Baturday News is a weekly blog written by Rachael, a high school student, bat advocate, and Save Lucy volunteer. Rachael’s interest in bats was sparked by the big brown bats that used the outside of her former home for a winter roost. Rachael has been writing the Baturday News for over three years.
Hi everyone! I hope you all had a good week! I can’t believe it’s already December. Soon it will be Christmas and Hanukkah and New Year! The bats here at Save Lucy and I are excited about the holidays. And now, the bat news…
The Nature Conservancy of Arkansas has just purchased 1,425 acres of forest. It is about two miles west of Mt. Judea in Newton County, AR. The forest has a deep valley, steep land, several streams and caves. The Nature Conservancy and the Buffalo River Foundation are working together to raise money to preserve the forest environment.
The really awesome thing about the new nature preserve is that it is home to three protected species of bats. Gray bats, Indiana bats and northern long-eared bats are found there. The Gray and Indiana bats are both endangered and the northern long-eared bats are threatened. So, protecting this land could really help the bats.
The land will open to hikers on January 1st, but there won’t be any trails for them to follow. The Nature Conservancy wants to wait a while before it marks hiking trails.
If you want to read more, you can find it here.