Spotted bat (Euderma maculatum) COSEWIC assessment and status report: chapter 10

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Existing Protection or Other Status

This species is not listed by the IUCN. It was designated Special Concern by COSEWIC in 1988 (see Balcombe 1988). The global heritage status rank is G4 (apparently secure); national ranks are N3N4 (vulnerable to apparently secure) for the United States and N3 (vulnerable) for Canada. Three states (Montana, Oregon, and Wyoming) rank the Spotted Bat as S1 (critically imperilled); four states rank this species as S1S2 or S2 (critically imperilled or imperilled). British Columbia has designated the Spotted Bat as S3S4 (vulnerable to apparently secure).

In British Columbia, the Spotted Bat is protected from killing under the provincial Wildlife Act. Although this species is not known to roost in trees in British Columbia and is probably little impacted by rangeland practices, it is listed as an Identified Wildlife Species under the revised British Columbia Provincial Forest and Range Practices Code. Species listed under the code are considered to be at risk and require special management by establishing Wildlife Habitat Areas (WHA). Guidelines^[1] under the Forest and Range Practices Code specify that WHAs will be established to protect known or potential day roosts and hibernacula of the Spotted Bat. The core of the WHA will include the roost cliff and talus base with a 100 m radius management zone around the roost cliff. Various management prescriptions are recommended relating to road development, forest harvesting, and pesticide use. To date no WHAs have been designated for the Spotted Bat. The Forest and Range Practices Code only applies to provincial crown land; in the southern portion of the Canadian range for example more than 50% of this species’ habitat is exempt from the code (Table 2).

^[1] Guidelines for this species under the Provincial Forest and Range Practices Code are currently in draft stage.