Bats and Climbers - Please Help!

California Climbers! Researchers at UC Davis need your help.

If you have observed bats at your local crags or any other crag in california, please fill out this short 2 minute survey. Bat populations are vital to the environments that they live in. Please fill out this survey to help UC Davis monitor and conserve their populations. If you have any questions, please direct them to 

Francine De Castro <decastrofrancinea@gmail.com>. 

Thank you!

Link to Survey: https://goo.gl/forms/3925mbQ8xEuOZ2922

Nate, Here's a note from the researchers in regards to your question. TDLR; The goal is NOT to close crags.

In regards to crag closures, we have adopted a stance akin to that of the Climbers for Bat Conservation in Colorado. Our goal is to have a method of communicating information with the climbing community, and to recognize that climbers are often in the same habitat as the bats we're trying to study. Additionally, bat scientist I've partnered with on this project (Jill Carpenter) is both a bat biologist and an experienced climber, and she doesn't want crags closed any more than any other climber.
The mindset in communicating with and establishing a rapport with the Access Fund and NorCal Crags (and other outdoor climbing advocacy groups) is to show that we recognize that our research is augmented greatly with a good relationship with the climbing community.
Further, a few goals for us (to reach when we organize more thoroughly) is to reach climbers interested in eventually communicating with us via open forums, hosting bat outings, and to involve the climbing community in bat advocacy.
As climbers ourselves, Jill and I understand the unique perspective and opportunities that climbers have when it comes to interacting with bats. We value the input and information shared with us, and want to help bridge the gap between the climbing community and the bat biologists.
In short, we understand why climbers may be cautious about approaching us with bat information and we want to assuage those concerns. Our goal is to gain information from climbers, not to alienate them by using the information they give us by closing our crags.
Thanks again,Francine De Castro

Yeah! Science bad! My ability to have unfettered access to my local crag/chosspile is much more important than the survival of a species!

Hi all, one of the founders of Onsight Bat Beta here (you'll note that that's my name and email in the original post.)

I'd like to reiterate further that closures are NOT our goal. A paper coming out this month in the Journal of Fish and Wildlife Management (the paper is entitled Activity of Southeastern Bats Along Sandstone Cliffs Used for Rock Climbing) has actually indicated that bats prefer crags that climbers use. Further, alienating the climbing community by closing crags is counterproductive to our goal. If we close crags, climbers won't want to collaborate with us, and if climbers don't want to collaborate with us we will have no data to work with. (That and those of us involved in the project happen to be climbers ourselves and honestly it would really suck on a personal level to have crags closed so there's that too.)

The data sent to us isn't shared publicly- sorry, if you want to know where bats are found you're going to have to go out there and find them yourself unless you're a certified bat biologist (in which case you'll have to go through us to get this information). 

Further, it's not just one species we're talking about here. California is home to over 20 different species of bats. (Also, if you like tequila, bear in mind that we're in an agave shortage. The primary pollinator of agave? Bats!)

If you have any further questions or concerns, go ahead and email 'em to me. I'd love to know what you think, know what your concerns are, and how we can better earn your trust. This project would never be possible without the help of climbers like you all.

Cheers,

Francine

Have you talked to many climbers at Rocknasium? I imagine talking to people in person and sharing more with them about your goals/agenda etc. might build some trust and encourage people to share more information. Reading a few carefully worded paragraphs on MP is something short of confidence inspiring.

Peter,

I have! I am actually aware of the two Banff Mountain Film Festival showings that Rocknasium is hosting at the Davis High School, and am going to be there to view the films on display (in part because they will be showing a bat film that I would provide a good segue for the Onsight Bat Beta project). My colleagues with the Climbers for Bat Conservation will be attending the Colorado showings of the Banff Mountain Film Festival, and will be doing the same out there. 

Similarly, I have discussed Onsight Bat Beta with the staff at Pipeworks in Sacramento, and am currently in the middle of drafting communications to Access Fund and Climbing Resource Advocates for Greater Sacramento (CRAGS). An eventual goal is to hold an open house to get communication out there with fellow climbers. Right now, before we fully organize, we have been communicating our goals via word of mouth, but our intention in communicating with fellow climbers on Mountain Project is so that we can get a feel for the general reception among the climbing community for providing us with Bat Beta. 

It hasn't worked out very well for cavers

My reply was in response to caughtinsides, "this seems like a really bad idea", not your reasonable questions about crag closures, Nate. 

Mark E Dixon wrote:

It hasn't worked out very well for cavers

This is really depends on the region in question. In Montana we have a great relationship with our local grotto, which has been invaluable for helping to figure out what caves bats are using or not using. In turn we provide recommendations for which caves are sensitive at what times of year, to help folks make good decisions and conserve the resources in our caves. At this point the only caves gated  within the state are private or have significant speliothems and are  easily damaged. As a climber, caver, and wildlife biologist who does a lot of bat work, I think communication between recreation groups and land management agencies is imperative for not only helping conserve sensitive species but also helping managers understand recreation like climbing or caving. Its my belief that starting the conversation and building a working relationship and trust sooner than later can benefit both recreation and land management.

Got me a nice little rabies series last year due to a bat bite while leading a remote crack system.. fyi..ot. thread drift

Francine De Castro wrote:

 A paper coming out this month in the Journal of Fish and Wildlife Management (the paper is entitled Activity of Southeastern Bats Along Sandstone Cliffs Used for Rock Climbing) has actually indicated that bats prefer crags that climbers use. 

or do climbers prefer the crags that bats use? Bit of a difference there ;)

@Caughtinside if your decision is to not share your Bat Beta with us, that is a decision that we will respect.  Our project isn't to force climbers to share information with us- climbers are a stubborn bunch (you have to be to spend hours at a crag, battling gravity) and if your mind is made, we respect that. All we can do is hope that in time you will grow to trust our work, and perhaps in the future work with bat biologists to preserve species that are crucial to the environment. (Also, if you could let me know which crag you're referring to that's having problems with bat closures I'd really love to know which it is, and what issues they're having. I've sent you a direct message to follow up.)

We hope to foster trust and promote a better climbing experience for all through good communication between the climbing community, land management agencies, and the bat biology communitiy.

(Also, @Matt T, it turns out it's a bit of both! Climbers like crags with features that bats prefer (like flakes, underclings, and placements for hand jams), but bats also seem to like crags that climbers have been at- sometimes when we clear a little plant matter from a climbing route to allow us to get better grip on the rock, it benefits bats in that they now have a solid foothold for a roost. Some of the impacts we make on the rock benefit bats. It is important to note that these plants and shrubs can also be important habitat for other species, so don't clear more than you have to, but what little we do clear seems to have a positive impact on the incidence of bats.)

Mark E Dixon wrote:

It hasn't worked out very well for cavers

Aren't cavers the reason that white nose syndrome spread?cause of improper gear cleaning? 

The mere possibility that humans could spread white nose led to widespread, extensive cave closures.

From Bat Conservation International (bolding mine)-

http://www.batcon.org/white-nose-syndrome

HOW WNS IS SPREAD

Bat-to-Bat: The fungus that causes WNS is believed to be transmitted primarily from bat to bat and bat to cave.

Substrate-to-Bat: P. destructans can survive in sediments and on the walls of caves and mines where bats hibernate. Healthy bats entering previously infected sites likely get exposed to the fungus from the hibernaculum environment.

Other Means: Scientists have demonstrated that it may be possible for humans to inadvertently carry P. destructans spores on their clothing or equipment.