IP Celebrates Bat Week With Oak Restoration Efforts To Conserve Important Habitats

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[{"type":"text","content":"IP Celebrates Bat Week With Oak Restoration Efforts To Conserve Important HabitatsMEMPHIS, TN / ACCESSWIRE / October 28, 2024 / In celebration of Bat Week, International Paper (IP) and the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation (NFWF) are proud to highlight their ongoing efforts to restore important bat habitats through oak regeneration projects in Alabama. As part of the Forestland Stewards Partnership, a long-standing collaboration between IP and NFWF, grants are provided to support the restoration of forest ecosystems, benefiting wildlife like bats that depend on mature oak trees for roosting.Bats play a critical role in the ecosystem by pollinating plants, and controlling insect populations, especially mosquitoes. However, the bat population has been severely impacted by white-nose syndrome (WNS), a disease that has killed millions of bats over the past decade. Since its discovery in New York in 2006, WNS has spread to 40 states and nine Canadian provinces, with up to 100 percent of bats disappearing in some affected areas.WNS is caused by a cold-loving fungus that attacks hibernating bats. More than half of the bat species in the U.S. and Canada hibernate during the winter, making them vulnerable to the disease. Without effective solutions, several species are at risk of extinction.Through the Forestland Stewards Partnership, IP and NFWF are working to restore important habitats, particularly white oak forests, which provide essential shelter and roosting spaces for bat populations. The Alabama Forestry Foundation (AFF), a grant recipient, has spearheaded white oak restoration efforts using sustainable forestry techniques such as midstory removal, which encourages young oak growth and improves the habitat quality for bats and other wildlife.\"This collaboration ensures the future of key species and forests while creating opportunities for landowners to take an active role in conservation. This restoration effort exemplifies the power of collective action for sustainability,\" said Sophie Beckham, Vice President and Chief Sustainability Officer at International Paper.To help private landowners learn these practices, AFF hosts volunteer events to establish and maintain white oak forests, collaborating with foresters and biologists in landowner hands-on experiences that will help bolster bat populations across the region. One v...

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