Daily Inter Lake reporter Hailey Smalley returns to talk with host Taylor Inman about the final story in her Outdoor Lab series - a night spent with Glacier National Park biologist Lisa Bates at her annual "Going Batty" event.

Bates, a bird researcher who has expanded into bat surveys, walked Hailey through why bats matter to the ecosystem and the growing threat of white nose syndrome, a fungal disease first identified in New York in 2006 that can kill between 70 and 90 percent of an infected colony. The fungus has already been detected near Libby Dam, and researchers are field testing a vaccine on microchipped bats as a possible defense before it reaches Glacier's colonies. Hailey also describes the mist-netting and species identification process firsthand, including catching one of only a handful of big brown bats researchers have recorded in the park.

If you haven't already, go back and check out our companion episode covering the snow algae and bumble bee stories on YouTube or audio!

You can read Hailey's full reporting on all three stories - snow algae, bumble bees and bats - in the Daily Inter Lake, in print and online. Learn more about USGS project site for the white-nose syndrome vaccine here.

Chapters:
00:00 - Intro
00:56 - Meet Lisa Bates and Going Batty Night
03:02 - What Is White Nose Syndrome
06:34 - The Vaccine Trial at Libby Dam
10:22 - Lisa Bates' Bat Research Begins
12:46 - Catching and Examining Bats
16:20 - Echolocation and Species ID
19:46 - Why the Unknown Matters
20:49 - Outro and Companion Episode

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