Civil and Environmental Consultants (CEC) subcontracted Jackson Group as part of its team for a multi-million dollar contract in 2014 to help manage manage and conduct an Indiana bat (Myotis sodalis) mist and acoustic net presence/ absence surveys on the E Systems Pipeline Project. The project, comprised the replacement and modernization of 22 miles of bare steel pipeline and the modification of two accompanying pipelines to make them ready for “pigging”. The E-Systems Project is part of Columbia Gas Transmission’s comprehensive pipeline infrastructure investment plan that replaces aging infrastructure to improve public safety, customer reliability and service. Jackson Group was tasked with conducting mist net surveys (and corresponding radiotelemtry, and emergence counts, where applicable) in forested areas along the proposed pipeline route in Kentucky.
Jackson Group was part of the team that had to complete 36 mist net sites (288 net nights) during the summer of 2014. The data is currently being compiled with hundreds of bats captured, including Northern Long-eared bats (M. septentrionalis) and Indiana bats, processed using 2014 US Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) protocols.
All Northern Long-eared and Indiana bats (including reproductive females and juveniles) were fitted with transmitters and tracked to roost trees. Emergence counts were conducted at accessible roosts using 2014 USFWS protocols.
