Providing threatened and endangered bat species survey services to support transportation infrastructure projects

Alabama Department of Transportation Bat Survey

Bats play a crucial role in our ecosystems; however, their populations are declining and that’s cause for concern. As more bat species in the United States become listed under the Endangered Species Act, state transportation departments, including the Alabama Department of Transportation (ALDOT), are seeing a significant increase in the need to monitor them. To comply with regulatory requirements, ALDOT engaged our team to provide threatened and endangered bat species related services throughout the state.

During the 2023 bat survey season, we quickly drafted field survey plans in accordance with U.S. Federal Wildlife Service guidelines. We implemented the required field work—conducting visual inspections of multiple bridges, and mist netting at three sites—and drafted project reports for all of the sites that we quickly provided to the ALDOT. We’ll continue to provide bat survey services to ALDOT over the next two years, with plans to increase our field efforts.

With our swift response to their bat survey needs, ALDOT was able to address critical regulatory compliance requirements. Additionally, our specialists are actively working with ALDOT to develop a strategy that will help them streamline their bat survey scheduling and planning.