Third Annual Meeting of the Mississippi Bat Working Group

Meeting Synopsis by Alison Sherman, MBWG Secretary

The Third Annual Meeting of the Mississippi Bat Working Group (MBWG) was held at the Mississippi Museum of Natural Science, Jackson, MS, on 10 February 2005. The meeting was sponsored by the Mississippi Museum of Natural Science (MMNS). Chester Martin, Environmental Laboratory, U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center (USA ERDC), and Alison Sherman, MMNS, served as meeting coordinators. The meeting was well-attended by 28 personnel representing:

  • MMNS
  • Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries, and Parks
  • US Fish and Wildlife Service
  • US Forest Service
  • Natural Resources Conservation Service
  • USA ERDC
  • Bat Conservation International
  • University of Southern Mississippi
  • Mississippi State University
  • University of Georgia, Athens
  • University of Louisiana, Monroe
  • Oikos Enterprises LLC
  • Barber and Mann
  • Weyerhaeuser Company
  • International Paper Company.

Charles Knight, MMNS, opened the meeting with a welcoming address, and coordinators and participants were introduced. The morning session consisted of a business meeting including the following presentations:

  • MBWG Activities for 2004 - Chester Martin
  • Ad-Hoc Committee Progress Reports - Ad-hoc chairs
  • MBWG Annual Summer Mist Net Event, 2004 - Alison Sherman.

New business topics included a suggestion by Chester Martin to create a MBWG board consisting of six members. This board would help direct activities of the MBWG and facilitate more involvement by members. Chester also suggested the creation of a new ad-hoc committee that would help organize the annual meetings. Dave Richardson, Noxubee National Wildlife Refuge (NWR), suggested that the MBWG adopt an abandoned house in Pheba, MS which contains the largest known maternal colony of Rafinesque's big-eared bats. Involvement with this house by the MBWG would include periodic monitoring to record bat occupancy and aiding in the preservation of the house stability. These issues will be further discussed in upcoming months. Also discussed was the issue of wind power turbines that are being installed in New Mexico, Tennessee, West Virginia, and New York and the problems that they present for bats. The business meeting concluded with a news clip of Darren Miller, Weyerhaeuser Company, and Alison Sherman conducting bat work during the Arkansas Bat Blitz, 2003.

The afternoon session included the following presentations of ongoing bat research in Mississippi:

"Species Composition and Habitat Use by Bat Populations in Delta National Forest, Mississippi", Lann Wilf, Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries, and Parks

"Comprehensive Wildlife Conservation Strategy", Elizabeth Barber, Barber and Mann, Inc. for MMNS

"Day Roost Sites of Evening Bats, Eastern Pipistrelles, and Hoary Bats in an Intensively Managed Pine Landscape in Mississippi", Darren Miller and Adam Miles, Weyerhaeuser, Co.

"Long-term Fidelity of Rafinesque's big-eared bat (Corynorhinus rafinesquii )to Bridge-Roosts in Southern Mississippi", Austin Trousdale and David C. Beckett, University of Southern Mississippi

"Myotis austroriparius Use of Cisterns in Southwestern Mississippi", Alison Sherman, Chester Martin and Bruce Sabol, ERDC

"Rafinesque's big-eared bat: Conservation of the Species, What Have We Learned?", David Richardson, Noxubee NWR

    This year the Chester O. Martin Award was created to be given out to an individual who has displayed outstanding contributions to the MBWG and bat conservation in Mississippi. The award was presented to Chester Martin for his decades of work towards bat conservation and for all of his efforts in creating the MBWG. The MBWG is the largest and most active state working group in the Southeast, which is due primarily to Chester's dedication and motivation in creating and leading the group. Darren Miller presented the award and Weyerhaeuser provided a banquet in Chester's honor.

    Locations are currently being scouted for the Second Annual Mist Net Event being held this summer. Please let me know if you are interested in hosting the event. We are currently up to 96 members in the working group, with 38 members involved in Ad-hoc Committees. Information regarding these committees will be sent out soon. It turned out to be a very productive and educational meeting. Thanks to all those who participated.

    NOTE: If you would like to find out more information or to become a member of the MBWG, please contact Alison Sherman, alison.sherman@mmns.state.ms.us . We have many out of state members and there are no dues or obligations involved.