It’s Bat Appreciation Day!
Did you know that there are bats on Sweetwater Marsh? Bats utilize the Marsh for foraging and roosting, including one bat of special significance, the pallid bat. Up until the 1980’s, records indicate that Sweetwater Marsh was likely home to a pallid bat colony, but they have not been seen in the area since. In 2015, a single pallid bat was identified less than a kilometer from Sweetwater Marsh. The Living Coast Discovery Center, in partnership with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Cabrillo National Monument, and the San Diego Natural History Museum will be conducting surveys to learn what bat species can be found here and see if the pallid bat is making a comeback in the area. Our bat studies will contribute to a regional conservation effort and teach the public about the importance of bats and other local pollinators. After the studies are complete, the Living Coast will work with U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to create a threat reduction and management plan to make our local habitat better for bats. We look forward to sharing updates on what we find as we research this important species.
Pallid Bat monitoring at the Living Coast Discovery Center is supported by SANDAG as part of their TransNet Environmental Mitigation Program (EMP) land management grant program.
