CONCORD, N.H. (MyKeeneNow) New Hampshire wildlife biologists are turning to the public for help in monitoring the state’s struggling bat populations, inviting volunteers to take part in summer bat counts at barns and other outbuildings where bats roost.

The effort is part of the New Hampshire Bat Counts project, a citizen science program aimed at keeping tabs on bat colonies that have been hit hard by white-nose syndrome, a deadly fungal disease that has devastated bat numbers across the Northeast.

Officials from New Hampshire Fish and Game and UNH Cooperative Extension are looking for property owners who have bats on their land to participate in simple “emergence counts,” where volunteers observe and tally bats as they leave their roosts at dusk. Participants are asked to conduct at least one count in June and another in July.

To support the project, organizers are also offering educational sessions next month. A hands-on training will be held June 4 from 7 to 9 p.m. at the NH Audubon Massabesic Center in Auburn, and an online office hour via Zoom is scheduled for June 18 at noon for those with questions about the project.

Residents interested in joining the effort can learn more and sign up at wildlife.nh.gov.

For more information, contact Haley Andreozzi at UNH Extension at 862-5327 or Sandra Houghton at NH Fish and Game at 271-5679.