Beneficial Forest Management Practices For Wns Affected Bats

The purpose of this document is to provide practicable Beneficial Forest Management Practices (BFMPs) that land managers and woodland owners can use to increase benefits to bats as part of their forest management activities while avoiding and reducing potential negative effects. This technical guidance was developed in collaboration with professional foresters and wildlife biologists representing state and federal agencies, academic institutions, private conservation organizations, and other interested groups and individuals in response to catastrophic population declines of many bat species due to white-nose syndrome (WNS). Although this guidance is largely focused on cave-hibernating bat species or “cave bats” impacted by WNS in the eastern United States (east of the Great Plains), general recommendations provided herein are likely to benefit other forest-dependent bat species (i.e., “tree bats”), regardless of their conservation status.