Tennessee Bat Working Group
Welcome to the Tennessee Bat Working Group
The Tennessee Bat Working Group (TNBWG) was formed in the summer of 2004 in recognition of the need for cooperation among various groups and individuals to help coordinate the conservation of bat species in Tennessee.
The scope of the TNBWG is the study and exchange of information relative to the conservation, biology, ecology, and management of bats and their habitats on all state, federal, and private lands within the state of Tennessee. The goal of the TNBWG is to conserve bats and their habitats in the southeastern United States through collaborative research, education, and management with a focus on bat research, conservation, education, and management within the state of Tennessee.
Send pictures of your TN bat outreach or research events to TennBWG@gmail.com to be featured!
Have you seen a bat in Tennessee? Help us learn about bat-human interactions in our state!
Upcoming Events and News
We are currently seeking presenters for the upcoming 2024 meeting of the Tennessee Bat Working Group. Registration will open later. Here are the details:
Meeting Date: November 22, 2024 (There will be a social the night before in Murfreesboro, details TBD)
Meeting Time: ~9:00 AM - 5:00 PM Central Time (Exact agenda TBD)
Location: UT Extension Office, 315 John R Rice Blvd, Murfreesboro, TN
Hotel Suggestion: There are many hotels around the venue including the Holiday Inn (1453 Silohill Lane, Murfreesboro, Tennessee, 37129)
Cost: Registrations will be $10 for professionals and free for the public and students. Registration and payment will open soon.
T-shirts: Shirts this year will be our logo on the front of a baby blue shirt. They will be $15 and they will be picked up at the meeting. The form to order shirts will open with registration.
Abstract Submission Guidelines:
A 250-word abstract with a short introduction to project, hypothesis, brief methods, results and conclusions. The abstract could take a different format if not a research project. Be sure to include author affiliations. Indicate with an asterisk after the name (*) of any student authors. Examples of previous abstracts are at the end of the agendas hosted on our website (https://www.tnbwg.org/about-us/annual-meetings )
Please send your abstracts to: acable5@vols.utk.edu
Abstract submission deadline: November 4, 2024
Oral Presentations:
Oral presentations could be results from research, monitoring, rehab, conservation, regulatory, or management activities, overviews of bat conservation issues or topics in the state or other areas. We are open to creative ideas!
Presentations will be limited to 15 minutes (~13 minutes for the presentation and 2 minutes for questions)
PowerPoint presentation or another format (reach out to us if you plan to use something other than PowerPoint)
Poster Presentations:
Please encourage undergraduate students, graduate students, and your colleagues to consider giving a poster presentation. The TNBWG meeting is a great opportunity for students, professionals, and anyone interested in bats to share their research in a laid-back atmosphere. If you are a student with preliminary results or even a draft study plan, please consider presenting. We will provide poster stands or tape to hang posters.
Awards: The Tennessee Bat Working Group will award $100 to the best student oral presentation and $100 to the best student poster presentation. These awards make great lines on resumes!
The Charter: The Board has been updating our Charter and the membership will vote on it at the annual meeting. We will be sending out the Charter at least 30 days prior to the meeting with the suggested changes. The Charter as it is now is hosted on our website ( https://www.tnbwg.org/about-us/the-charter ). If you have any suggestions for changes, please send them to Rob Stinson at rtstinson0@tva.gov by Oct 9.
BOARD MEMBER NOMINATIONS: We will be electing 2 board members to the TNBWG board this year. Board members contribute to annual meeting and bat blitz planning as well as support educational and other endeavors of the bat working group.
Voting will be online, and the form will be sent out during the annual meeting. Members will vote during the lunch break. Fill out your nomination by this form ( https://forms.gle/JxHYFULbMrNUBxVv9 ) by Nov 13. The nomination form is anonymous and you can nominate yourself. Nominees will be asked to prepare a bio sketch paragraph that will be sent out to the membership before voting at the annual meeting. We will also accept nominations from the floor at the meeting before voting.
Not on our email list to receive announcements? Email tennbwg@gmail.com to be added!
For the more information about upcoming events, check out our socials!
@tennbwg
Recent Events
The 2023 Bat Blitz was held at sites near Chickasaw State Park, TN. Volunteers captured 268 bats of 7 species! It was a great success!
The 2023 meeting was held on November 16th at the Ijams Nature Center in Knoxville, TN
Thanks to all who attended. Thanks also to each of the speakers who provided engaging and informational presentations on bats in and around TN. We hope to see everyone next year!
The TNBWG hosted a public education event on August 21, 2023, at Cedars of Lebanon State Park.
Thank you to all of our wonderful participants, volunteers, bat handlers, sponsors, and friends at Cedars of Lebanon State Park for making this year's bat blitz such a success! We observed 6 different bat species with 104 total bats captured, identified, and measured!