April Monthly Meeting – Establishment of the Chariton Hills Bat Conservation Bank in Northeast Missouri

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Date/Time
Date(s) - 04/10/2019
7:30 am - 9:30 am
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Location
Matt Ross Community Center


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Program details

The Indiana bat and northern long-eared bat are two federally protected bat species that occupy forest habitat across much of the Midwest and eastern United States. Development projects in forested areas often have unavoidable impacts on these species, but until recently, there has not been a straightforward form of mitigation. Conservation banks, which are implemented ahead of impacts and provide offsets for a variety of projects, can provide maximum benefit to the species while providing developers and agencies with an effective mitigation solution. Accordingly, Burns & McDonnell has established the Chariton Hills Conservation Bank (CHCB) in northeast Missouri. The CHCB provides protection and management for over 1,300 acres of summer maternity habitat in Schuyler and Adair Counties, and provides conservation benefits in advance of impacts. We worked closely with state and federal agencies to select CHCB sites using landscape ecology principles. Our site-specific analyses included historical record searches to confirm occurrences of the Indiana bat, detailed habitat assessments, and mist-net surveys to document presence of the species. Our analysis indicated that the CHCB properties met or exceeded most of the important summer habitat variables outlined in the Indiana bat recovery plan, and that they could be maintained or improved through adaptive management. Management actions on the properties will be directed toward maintaining the quality of the habitat and improving any habitat that does not meet values outlined in the Indiana bat recovery plan and other literature. The CHCB is the first conservation bank approved by Region 3 of the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, and credits can be used to offset impacts to Indiana and northern long-eared bats in Missouri. Permanent protection and management of these sites is expected to provide long-term benefits to forest-dwelling bats throughout the region.

Speaker Bio – Josiah Maine 

Josiah Maine is a Staff Environmental Scientist with the Natural and Cultural Resources department at Burns & McDonnell. Josiah has a broad base of experience performing ecological studies and permitting, including habitat assessments, presence/absence surveys, bat studies, avian studies, and fisheries studies. As a bat specialist who has developed close relationships in the scientific and regulatory community, Josiah holds a Federal Recovery Permit to perform surveys for threatened and endangered bats. Josiah played a key role in the development of the Chariton Hills Conservation Bank, which was the first conservation bank for Indiana and northern long-eared bats approved by the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service. As the land manager for the bank, Josiah coordinates permitting, biological studies, and forest management activities.

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