Georgia DNR, Wildlife Resources Division
Tricolored bat hibernating in a road culvert (Emily Ferrall/DNR)
The first land acquisition using the new Bat Conservation Fund has closed, and another is close. The initial tract is 373 acres in the Terrapin Creek watershed in Polk County; the second covers an additional 1,800 acres in Polk. Both will be managed as part of Treat Mountain Voluntary Public Access area.
DNR, the Georgia Department of Transportation and federal agencies created the fund through historic agreements streamlining the approval of transportation projects regarding tree-clearing. DOT is providing about $4 million a year for DNR to protect priority, high-quality habitats.
On a related note, remember the State of the Bats Report released in 2023 and showing just over half of North America’s bat species at risk of steep population declines? This fall, the companion study that powered the report and provides a baseline to gauge the health of the continent’s bats was published, with co-authors including Trina Morris, a program manager with DNR’s Wildlife Conservation Section.
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