New bat box in place at City Park in Monessen

It helps keep the bats away from residential areas and gives them a safe place to stay.

A bat box recently installed at Monessen’s City Park was provided by CNX Bat Stewardship to address a problem affecting residents.

Councilwoman Karen Cosner, director of parks and public property, announced the bat box at an Aug. 27 meeting. CNX Gas employees built and installed it Sept. 4, in addition to three bluebird boxes.

Daniel Bitz, director of permitting for CNX, said the boxes were installed to protect Monessen’s existing bat population. Bitz stated bats often find homes in attics and spaces within houses, but the bat box will provide a safer alternative roosting space.

Bat boxes often house both healthy bats and bats suffering white nose syndrome. Caused by the fungus pseudogymnoascus destructans, it’s an infection in bats that causes them to burn through vital fat reserves and water stores when no food is available, leading to death.

“The City Park installation is part of CNX’s broader bat stewardship effort to provide additional roosting habitat and help residents understand the importance of bats,” Bitz said. “The box offers an alternative to homes and attics, while supporting conservation efforts for bat populations affected by white nose syndrome.”

CNX employees constructed the seven-chamber bat box as part of a team-building project using plans from the Pennsylvania Game Commission to build them across the state. The boxes are constructed from aluminum and hemlock wood, equating with long-term box durability and less need for box maintenance.

“Each box has a rough-cut hemlock interior and an aluminum outer shell designed for long-term durability and minimal to no maintenance,” Bitz said. “The box is then mounted on two treated wooden posts in a carefully selected location with adequate sunlight and clear access for bats.”

In addition to providing an alternative roosting place, the box will also limit the potential for residents to accidentally harm or displace the bats from their roosting spots. The box will also allow residents of Monessen to become more aware of the health struggles and epidemics that affect bats.

“The goal is to give bats a suitable place to roost that is more urban, helping reduce the potential for conflicts with residents,” Bitz said. “In developed areas where natural roosting options can be limited, a bat box provides another option. Bats also play an important role in the local ecosystem by eating insects. The City Park installation gives us an opportunity to explain that benefit and raise awareness of the challenges bats face, including white nose syndrome.”

Bitz said the box projects across the state reflect CNX’s Appalachia-First vision and micro-Today I Learned (TIL) approach of having a tangible, local resource that impacts the city in a positive way. With the box constructed, Monessen’s bat population will have greater potential to safely co-habitate with residents.

“CNX provides and installs these boxes at no cost to community partners,” Bitz said. “This project reflects our Appalachia First vision and our micro-TIL approach to community investment: tangible, impactful and local. Residents can help by observing bats from a distance and leaving the box undisturbed.

Residents interested in supporting bats can also explore whether their property is suitable for a bat box, using Pennsylvania Game Commission guidance on design and placement.”