NEW YORK — In observance of the internationally recognized Bat Week Oct. 24-31 to raise awareness about the critical role of bats in the environment, New York State Department of Environmental Conservation Commissioner Basil Seggos has encouraged outdoor enthusiasts to refrain from visiting caves and mines during the fall and winter months.
DEC officials noted how bats spend the winter hibernating in these underground cavities where relatively constant, warm temperatures protect these mammals from harsh winter temperatures above ground. Bats’ health is particularly vulnerable to human visitation in the winter to these hibernacula, and especially harmful since the arrival of white-nose syndrome, a fungus that has killed more than 90 percent of bats at hibernation sites in the state.
“Bats are circling around us this Halloween season, reminding us all to do our part to protect these important flying mammals,” Seggos said in a news release from his office. “DEC is encouraging New Yorkers to help protect bats by avoiding caves or mines to prevent any unintentional harm to bats and safeguarding their habitats.”
If bats are disturbed during hibernation, they raise their body temperature, depleting crucial fat reserves. This stored fat is the only source of energy available to the bats until the weather warms in spring and insects become readily available.
The more frequently bats are disturbed, the less likely they are to survive the long winter months underground without eating. DEC reminds the public to follow all posted notices restricting access to caves and mines. If explorers do venture out and discover bats hibernating in a cave, DEC urges these visitors to leave quickly and quietly to minimize disturbance.
Limiting tree removal to the hibernation period can help protect bats from harm while they are out on the landscape. Removing trees only between Nov. 1 and March 31 throughout the state, or Dec. 1 through Feb.28 in Suffolk County, offers the best protection for our hibernating bats.
During the active season, bats roost in trees and form maternity colonies to rear their pups, so tree removal during this season can potentially harm bats using trees for these behaviors.
Bat Week is observed each year through Oct. 31 and is organized by representatives from conservation groups and government agencies in the U.S. and Canada.
In recent years, scientists have found evidence of recovery of the once-common little brown bat throughout New York State. While this seeming stabilization provides a hopeful outlook after more than a decade of devastating population declines, similar evidence of stabilization has not been seen for other severely affected bat species.
Federal and state laws protect two species of bats. The Indiana bat, which is sparsely distributed across New York, is a federally endangered bat listed before white-nose syndrome later began affecting bat populations. The northern long-eared bat is also listed as an endangered species under federal and New York State law. The current population for this formerly common bat is approximately one percent of its previous size, making this species the most severely affected by white-nose syndrome.
Still, northern long-eared bats are widely distributed in New York and their presence has been documented in most of the state’s approximately 100 caves and mines serving as bat hibernation sites.
A third New York species, the tri-colored bat, was proposed for endangered species protection by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service on Sept. 13, 2022. Although widespread in distribution, tri-colored bats were rare in New York even before they experienced a 98-percent population decline due to white-nose disease.
Anyone entering a northern long-eared bat hibernation site from Oct. 1 through April 30, the typical hibernation period for bats, may be subject to prosecution. Details about the protection of the northern long-eared bat can be found on DEC’s website.
There is currently no treatment for bats suffering from white-nose syndrome. Along with the New York State Department of Health, DEC is partnering with researchers from the National Wildlife Health Center in Madison, Wisconsin, and experts at universities across the country to better understand the disease and develop a treatment.
This collaborative effort helped identify that reducing disturbances at hibernation sites during the winter can help the remaining animals survive. For more information about white-nose syndrome, visit https://www.whitenosesyndrome.org.