Photo credit: Juliet Craig
Awarded to Okanagan Nation Alliance to enhance bat habitat connectivity and resilience by restoring and protecting artificial roosting habitats, identifying and monitoring key roost sites, and engaging landowners as active partners in long-term bat conservation.
PROPONENT: Okanagan Nation Alliance and Kootenay Community Bat Project
DESCRIPTION: The bat community in the West Kootenay is one of the most diverse in Canada, with 12 species representing significant differences in their foraging and roosting requirements. The two building-roosting species most commonly found in buildings in the West Kootenay (Little Brown Myotis, listed as endangered federally and Yuma Myotis, vulnerable in BC) are now experiencing significant mortalities in NW Washington due to white nose syndrome (WNS), the fungal disease which is slowly spreading towards the BC border from Washington, Montana, and Saskatchewan. Since 2023, the Okanagan Nation Alliance (ONA) and Kootenay Community Bat Program (KCBP) have worked together to expand roosting opportunities for building-dwelling bats through the construction of bat condos and other artificial roosts in the RDCK LCF service area. Building on this success, in 2026 they plan to broaden our outreach and strengthen community engagement by partnering directly with landowners.
Their primary goal is to enhance bat habitat connectivity and resilience within the Syilx Nation Eastern Territory, including the West Kootenay and RDCK LCF service area, by restoring and protecting artificial roosting habitats, identifying and monitoring key roost sites, and engaging landowners as active partners in long-term bat conservation.
OBJECTIVES: Specific objectives are to:
- Improve access to quality bat boxes and support landowners;
- Engage pest control professionals in safe and responsible bat management:
- Monitor the bat structures in Lemon Creek, Vallican and Crawford Bay:
- Strengthen participation in the annual BC Bat count initiative; and
- Support and educate RDCK landowners to protect and enhance bat habitat.
Watch this video for an excellent overview of the project.
