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2014 Spring | Education & Outreach, Natural Science & Restoration, Sustainability

Impact of Stream Modifications on Present-Day Bat Populations in Northern Washington

Student(s):

Sarah Schooler

Program or Department(s):

  • Program on the Environment
  • University of Washington

Site supervisor(s):

Garrett Voerman and Ron Tressler

Partner(s):

  • Seattle City Light

Faculty advisor(s):

Tim Billo, Program on the Environment, University of Washington

We monitored bat populations around Harrison Slough, in Skagit County, Washington. This area was heavily modified for a Steelhead rearing facility in the 1960s, and is being considered for a restoration project in order to restore the habitat for salmon. We wanted to see if this restoration project may have impact on bat populations, by comparing bat populations in the heavily modified area to bat populations in similar unmodified area in Western Washington. We found that bat populations were not apparently impacted by the modified waterways, and concluded that restoration could likely occur without harming bat populations.