Participants may arrive August 10^th or August 11^th. Trapping will occur on August 11^th, 12^th, and 13^th. Participants will travel home on August 14^th.

Registration is required. Please complete the attached registration form and return with payment in the form of a check to:

Tom Counts
Bankhead National Forest
PO Box 278
Double Springs, Alabama
35553.

Early registration is encouraged as the 2008 Bat Blitz is limited to the first 60 participants.

Tom Counts (tcounts@fs.fed.us) and Allison Cochran (jacochran@fs.fed.us) can be reached at the Bankhead National Forest, 205-489-5111, for additional information about SBDN's 2008 Bat Blitz.

Camp McDowell (http://www.campmcdowell.com) in Nauvoo, Alabama is the Episcopal Church Camp and Conference Center for the Diocese of Alabama. It boasts over 1,000 acres of beautiful forests, canyons and waterfalls typical of the Bankhead National Forest in Northwest Alabama. The Forest Service has reserved motel style rooms at Camp McDowell for the Blitz. You do not need to contact Camp McDowell to reserve accommodations. Team leaders will be offered single rooms, while other participants will share double rooms. Rooms at Camp are air-conditioned, have private baths, and linens are furnished. Additionally there are common areas with meeting areas/living rooms and kitchens. Kitchens may not be fully equipped with dishes and utensils. You should plan to bring your own towels and toiletries.

RV and tent camp sites are also available on Bankhead National Forest near Camp McDowell at Clear Creek Recreation Area. Information is available at http://www.fs.fed.us/r8/alabama/recreation/index.shtml and reservations can be made at www.recreation.gov. Before making reservations for tent camping, consider Alabama's average August temperatures and the prospect of day-time sleeping. If you plan to bring an RV to Clear Creek, contact Tom Counts or Allison Cochran at Bankhead before reserving your spot on www.recreation.gov.

Three meals (a late breakfast, early dinner, and an after-netting "midnight meal") will be available at Camp McDowell. Please let us know if you have special dietary needs.

Directions to Camp McDowell may be found on their website (http://www.campmcdowell.com) . Birmingham and Huntsville are the closest airports. At Camp McDowell, we will walk whenever possible as parking is limited. We will carpool to netting sites to minimize the number of field-going vehicles each night. Some personal vehicles will be needed to transport teams to netting sites.

Camp McDowell offers many opportunities for resting and playing. Lots of porches to sit on, tennis courts, hiking trails, a swimming pool, and canoes are available to our group. Additionally, we will offer a few organized field trips in and around the Bankhead National Forest. Members of the Huntsville Grotto (home of the National Speleological Society) plan to survey Bankhead caves during the days and welcome the assistance of Blitz volunteers. A special treat for participants arriving on Sunday, August 10 will be our trip to see 300,000 gray bats emerge from Sauta Cave National Wildlife Refuge (www.fws.gov/sautacave/).

North Alabama offers a variety of opportunities for outings on your own. The Bankhead National Forest includes the 25,000-acre Sipsey Wilderness Area with over 46 miles of hiking trails and fishing and early spring canoeing opportunities on the Sipsey Fork Wild & Scenic River. Bankhead offers numerous historic sites, scenic waterfalls, a shooting range, and boating, fishing and swimming at recreation areas on Lewis Smith Lake. In Decatur, Wheeler National Wildlife Refuge is a must see. In Huntsville, youÕll find the National Speleological Society headquarters, botanical gardens, and the US Space & Rocket Center. In nearby Tuscumbia and Florence, you can visit the Alabama Music Hall of Fame and the birthplaces of Helen Keller and W.C. Handy. If you are traveling through Birmingham, the Birmingham Civil Rights Institute and Sloss Furnaces National Historic Landmark are not to be missed. North Alabama is rich with caves, both commercial and agency owned. Russell Cave National Monument, Cathedral Caverns State Park, DeSoto Caverns, Rickwood Caverns and Three Caves are within a few hours of Blitz headquarters. Visit www.alabamamountainlakes.org for more tourism information.

Cell phone reception is spotty (at best) in the area. An emergency contact number will be provided before the start of the Blitz.

Essential Items

1. Light jacket and/or Rain jacket/gortex
2. Pillow (some available in cabins, but bring your own just in case)
3. Towels & washcloth
4. Toiletries including soap
5. Boots or sturdy protective footwear
6. Headlamp
7. Flashlights Ð critical for fieldwork and navigating Camp trails at night
8. Prescription medications
9. Hardhat or Caving Helmet

Suggested Items

1. Hip boots or waders
2. Gloves for handling bats, if your rabies titer is current
3. Insect repellent
4. Allergy meds/cream (poison ivy/oak, insects)
5. Sun screen
6. Water bottle
7. Coffee cup
8. Cooler
9. Shower shoes (e.g., flip-flops)
10. Batteries/battery charger
11. Digital camera
12. Day pack or grocery sack
13. Bandanas
14. Hand Sanitizer
15. Kitchen utensils/cooking items as desired