Bat Inventory of Muir Woods National Monument

Heady, Paul; Frick, Winifred

Muir Woods National Monument (MWNM) is home to the last remaining contiguous stand of old growth coast redwoods in Marin County. Stands of Douglass fir occur upslope from the main redwood grove and continue into Mt. Tamalpais State Park. Redwood creek, a small coastal stream, drains through the main redwood grove. The natural features of MWNM make it suitable roosting and foraging habitat for numerous bat species. Twelve species are likely or possible to occur in the Muir Woods National Monument (Table 1). Two of these species (Corynorhinos townsendii, Antrozous pallidus) are California Department of Fish and Game Species of Special Concern and five are Federal Species of Special Concern (Myotis yumanensis, Myotis evotis, Myotis thysanodes, Myotis volans, Corynorhinus townsendii). MWNM is visited by over 1.5 million people annually with a peak attendance in the summer months averaging 8,000 to 10,000 people per day. The intense tourist use of the monument warrants concern over of how the natural fauna may be impacted by human presence. The development of long-term monitoring and management strategies will hopefully allow for the co-existence of the natural fauna and human visitors.

Bat Inventory of Muir Woods National Monument

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