Struggling Indiana bat surviving and thriving in one Vermont town

HINESBURG, Vt. (WCAX) – A small chunk of Hinesburg has become a hotbed for an endangered species. The Indiana bat’s numbers nationwide are not good but the Chittenden County town provides a sliver of hope for the struggling species.

“Fish and Wildlife came up my driveway and asked if they could search for them,” said Peter White of Hinesburg.

Just off Peter White’s land on a conserved section of forest in Hinesburg, is a safe haven for a struggling species. About 150 endangered Indiana bats call a dead tree home.

“That was the first I knew of them,” White said.

White leaves his adjacent woods alone in case this endangered species needs a new roost. Trees with peeling bark and open crevices are preferred. But other than letting wildlife specialists access the roost, he just gets to enjoy the presence of the rare bat.

“I wonder what kind of bat I am seeing now and if it is the Indiana bat,” White said.

Down the road is more evidence of the Indiana bat calling Hinesburg home. Alyssa Bennett, a small mammals biologist with Vt. Fish and Wildlife, listens to the chatter of more Indiana bats through an amplifier.

“We can look at the signature and figure out what species it might be,” Bennett said.

The rest of the Hinesburg colony calls bat boxes home.

“The fact we tracked bats back to these bat houses was really a surprise to us,” Bennett said.

She says it’s rare the Indiana bat will choose a bat box. But between the boxes and trees, the Hinesburg colony is about 700 bats strong. It’s the largest-known colony in the Green Mountain State since white nose syndrome knocked out more than 65% of the population over a decade ago.

“To know that there is a stronghold here, where bats are surviving in large numbers, it really stands out,” Bennett said.

Their numbers nationwide continue to decline and colonies in other parts of Vermont have shown minimal progress toward a comeback. Bennett says that makes Hinesburg a good research spot and critical for species security.

“We still are concerned about them at that population scale, so we are counting them, we are monitoring them,” she said.

Bennett hopes Hinesburg continues to offer a safe haven for the small mammals, and her team will continue to be able to monitor their progress thanks to landowners like White, who encourages other Vermonters to help, too.

Reporter Kevin Gaiss: So, you’d encourage other Vermonters to sort of engage with the land they own?

Peter White: Absolutely. Hopefully, that’s why they live here.

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