Level 1 Bat Capture & Handling Workshop (PA) June 23-27, 2026

• 5 nights of netting at stream, cave, & forest settings
• Hands-on net, & trap setup and teardown 
• 1H, 2H, 3H type nets & various configurations for unusual situations
• Eastern bat ID & handling, measuring, and data management
• Field photography of bats for ID
• Minimizing exposure to WNS
• Small team experience
• Demonstrating combining acoustic monitoring with physical captures
• ~40 hours of contact time between lectures and field trips
• Level 1 class: suitable for those without prior bat netting experience. The focus is heavy on micro siting and trap handling. Participants must have rabies pre-exposure vaccination
• Already took a BCM/BatSS class? Discount available for those continuing education

Our course combines classroom discussions, hands-on demonstrations, and night-time field work designed to provide a solid foundation or great refresher in species identification, bat handling, netting, trapping techniques, and night vision observation. 

Dates: Tuesday-Saturday night June 23-27, 2026. Training begins promptly at 9 AM eastern time and will end at midnight Friday night.

Scheduled Lecture and/or Demonstration Topics: Daytimes include in-person classroom lectures and live demonstrations. For in-depth training on bat acoustic monitoring, you may also be interested in our Acoustic Monitoring Workshops.

Capture Techniques: 1H Mist Nets, 2H Mist Nets, and 3H Mist Nets, Harp Traps and Other Methods
Morphological Identification of Eastern U.S. Bat Species
Micrositing, setting, demobilizing, maintaining, and WNS decon
Monitoring Bats Using Video, Night-Vision and Thermal Cameras

Bat Acoustic Hardware and Software: We offer other workshop specifically for bat acoustic monitoring. Students are welcome to bring or their own or borrow BCM bat detectors as desired, but no formal instruction is on the agenda. Participants will be given a full working trial of the SonoBatLIVE software to use.

USFWS Letters of Recommendation (LOR): Those seeking LOR should be aware that FWS recommendation letters are intended to cover -all- aspects of bat survey fieldwork that only comes from field experience of hundreds of nights at various sites and project types far beyond what can be accomplished in 5 nights. BCM is happy to provide letters of completion upon request, and we have methods to track who handled what animal correctly. However, instructors usually cannot provide recommendations after this event.

Meeting/Lecture Location:  Ohiopyle, PA. This is an IN PERSON training.

Airport(s): The most convenient airport is Pittsburgh International or Morgantown, WV. 

Lodging: Lodging is not included in the cost of this training. Various lodging is in Ohiopyle but availability is challenging due to the town being a summer recreation hub. Other options are in nearby Farmington or Uniontown.

Meals:  At least 4 lunches are provided during this workshop. A number of food options are nearby, but are not open after the evening field trips. Coffee service will be available during daytimes.

Pre-course Preparation: Participants should be prepared to hike over uneven terrain, at night, carrying personal gear and up to 50-pounds of field gear. Students must bring personal field gear including headlamps, appropriate clothing, bat handling gloves, and footwear for working outdoors, and basic personal items. Insect repellent for chiggers, ticks, and mosquitos is strongly advised, and poison ivy is present. Some sites require working in knee-deep water, in thick mud; waders or other appropriate footwear is highly recommended. All survey equipment for capturing bats is provided.

Approximately 2-weeks prior to the start of class, students will receive a complete list of what to bring and how to prepare for class, but feel free to contact us at any time if you have specific questions about the class or how to prepare.

Prior bat-work experience is not required. Students wishing to handle bats must have obtained the rabies pre-exposure vaccination. The vaccine is at least two doses over several weeks that must be started at least two-months prior to class. Those already vaccinated must provide acceptable titre results or proof of recent booster. Those not vaccinated for rabies will not be permitted to handle bats, but may still take the course and gain bat ID and trapping experience.

How to Register: Please register by ordering online on this page. NOTE: To register multiple people, please checkout each person individually so that we can obtain the proper contact information for each participant. Student discount does not apply to consulting agencies. Registration is not refundable after June 10, but is transferable. 

All participants are expected to have personal insurance coverage. All participants are expected to sign a liability waiver and photo release at the start of the workshop.

Scheduled in-person Instructors:

John Chenger learned how to survey bats while at the PA Game Commission for ~10 years. He then formed BCM in 1998 to further evolve bat surveys, artificial bat roosts, capture gear, and training classes nationwide. 

Keith Christenson spent many years abroad studying bats and is a retired lead biologist from Sanders Environmental, a top bat capture consultant in the NE.

Todd Sinander is a Environmental Review Project Manager with BCM since 2010. Ask him anything about bat mist netting, radio telemetry, or acoustic monitoring.

Lori Chenger attempts to keep everyone on some kind of schedule, has real-world acoustic survey experience in at least 6 states. 

Andrea Rygel is a BCM biologist specializing in bat acoustics, mist netting, and radio telemetry projects across the Eastern US.