The potential introduction of SARS-CoV-2, the virus responsible for the COVID-19 pandemic, into North American bat populations is of interest to wildlife managers due to recent disease-mediated declines of several species. Populations of little brown bats (Myotis lucifugus) have collapsed due to white-nose syndrome (WNS), a disease caused by the introduction and spread of the fungal pathogen Pseudogymnoascus destructans (Pd). Throughout much of the United States and southern Canada, large colonies of the species routinely established diurnal roosts in anthropogenic structures, thereby creating the potential for direct human contact and cross-species disease transmission. Given recent declines and the potential for further disease impacts, we collected oral swabs from eight little brown bat maternity colonies to assess the presence and prevalence of SARS-CoV-2 by RT-qPCR analysis. Little brown bat colonies in Maryland (n = 1), New Hampshire (n = 1), New Jersey (n = 2), New York (n = 1), Rhode Island (n = 2), and Virginia (n = 1) were taken during May-August, 2022. From 235 assayed individuals, no bat tested positive for SARS-CoV-2. Our results indicate that little brown bats may not contract SARS-CoV-2 or that the virus persists at undetectable levels in populations of the Mid-Atlantic and Northeast during summer months. Nonetheless, continued monitoring and future work addressing other seasons may still be warranted to conclusively determine infection status.

Abandoned mines offer important roosting habitat for several species of bats throughout the western United States. Currently, abandoned mine reclamation programs are tasked with closing abandoned mines to ameliorate safety, health, and environmental hazards found in and around these sites. Without appropriate pre‐closure evaluations to determine use of mine workings prior to closure, bats that depend on abandoned mines may be negatively impacted. To mitigate impacts of abandoned mine reclamation on bats, surveyors typically conduct pre‐closure biological evaluations and recommend wildlife compatible closures (e.g., bat gates) for ecologically important sites. Due to hazardous conditions found in many abandoned mines, internal surveys cannot always be conducted, and external surveys are not reliable for determining underground habitat or inferring past, future, or potential use of mines by bats when they are absent during external surveys. The purpose of our study was to use internal mine surveys to examine relationships between abandoned mine use by bats and characteristics of the mine and landscape, including portal area and shape, number of portals, mine depth, elevation, proximity to water and land use type. We found that surface features including land use type, distance to water, and elevation were associated with bat use, as were several mine features including depth of workings and portal shape. To best conserve sensitive species of bats, it is essential that pre‐closure biological evaluations be as detailed as possible to enhance biological understanding of species' roosting associations and distribution throughout the landscape. Further information will best facilitate development of ecologically sound closure recommendations for abandoned mine openings.