Endangered Bats Roost In Vermont Hydro Plant

Employees of Vermont's largest power company were surprised to find that they have become a bunch of bat minders, after a group of very endangered bats decided that the Otter Creek hydroelectric station in Middlebury was an ideal roosting ground. Amazingly, the company doesn't mind one bit.

Bats were first seen flying to and from the hydro power plant - which provides energy for about 1,200 homes in the immediate area - not too long ago.

A pedestrian who noticed the unusual traffic one night reportedly notified the Vermont Fish and Wildlife Department (FWD), who subsequently sent a team to investigate. Not long after, Green Mountain Power was called by state biologists, who told them that their plant was now home to nearly 200 endangered small brow bats, Kristin Carlson, a spokeswoman for the company, told the Rutland Herald.

Carlson told media Monday that the company isn't worried about the bats, who are roosting in the building's overhang. In fact, she said she thinks it's fun.

According to the Associated Press, the power company says it's proud to add bats to the list of wildlife it takes pains to help preserve, noting that the colony of more than 170 bats at the plant is only one of about 12 such colonies left in the entire state of Vermont.

So what happened to the others? According to Alyssa Bennett, a biologist from the FWD, these are the same mouse-eared brown bats that have declined by nearly 90 percent in the Northeastern United States. A fungal infection called white nose syndrome (WNS) has been sweeping across the species for the last few years, and is leaving traditional roosts like caves dangerous and uninhabitable for the bats.

"They're few and far between now, so we're doing everything we can to keep an eye on them," Bennett told the Herald. "Because the little brown bat uses buildings, I think we're in a very unique position for people to get involved in the recovery of this species."

Pseudogymnoascus destructans, the fungus behind WNS, won't be found in the hydroplant, making the area an ideal new roosting ground for the bats. However, things are looking good even for bats who still choose to roost in natural habitats.

Nature World News reported last month that the worst of WNS may have past, with experts recording encouraging survival rates last spring.