Harford News

Harford County Environmental Advisory Board met Sept. 18.

Here is the minutes provided by the board:

Members Present: Paul Gartelmann, Tami Imbierowicz, Dennis Kirkwood, Doug Kopeck, Veronica Cassilly, Sally LaBarre

Ex-officio Members Present: Lisa Kalama- Health Dept (in place of Julie Mackert), Matt Kropp- Planning and Zoning, Jeff Schoenberger- DPW (in place of Joe Siemek)

Review / Approval of June 19, 2018 Meeting Summary

A motion to approve the June 19th meeting summary was made. The motion was seconded; the Board unanimously approved the meeting summary.

Bat Zen: Separating Fact from Fiction – Ms. Dana Limpert, Eastern Region Ecologist, Wildlife and Heritage Services, Department of Natural Resources

Ms. Limpert began the presentation by asking if members had a specific topic about bats that they’d like to focus on. Having identified no specific topic, Ms. Limpert stated some general knowledge about bats that most people do not realize, ie, the majority of bat groups are mother bats and their young, while males prefer to roost in cooler locations away from the females.

Ms. Limpert also addressed some common bath myths, asking members if they believed these statements to actually be fact, or if they were fiction. She affirmed that there are no Vampire Bats living in the United States and that bats do not actually swoop at people intentionally. To rationalize the swooping, she explained that bats catch insect prey by diving for flying insects, which are attracted to people and the lights around them. There is even an online video you can watch that shows the method a bat uses (in slow motion) to catch an insect, mid-flight. Bats only quench their thirst while in flight, so if you are in a body of water, it could be that the bats are trying to get a quick drink from the water surrounding you.

Some fun facts that were presented included the size range of bat species living across the world. The largest bat species on Earth is the Flying Fox, native to Asian countries with a wingspan of six feet! The oldest bat on record was 30 years old, which is very rare as bats only have one litter of young per year with a mere 40% survival rate. A very interesting fact to know is that many animals, including snakes, cats, hawks, owls, raccoons, and even some people in certain cultures eat bats. Some other facts Ms. Limpert shared included the cause of decline in bats throughout the United States. The main cause of bat decline in Maryland is primarily due to wind farms and White Nose Syndrome; a deadly fungal disease that covers the bats’ skin during hibernation.

Following the presentation, group members had the opportunity to ask some additional bat questions. Ms. Brittany Long of the Planning and Zoning Department inquired about the response to stopping the spread of White Nose Syndrome. So far, there has been little success in stopping the disease in the United States. Ms. Cassilly inquired about any research that might have been done regarding pesticide accumulation and its consequential affects in bats. Ms. Limpert informed the group that extensive research had not been conducted for such a study, although she feels the study would prove useful to scientists.

Departmental County Updates

Mr. Kropp reported that the final Open House would be held for the Green Infrastructure Plan (GIP) the following week on September 27, 2018 at Harford Community College. Public input will be sought at this Open House to be incorporated into the GIP.

Mr. Schoenberger reported that the Bear Cabin stream restoration project was recently completed. He also stated that the Bynum Run stream restoration project is currently under construction.

New Business

Ms. Cassilly provided background information on October’s guest speaker, whom will be leading a presentation and discussion about the State Forest Conservation bill that was not passed.

Ms. Cassilly expressed interest to the group in sending a letter to the County Executive with suggestions from the EAB based on discussions from the past year. Mr. Gartelmann said he would work on the construction of the letter to be reviewed by the group before sending.

Adjourn: Meeting was adjourned at 8:00pm.

https://www.harfordcountymd.gov/AgendaCenter/ViewFile/Minutes/_09182018-996