Contact:
Haley Andreozzi, Cooperative Extension: 603-862-5327
Sandra Houghton, NH Fish and Game: 603-271-5679
May 5, 2025
Concord, NH – Wildlife biologists need help from volunteers who have bats in their barn or other outbuilding to conduct bat counts this summer as part of the New Hampshire Bat Counts project to help monitor summer bat colonies in the Granite State. It’s easy to participate, and volunteers are asked to conduct at least one count in June and one count in July.
Structures such as barns and other outbuildings often serve as summer homes for female bats and their young. In the face of white-nose syndrome, which has caused significant declines in bat populations throughout the Northeast, monitoring these “maternity colonies” is more important than ever. New Hampshire Fish and Game and UNH Cooperative Extension are looking for landowners and homeowners who have bats on their property to help keep track of New Hampshire’s bats by conducting “emergence counts” at roost sites. Volunteers interested in learning more can visit the New Hampshire Bat Counts website at https://www.wildlife.nh.gov/wildlife-and-habitat/nongame-and-endangered-species/bats-new-hampshire/nh-bat-counts for information on conducting a count and submitting data.
There are two upcoming opportunities to learn more about the bat species found in New Hampshire, the threats leading to population declines, how you can help to conserve bats, and participating in the NH Bat Counts project, which involves citizen science volunteers in helping to monitor summer bat colonies in New Hampshire.
- NH Bat Counts Training – June 4, 2025, 7:00–9:00 p.m. – NH Audubon Massabesic Center, Auburn, NH. For more information and to register visit https://extension.unh.edu/event/2025/06/nh-bat-counts-training.
- NH Bat Counts Office Hour – June 18, 2025, 12:00–1:00 p.m. – Online via Zoom. For more information and to register visit https://extension.unh.edu/event/2025/06/nh-bat-counts-office-hours.
If you have questions about these events or the NH Bat Counts Project, contact Haley Andreozzi at haley.andreozzi@unh.edu or 603-862-5327.
The New Hampshire Fish and Game Department’s Nongame and Endangered Wildlife Program coordinates research on bats in New Hampshire. Learn more at https://www.wildlife.nh.gov/wildlife-and-habitat/nongame-and-endangered-species/bats-new-hampshire.