POWERGRAMS

37 Alabama Power employees will partner this spring with several wildlife agencies, researchers and nature lovers to study the health of bats. The annual "Bat Blitz," primarily an inventory of bat populations, occurs annually somewhere in Alabama. This year's bat blitz takes place at Lakepoint State Park in Eufaula. Alabama Power Environmental Affairs Specialist Jeff Baker is a co-coordinator through the Alabama Bat Working Group, which formed in 2009 to bring together people and agencies in conserving Alabama's species. "It's designed to sample in a previously under-sampled area," Baker said. "These are areas where lile is known about what species may or may not be there." The U.S. Forest Service, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Alabama Department of Conservation and Natural Resources, Southeastern Bat Diversity Network, Alabama Power and others sponsor the event. On May 29-June 1, the team will study bats at night in three or four sites around the park, usually near a stream or wooded area. "You want to be where bats feed or drink, and you block off that opening with a mist net, which is somewhat like a volleyball net," Baker said. The net is so-named because of its intricate design, which does not injure the bats. Aer being trapped, the team members record information about each bat, such as size, wingspan, sex and whether it is lactating (with bat "pups"). There are approximately 20 bat species in Alabama. Of those, three species (the gray bat, Indiana bat and northern long- eared bat) are federally protected. Alabama's Nongame Species Regulation protects another seven species. Any protected bats caught during the blitz are banded for tracking. "That bat will have a specific band that identifies it so if other researchers are doing a cave survey or if they are mist-neing and catch the same bat, they can get an idea of migration routes for the species," Baker said. "That's important because not a lot is known on these migration routes." During past blitzes, researchers have caught from four to six species. The number of bats caught each night varies depending on location and conditions. Even with the mist-neing, bats can be hard to catch. "Bats have excellent echolocation. That's how they hunt at night," Baker said. "They send out these sound waves, and they bounce off their prey or whatever they are navigating through. They can sometimes detect the mist nets." Despite the difficulty, Baker said the project is vital, given bats' beneficial role in ecosystems. Almost all bats in Alabama are insectivores, meaning they eat bugs. "There are multiple benefits to having bats. They have a huge beneficial impact on agriculture. They feed on a lot of insects that would otherwise impact crops," Baker said. "They literally save the Bat Crazy C O M PA N Y E F F O RT S A I D I N G C R U C I A L E N DA N G E R E D A N I M A L S by J u s t i n Av e r e t t e • P h o t o s by C h r i s t o p h e r Jo n e s

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