2023 Annual Meeting

Thanks to all of our presenters and participants in the 2023 Annual Meeting of the Mississippi Bat Working Group. Twenty-eight attendees represented a variety of state and federal government agencies, non-profit organizations, private wildlife consultants, and master naturalists from across the state.


Invited presentations included:

The Mississippi bats and bridges initiative – Alison McCartney, US Fish and Wildlife Service

Designing robust monitoring strategies for bats in Mississippi – Kristine Evans, Mississippi State University

State updates on 1) White-nose syndrome surveillance and 2) Inter- and intra-culvert movements of tricolored bats – Katelin Cross, MS Dept. of Wildlife, Fisheries, and Parks

National Wildlife control Operators Association – bat exclusion and eviction standards for the wildlife control operator – Jeremy Everett, Frontier Wildlife Solutions

Foraging range and diurnal roost selection of tri-colored bats along the Cumberland Plateau in Franklin County, TN – Dustin Thames, TN Wildlife Resources Agency

The response of bats and their insect prey to different coastal upland habitat management techniques – Mandy Sartain, MSU Coastal Research and Education Center

MBWG 7th Annual Culvert Blitz results – Katelin Cross, MS Dept. of Wildlife, Fisheries, and Parks

Summary of the 2022 Mist Net event and plans for 2023 – Becky Rosamond, US Fish and Wildlife Service / MBWG Chair

Forest certification and pellet mills in Mississippi – Dr. John Auel and Dave Godwin, MS Forestry Association

USFWS listing updates – Kelly Morris, US Fish and Wildlife Service


The following awards were presented:

Education/Outreach Award

Mandy Sartain, Mississippi State University Extension

Education/Outreach Award

Marcia Potts, MS Museum of Natural Science

Service Award

Dr. Nicole Hodges, Mississippi Museum of Natural Science

Service Award

Jack Creely, MS Department of Wildlife, Fisheries, and Parks

Research/Conservation Award

Alison McCartney, US Fish and Wildlife Service

Chester O. Martin Award

Katelin Cross, MS Department of Wildlife, Fisheries, and Parks


Business meeting topics included:

Annual secretary / treasurers report – Amber Floyd, Secretary/Treasurer MBWG

Accomplishments and awards – Chester Martin, Past-chair MBWG

Updates from the SBDN annual meeting

Formation of committees for 1) bats of MS poster project, 2) Kathy Shelton Memorial Student Travel Grants, and 3) 2023 mist net event planning.

Updating traveling displays to reflect listing changes and new records

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