{"id":18640,"date":"2011-05-09T17:11:54","date_gmt":"2011-05-09T17:11:54","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/162.217.168.59\/?p=18640"},"modified":"2023-03-22T16:42:31","modified_gmt":"2023-03-22T20:42:31","slug":"nature-conservancy-of-canada-and-sfi-partner-to-protect-bat-populations","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/forests.org\/fr\/nature-conservancy-of-canada-and-sfi-partner-to-protect-bat-populations\/","title":{"rendered":"Nature Conservancy of Canada and SFI Partner to Protect Bat Populations"},"content":{"rendered":"

KAMLOOPS, British Columbia<\/strong> \u2013 The Nature Conservancy of Canada has received a Sustainable Forestry\u00a0Initiative \u00a0(SFI) conservation grant to support protection of bat populations in southern British\u00a0Columbia. The grant enables research to document the locations and health of bat habitat, which will in\u00a0turn assist conservationists in taking greater measures to protect this sensitive species.<\/p>\n

The project will receive a total of $50,000 through the SFI Conservation and Community Partnerships\u00a0Grant Program over two years. In addition to the Nature Conservancy of Canada, partners include BC\u00a0Bat, the British Columbia Ministry of Forests, Lands and Natural Resource Operations, and SFI-certified\u00a0International Forest Products Ltd.<\/p>\n

\u201cBats are key indicators of ecosystem health, and we know bats and their habitat are on the decline in\u00a0British Columbia,\u201d said Tim Ennis, Director of Land Stewardship in British Columbia for the Nature\u00a0Conservancy of Canada. \u201cThe Nature Conservancy of Canada is excited to participate in this important\u00a0bat conservation project that aims to identify and protect bat habitat and keep it free from introduced\u00a0disease.\u201d<\/p>\n

When bats are disturbed during hibernation they may abandon their sites, using important energy\u00a0reserves they need to survive the winter. Human access to bat hibernation sites may also spread\u00a0pathogens such as white nose syndrome, a fungus that is causing mass bat die-offs across North\u00a0America.<\/p>\n

\u201cBecause the SFI Standard includes specific conservation and research requirements, SFI program\u00a0participants are always looking for new ways to conduct research to better promote biological diversity,\u00a0protect wildlife habitat and manage special sites,\u201d SFI President and CEO Kathy Abusow said. \u201cThis\u00a0project uses a collaborative approach to achieve all of these objectives, and provide land managers with\u00a0new ways \u00a0to protect bat populations.\u201d<\/p>\n

Last year, SFI Inc. created the Conservation and Community Partnerships Grant program to build on the\u00a0more than $1.2 billion SFI program participants have contributed since 1995 for research activities,\u00a0including forestry research, science and technology. The Nature Conservancy of Canada project is the\u00a0third SFI Conservation and Community Partnerships Grant awarded for 2011, and brings the total for all\u00a0of the SFI grants awarded to-date to almost $1 million. Through the involvement of partners, these\u00a0forestry research projects will leverage additional resources, achieving a total investment of more than\u00a0$3 million.<\/p>\n

The SFI 2010-2014 Standard is based on 14 core principles that promote sustainable forest management,\u00a0including measures to protect water quality, biodiversity, wildlife habitat, species at risk, and Forests with\u00a0Exceptional Conservation Value, and encourages community involvement. The SFI program is the only\u00a0forest certification standard in North America that requires participants to support and engage in research\u00a0activities to improve forestry forest health, productivity and sustainable management of forest resources.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div>

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