Researchers believe that even if their cave count did turn up a few survivors, the naturalists might risk disturbing bats when they’re most vulnerable, said Gerda Nordquist, mammalogist for the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources. “Best to just leave them alone,” Nordquist said. “There’s just nothing left to find.”

Impact on Bats Minnesota

During a tour last month of Carleton College's 1.65 megawatt turbine in Northfield, Minn., project director Rob Lampa told a group of about 30 Winona County residents that the college had found no evidence of bird or bat kills in the first year of operating the 230-foot turbine ... As the group was leaving, Winona resident Marijo Reinhard pulled County Commissioner Dwayne Voegeli aside. "Look," she said, pointing at the ground, where she had spotted a small, brown bat dead on the gravel; A few feet away, she spotted another, also dead.

Impact on Birds Impact on Bats Minnesota