Fourth Annual Meeting of the Mississippi Bat Working Group

The Fourth Annual Meeting of the Mississippi Bat Working Group (MBWG) was held at the Mississippi Museum of Natural Science, Jackson, MS, on 26 January 2006. The meeting was hosted by the Mississippi Museum of Natural Science (MMNS) and sponsored by Weyerhaeuser, Co.. 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 37 personnel representing: US Fish and Wildlife Service (USFW); US Forest Service; USA ERDC; USDA ­ Wildlife Services; Camp Shelby; Vicksburg National Military Park; MMNS; Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries, and Parks; MS Department of Environmental Quality; Southeastern Bat Diversity Network; University of Mississippi; University of Southern Mississippi; Mississippi State University; University of Georgia, Athens; Weyerhaeuser Company; A & M Wildlife Removal and Conservation Specialists; and The Critter Catcher, LLC.

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 2005", Chester Martin
  • "Ad-Hoc Committee Progress Reports", Ad-hoc chairs
  • "MBWG Annual Summer Mist Net Event, 2005", Alison Sherman

A 1.5 hr break-out session was devoted to developing Ad-hoc committee objectives and outlined activities needed to fulfill these objectives.

Chester Martin suggested that we create a Vice-chair position and a 3 member Board of Directors to facilitate increased interaction among members. The following positions and people were voted in:

  • Chair: Chester Martin
  • Vice-Chair: Alison Sherman
  • Recording Secretary: Austin Trousdale, University of Southern MS
  • Board of Directors: Darren Miller, Weyerhaeuser, Co.
    Monica Wolters, USA ERDC
    David Richardson, USFW

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

"Capturing and Relocating Nuisance Bats", Mike McDowell, The Critter Catcher, LLC

"Conservation Planning for Bats in the Southeastern U.S.", Mary Kay Clark, Southeastern Bat Conservation Director

"Inventory of Bat Species at Vicksburg National Military Park", Jen Linehan, University of Georgia

"Tree Roost Selection by Rafinesque¹s Big-eared Bat and Southeastern Myotis", Candy Stevenson, Mississippi State University

"Southeastern Bat Diversity Network Bat Blitzes: Past, Present and Future", Mary K. Clark

"Bat Surveys on Military Installations in Mississippi", Chester Martin

"Potential Effects of Hurricane Katrina on Wildlife, with an Emphasis on Bats", Darren Miller

"Potential Causes of Alopecia Observed in Corynorhinus rafinesquii in West-Central Mississippi" Monica S. Wolters