Every summer, volunteers throughout the state spend evening hours watching the skies as bats emerge from their roosts. These observations contribute to the Summer Bat Count, led by Conserve Wildlife Foundation of New Jersey and the New Jersey Endangered and Nongame Species Program, and “help us better understand the status of New Jersey’s bat populations,” said Leah Wells, a wildlife biologist for CWF.

SPECIES SURVEYS: Conserve Wildlife Foundation of NJ wildlife biologist Leah Wells records data during a night in the field. 

As Wells explained, “Volunteers monitor known summer bat roosts such as attics, barns, bat houses and churches, and…