Combined Field Survey Techniques: NV (Great Basin) - 2024

VENUE DETAILS

8 days / 7 nights, including meals & lodging, in Baker NV

Inclusive Dates: Tuesday 20 August thru Tuesday 27 August 2024. Training begins promptly at 1pm on Day 1 and will end by noon on Day 8. A ½-day off is scheduled mid-way thru the week to allow students to rest and explore the local area.

Location and Directions:  Located in tiny Baker, Nevada near the Utah border, our training will take place throughout the Snake Range of Mountains surrounded by the vast Great Basin Desert. Travel to Great Basin is an effort, but absolutely worth it. Our field sites in and around Great Basin National Park represent the “best-kept secret bat hot-spot” in the west. Additionally, the area is certified by the International Dark Sky Association, as an official “Dark Sky Park,” making stargazing and other astronomical pursuits among the best in the world. We have secured commodious lodging at our workshop headquarters, Hidden Canyon Retreat which is not only an excellent destination Lodge, but also boasts some great bat resources, right out the back door.

Airport(s): The most convenient airport is McCarran International in Las Vegas (LAS), which is about 300 miles (4-1/2 hours) by vehicle. Other airports include Cedar City Regional Airport in Utah (CDC – 150 miles; 2-1/2 hours), Salt Lake City International (SLC - 250 miles; 3-3/4 hours), and Reno-Tahoe International (RNO - 400 miles; 6 hours). NOTE: Students must make their own travel arrangements to the workshop location. Nevada is on Pacific Time but nearby Utah is on Mountain Time, so students flying into and out of SLC must plan for the time-change accordingly. 

Lodging: 7-nights of lodging is provided at Hidden Canyon. Here 2 to 3 people will share a suite, where comfortable rooms with king or queen beds share a private bathroom and full kitchen. All linens and towels are provided. Private-rooms and/or off-site lodging is not available at this workshop venue due to the extremely remote location. WiFi is available, but 100% up-time is not guaranteed. Cell phone service is spotty and usually not available from a major national carrier.

Meals: 13 meals are provided on-site during the week, beginning with dinner on Day 1, thereafter including a hearty "brunch" and early-dinner every day thereafter, through Day 7. Vegetarian options are available with advance-notice (see student registration form for details on recording a food preferences). Because students will have their own kitchens, they are responsible for providing their own breakfast every day. Coffee and Tea supplies are provided in all rooms. Shopping in Baker or any nearby town, is very restricted, therefore students are encouraged to stock up as-needed before leaving a major city. Hidden Canyon maintains a small food store with basic staples: snacks, sweets, prepared food, beer and wine for your snacking pleasure. 

Pre-course Preparation: There is no pre-requisite for this training. The curriculum, demonstrations, and field practicums are designed to provide a comprehensive overview of applied bat survey methods for North American species. This is an adventurous training in a relatively remote location. Students should be prepared to travel over graded dirt roads, hike over uneven terrain, at night, carrying personal gear and up to 50-pounds of field gear. The elevation around Great Basin is over 5,000-feet and we have the opportunity work at elevations from 5,000 to 10,000-feet, in habitats from desert scrub to alpine forests. Students must bring appropriate field gear including appropriate cool to cold-weather clothing and footwear for working outdoors, including hip- or chest-waders, head-lamps and light sources for navigating at night, and basic personal items. All survey equipment for capturing and recording bats is provided, but students are encouraged to bring their own bat detectors, if available. Instructors will help students design recording schedules, refine settings, and troubleshooting for successful field use.

All students should be fully-vaccinated against COVID to attend and receive the rabies pre-exposure vaccine to handle and work with bats.

No prior bat-work experience is necessary. Students wishing to handle bats must obtain the rabies pre-exposure vaccination. Those already vaccinated can provide acceptable titre results or proof of booster that has been completed within 2 years from the start of class. More information about the current CDC rabies pre-exposure vaccination process is available HERE. Approximately ten-days prior to the start of class, students will receive a complete list of what to bring and how to prepare, but feel free to contact us at any time if you have specific questions about the class. A sample agenda for our field survey training classes is available for download HERE.  Complete White Nose Syndrome information, including the latest references about the disease in bats and important conservation and management steps to reduce its impact during this class, will be included in pre-course materials.

How to Register: Please register by ordering online. NOTE: To register multiple people, please checkout each person individually so that we can obtain the proper contact information for each participant. Use the Student Registration Details link to provide complete student information for our records.