Patagonia grant to help Waterton bats

A local conservation group has won project funding from an international clothing brand.

The Waterton Biosphere Reserve Association will use its Patagonia Environmental Grant to help the save little brown bats in the national park.

The group’s members say it was a Waterton townsite store, Tamarack that nominated the project. The store’s connection with Patagonia goes back to the early 1980s when it became Western Canada’s first retailer to stock and sell the brand.

The grant, they add, will help launch a new program focused on building resiliency for little brown bat populations in the Waterton Biosphere Reserve.

Funds will support an outreach and education program to increase awareness about bats, and to gather bat information from local landowners.

A workshop will be held this summer to share ideas for stewarding bats in buildings and natural habitats.

The Waterton Biosphere Reserve Association is a local non-profit organization focused on biodiversity conservation and sustainable use of resources. The Waterton Biosphere Reserve was established in 1979 and the association has collaborated with local people for 40 years to integrate conservation values with traditional livelihoods.

Through its environmental grant program, Patagonia supports small organizations in many nations with directaction agendas to preserve and protect the environment. The groups selected are small organizations that work on projects with unique situations and approach issues with a commitment to longterm change.

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