Reconciliation Ecology And The Indiana Bat At Indianapolis International Airport

We provide a case study of conservation efforts at the Indianapolis International Airport near Indianapolis, Indiana, USA that illustrates how small programs aimed at meeting regulatory requirements can develop into projects of regional and national importance, how adaptive management works in the real world, and the potential for reconciliation ecology. Of particular legal and conservation concern is the presence of the endangered Indiana bat (Myotis sodalis), for which the airport agreed to undertake extensive conservation and mitigation efforts including the preservation of existing forest, planting of new forest, installation of experimental roost structures, and intense monitoring of the bats. After 17 years, the site is surrounded by commercial and residential areas, but the Indiana bat is still present. Monitoring has provided detailed information about how this and other bat species respond to a variety of landscape-level challenges and conservation approaches.