The Indiana DNR is looking for volunteers to help monitor the numbers of roosting bats this summer with their Summer Bat Roost Monitoring Project. The Summer Bat Roost Monitoring Project uses volunteers to collect information on the distribution, occupancy and abundance of bat colonies throughout Indiana.

Participants must have bats roosting on their property or permission to enter a property where a roost occurs. Possible roost sites include trees, bat houses, barns, attics, outbuildings and other structures. On each night of surveying, volunteers count the bats exiting the roost and record weather information. Each survey takes about an hour and is conducted on eight to 12 nights from mid-May to mid-July.

Long-held myths about bats are difficult to dispel, but most are unfounded. A popular misconception is a bat will get caught in your hair. Bats are incredibly agile, however, and their use of echolocation allows them to quickly and accurately navigate through the environment. Most likely the bat is targeting an insect flying near you. Although bats can contract rabies, the infection rate is extremely low (less than 2 percent).

Bats do far more good than harm. All bats in Indiana eat insects, many of which are agricultural and forest pests. The long-term effects of habitat loss and pesticide use have negatively affected many bat species. Now, two emerging threats, wind farms and a disease called white-nose syndrome, are intensifying an already perilous situation. As a result, monitoring bat populations has taken on greater urgency.

Indiana’s Wildlife Diversity biologists have monitored winter populations of bats in caves and mines since the mid-1980s, but less is known about the status of bats the remainder of the year. Two species tending to roost in structures in Indiana are the big brown bat and little brown bat. Historically, both species have been common in the state. However, white-nose syndrome has drastically reduced the population of little brown bats in the eastern United States, including Indiana.

Roost sites are critically important in the daily life of a bat. They provide shelter during the day when bats are not active. For female bats, a roost offers a safe place to give birth and rear young. If disturbed at this sensitive time, adults may abandon the roost and their young. Most bats in Indiana give birth to just one pup each year. The low birth rate makes it difficult for bats to rebound from severe population declines, like declines from white-nose syndrome. If you have bats roosting on your property in the summer, please do not disturb them.

Information from the Summer Bat Roost Monitoring Project will help biologists evaluate roost selection, population trends, species distribution and potential impacts from disease. To learn more about the project, email helpbats@dnr.IN.gov or call the Bloomington Fish & Wildlife office at (812) 334-1137. To sign up for the project, visit the Division of Fish & Wildlife’s volunteer page at: https://www.in.gov/dnr/about-us/volunteer-and-internship-opportunities/ and select “Find an ongoing service project.”

Wildlife Diversity staff also monitors bats using mobile acoustic surveys and acoustic monitoring stations.

Hamilton County trail project

On May 9, the Indiana DNR and Hamilton County opened the recently completed Steven Nation Community Pathway outside the town of Cicero.

The 2.45-mile asphalt multi-use trail was constructed by the county with help from a $1,047,670 Next Level Trails (NLT) grant. The award was announced by Gov. Eric J. Holcomb in March 2021 as part of the second grant round of NLT. The project included a partnership with Hamilton County Tourism.

“Through Gov. Holcomb’s Next Level Trails initiative, Indiana is a national leader in supporting communities as they build networks of new connections through trails,” said Dan Bortner, DNR director. “Across the state, trails bring communities together, and the new Steven Nation Community Pathway in Hamilton County continues that vital connection.”

The completed project follows Jackson Street from Cicero to White River Campground and Strawtown Koteewi Park. Inside the park, the new trail connects to the pedestrian bridge over the White River to link with Strawtown Koteewi’s trail network.

The trail is named for Nation, a Hamilton County councilor, retired Superior Court judge and former Hamilton County prosecutor who founded the Hamilton County Youth Assistance Program for at-risk students.

“Naming this trail after Steve just made good sense,” said Mark Heirbrandt, of the Hamilton County Board of Commissioners. “He has dedicated his life to connecting people and bringing them together as a community, just like this trail will connect and build community between our northern towns in Hamilton County.”

As part of Holcomb’s Next Level Connections initiative, NLT is the largest infusion of trails funding in state history. The $150 million program is administered by the DNR and facilitates critical trail connections within and between Hoosier communities.

Including the Steven Nation Community Pathway, 16 of the 75 NLT projects are complete, totaling 52.45 miles of trail built since the program’s inception. An additional 54 miles is under construction, and 140 more miles are in the pre-construction phase of development under the grant program. More information about the NLT is at on.IN.gov/NextLevelTrails.

Two hunters injured in turkey hunting accident

Indiana Conservation Officers are investigating a hunting accident which occurred May 6 at Morgan-Monroe State Forest.

Shawn Hooper, 54, of Fishers, was turkey hunting when he misidentified two other hunters. Jeffery McClintic, 31, of Indianapolis, and Scott Poynter, 34, of Danville, received non-life threatening injuries when Hooper fired in their direction.

The incident is currently under investigation.

Indiana Conservation Officers remind hunters to always identify the target and what is in front and behind it before shooting while in the field.

Bows and Barrels 

Bows and Barrels will be held at Mississinewa Lake’s Miami State Recreation Area on May 20. Certified instructors will share techniques of shooting bows and arrows at 11 a.m. at the archery range. At 1 p.m., shotgun safety, handling, and target shooting will take place near the Shepoconnah Trailhead near the campground mooring area.

The programs are designed for youth, but all ages and experience levels are welcome.

Readers can contact the author by writing to this publication, or e-mail to jackspaulding@hughes.net.

Spaulding’s books, “The Best of Spaulding Outdoors,” and his latest, “The Coon Hunter And The Kid,” are available from Amazon.com in paperback or as a Kindle download.