stewardship of lands and natural resources, dedicated professionals and commitment to public service. For more information on our work and the people who make it happen, visit www.fws.gov. Connect with our Facebook page at www.facebook.com/usfws, follow us on Twitter at www.twitter.com/usfwshq, watch our YouTube Channel at http://www.youtube.com/usfws and download photos from our Flickr page at http://www.flickr.com/photos/usfwshq.

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