Upcoming Projects

If you are planning to do bat work in Nevada, check here to see if there are ongoing or upcoming projects you can contribute to! We all know bat work is a team effort, contributing to the projects below will benefit everyone!

Do you have an upcoming project?

If you have an upcoming project you would like added to this site, email the Nevada Bat Working Group co-chairs with the following information:

Project lead contact information
Short explanation of your project
1. Who, what, when, where, why!
What kind of assistance do you need
1. Expertise – get advice on how to do your project
2. Field assistance – help on the ground collecting the data/doing the surveys at your location
3. Data/Samples – folks to collect samples or data for you during their own bat work
4. I don't really need assistance, just give people my contact info and they can reach out to me if they are interested in my project.

If you are interested in contributing to the projects below, contact the project lead!

Spotted and Western Big-eared Bat Project

SWCA Environmental Consultants is performing a second year (Aug. 2023-Sept. 2024) of acoustic and roost surveys for two bat species in Clark County, Nevada: spotted bat (Euderma maculatum or EUDMAC) and Western big-eared bat (Corynorhinus townsendii or CORTOW). The primary objectives of the bat surveys project are to 1) collect acoustic sampling data at strategic locations to determine occupancy of target species and to better characterize foraging habitat within Clark County, 2) target known historical roosts and/or hibernacula (winter roost) sites within the MSHCP Amendment Special Management Areas (SMAs) and Impact Areas to determine current activity and condition of sites, and 3) target areas within the proposed MSHCP Amendment SMAs and Impact Areas with a higher likelihood of containing undocumented roost and/or hibernacula sites to determine whether these unique features exist, and characterize any sites located during surveys. The goal is that data collected for the target species may be used to refine habitat distribution models, which may in turn assist land managers in identifying potentially important areas for conservation.

Looking for

1. Any occurrence records for EUDMAC or CORTOW within Clark County, Nevada

Contact: Mike Swink, (mswink@swca.com)

Las Vegas Wash Project

Southern Nevada Water Authority (SNWA) will be doing a follow-up bat study along the Las Vegas Wash in 2024 to determine what species utilize the area. The Las Vegas Wash Coordination Committee (LVWCC) has worked hard over the past 25 years to enhance and preserve this valuable resource. To date, the LVWCC has built 21 erosion control structures, added more than 13 miles of bank protection, removed hundreds of acres of invasive plants and revegetated more than 600 acres with native plants. With all of these changes, SNWA wants to do a follow-up bat study, which includes both acoustic monitoring and live capture surveys, to determine if the species that were previously documented at the Wash still utilize the area and what new species may also be present. Acoustic monitoring will run from January through December and mist netting will occur in late-March and run through September. All captured bats during late-March through early-May will be swabbed and samples will be analyzed for the presence of Pseudogymnoascus destructans (pD).

Looking for

General interest in the project

Contact: Julia Lantow (Julia.Lantow@snwa.com)