Bat management

Alberta’s bat species management efforts are critical in maintaining healthy bat populations.

Overview

Bats are an important part of Alberta’s ecosystem and provide economic and social benefits to Albertans.

All bats in Alberta eat insects, including forest and farm pests and mosquitos. Bats support pollination and seed dispersal of many native and agricultural plants. Bat droppings are a natural fertilizer.

Photo of a little brown myotis bat holding onto a tree.

Species in Alberta

There are at least 9 different species of bats found in Alberta. Six bat species reside in Alberta year-round and hibernate during the cold winter months.

  • Big Brown Bat
  • Little Brown Myotis (Little Brown Bat)
  • Long-eared Myotis
  • Long-legged Myotis 
  • Northern Myotis
  • Western Small-footed Myotis

Three bat species are migratory, returning to Alberta each spring to rear their young, and leaving each fall to overwinter in  the southern United States or Mexico.

  • Eastern Red Bat 
  • Hoary Bat
  • Silver-haired Bat (this species occasionally overwinters in Alberta)

All of Alberta’s bats are protected under the Wildlife Act.

Challenges

White-nose Syndrome is a disease that affects bats and is caused by a fungus that grows in caves where bats hibernate. The disease has devastated bat populations in much of North America; millions of bats have died.

When the fungus gets on the skin of a bat, it can irritate the bat causing early arousal from hibernation at a time when insect prey are not available, so bats starve to death.

The fungus that causes the disease was detected in Alberta in 2022. In May 2024, White-nose Syndrome was found on 3 little brown myotis bats in Southeastern Alberta.

Now that the fungus and disease have been detected in Alberta, they are expected to spread among Alberta’s hibernating bat populations. White-nose Syndrome does not affect other animals or people. 

Learn more about White-nose Syndrome.

Monitoring bat populations

Alberta is participating in a North American bat monitoring program. This program was initiated because of the declines in bat populations in eastern North America due to White-nose Syndrome.

Most of the monitoring is done with acoustic detectors that record the calls of bats when they are flying at night. We are also trying to locate and monitor 2 important kinds of bat roosts:

  • caves where bats hibernate
  • maternity roosts (where females have their young every year, often in buildings)

Contact us if you know of a hibernation site or maternity colony.

Learn more about the North American Bat Monitoring Program.

Recovery planning

Recovery planning is underway to support bat populations that are susceptible to White-nose Syndrome, including little brown myotis and northern myotis bats. 

Recovery strategies include:

  • monitoring and minimizing the spread of the fungus and White-nose Syndrome
  • surveying and monitoring bats to track changes in population trends and distribution
  • protecting bat habitat, including known sites where bats hibernate over the winter (hibernacula), maternal roosts, and areas used for foraging, drinking, connectivity and roost sites for males and non-reproductive females
  • identifying, reducing and mitigating bat mortalities caused by human activity and promoting bat conservation
  • evaluating and implementing mitigation to reduce the impacts of White-nose Syndrome

Little Brown Myotis and Northern Myotis Bat Recovery Plan engagement

Alberta Community Bat Program

Alberta's government partners with the Alberta Community Bat Program (Wildlife Conservation Society Canada) to:

  • provide information about Alberta bat species and their habitats
  • provide ways to support bat conservation
  • help people manage bats in buildings
  • collect data to monitor Alberta's bat populations
  • collect data to monitor the spread of the fungus and White-nose Syndrome
  • work with citizen scientists to report on and monitor bat roosts

Learn more about the Alberta Community Bat Program.

Alberta Bat Action Team

The Alberta Bat Action Team works to improve bat conservation and management in Alberta for resident and migratory species.

  • Activities

    The Alberta Bat Action team provides information and guidance to the government to:

    • provide recommendations regarding the development of standards for bat inventory, data collection and data storage, including protocols to monitor bat mortality at wind farms
    • develop decontamination protocols for cavers and researchers (to minimize spread of White-nose Syndrome)
    • provide information on bat species distribution and habitat use
    • identify potential issues facing Alberta’s bat populations
    • identify research priorities and data gaps
  • Membership

    Membership includes representatives from:

    • consulting companies
    • government
    • industry
    • universities
    • environmental groups and organizations

    All members have experience with bats and a passion for improving the understanding and management of the 9 bat species found in Alberta.

  • Publications

    Sensitive species inventory guidelines

    Refer to sensitive species inventory guidelines for the following wildlife inventory guidelines related to bats in Alberta:

    • Bats and Wind Turbines: Pre-Siting and Pre-Construction Survey Protocols
    • Handbook of Inventory Methods and Standard Protocols for Surveying Bats in Alberta
    • Standard Data Sheets for Bat Surveys in Alberta

    Wildlife research and collection

  • Western Canada Bat Network

    The Alberta Bat Action Team is a founding member of the Western Canada Bat Network. This network is made up of bat biologists from western Canadian provinces and territories, and some states from the United States. The Western Canada Bat Network produces newsletters twice a year to share bat related news and facilitate discussion and collaboration.

    Western Bat Working Group

    The Alberta Bat Action Team is Alberta's representative on the Western Bat Working Group. The Western Bat Working Group is a partner in the Coalition of North American Bat Working Groups and a registered non-profit organization that includes agencies, organizations and individuals interested in bat research, management and conservation.

    The Western Bat Working Group, the Western Canada Bat Network and the Alberta Bat Action Team represent a hierarchy of working groups, each facilitating communication about bat conservation, research and management on different geographic scales.