Using Innovation and Collaboration to Save Bats in 2025

s we launch into 2025, we are advancing conservation for bats through innovation and collaboration. In this issue, we look back on our recent accomplishments and focus on the partnerships and technological advances that are paving the way to protect the world’s bats.

We celebrate our historic victory against the misguided Miami Wilds theme park development that was proposed in core habitat for the highly Endangered Florida bonneted bat. This victory was only possible due to the fortitude and tenacity of Bat Conservation International (BCI), our supporters, and steadfast partners, including the Tropical Audubon Society, Center for Biological Diversity, and Miami Blue Chapter of the North American Butterfly Association, as well as the local community in Miami-Dade County. We are also immensely grateful for the pro bono legal services of the law firm Carlton Fields. Without their assistance, this victory would not have been possible.

While we celebrate our victory in court, we also look to our work in the laboratory, where BCI researchers and Oregon State University scientists are joining forces to find a potential solution for white-nose syndrome, which has killed millions of bats since 2006 and continues to devastate bat populations across North America.

In addition to the inspiring stories in this issue of Bats magazine, I encourage you to learn more about our recent efforts to conserve bats around the world in our annual report, which is now available online for Fiscal Year 2024. The report’s theme, “Leveraging the Power of Science, Conservation, and Partnerships to Prevent Bat Extinctions,” shares what we have accomplished during the last fiscal year, as well as our finances. To learn more, visit batcon.org/financials.

Mike Daulton
BCI Executive Director