CFRU Announces Bats in Forest Management Webinar

October 16, 2018 Commercial Forests, News & Events

CFRU Webinar: Considering Bats in Forest Management

November 14 @ 1:00 pm – 2:00 pm

This webinar will begin with an overview by Dr. Erik Blomberg (University of Maine) of the ecology of tri-colored bats and their status as a species that has been recently petitioned for listing through the Endangered Species Act. Dr. Blomberg will also discuss a previous CFRU-funded project on the ecology of northern long-eared bats in Maine commercial forests.After this talk, adjunct faculty member Michael Thompson (University of Maine School of Forest Resources), will speak on the role of forest certification in bat conservation. Landowners in Maine who are certified under the Sustainable Forestry Initiative or the Forest Stewardship Council must consider the impact of forest management on wildlife, including bats, with additional emphasis placed on conserving habitats for rare, threatened, and endangered species. This brief presentation will cover the obligations of certified landowners regarding conserving important wildlife habitats with more specific details regarding what to expect concerning bats during annual certification audits.

There will be time for questions following their presentations.

Wende Mahaney of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the Maine Field Office expert on bats, will introduce herself and be available to address questions as well.

This webinar will be held on November 14th, 2018 from 1:00 – 2:00 p.m. EST using Zoom web conferencing software. This webinar is open to the public.

Please click on this link to register for this webinar

SPACE IS LIMITED, so please sign up early!

This webinar is pending approval for 1 Category 1 CFE credit through the Society of American Foresters.

Webinar Program 

1:00 – Welcome (CFRU), then Bat Ecology in Maine Commercial Forests (Erik Blomberg)

1:25 – Forest Certification’s Role in Bat Conservation (Michael Thompson)

1:50 – Q & A with Erik, Michael, and Wende

Using Zoom 

Please register for this webinar ahead of time using the link provided above.

When joining the meeting, you will be prompted to download Zoom launcher. Please follow the instructions provided to enter the webinar.

For these webinar presentations, participants will be muted and video will be disabled.

Please feel free to type questions for the presenters in the chat box on the left-hand side of the screen – these questions will be read by the moderator at the end of the presentation. There may also be time for you to ask questions as well.

About the Presenters

Erik Blomberg, PhD is an assistant professor in the Department of Wildlife, Conservation Biology, and Fisheries at the University of Maine in Orono.

Michael Thompson is an environmental consultant and adjunct faculty member in the School of Forest Resources at the University of Maine in Orono.

Wende Mahaney is a fish and wildlife biologist based at the Maine Field Office of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.