Abstract
Illinois Natural History Survey has undertaken a project producing documents that provide conservation guidance for listed species in Illinois for the Illinois Department of Natural Resources. The project is titled: Conservation Guidance for Species in Greatest Need of Conservation (SGNC) T- 96-R-001. The primary purpose of guidance documents is to provide various project developers/land managers with information on the species, how their actions may impact the species, and how they can minimize/mitigate/monitor those impacts. In addition, the documents may be useful for identifying research needs to direct various funds, as a first step towards recovery planning, or for informing the general public. We intend the documents to be comprehensive and inclusive of scientific and experiential knowledge of the species and its conservation. The documents incorporate information on current conservation efforts, conservation opportunities and research needs. Interviews with stakeholders were held to identify information that should be included in conservation guidance documents. We prioritized document production for species that were frequently the subject of Incidental Take Authorizations or were consulted on in the IDNR's EcoCat program. Initial literature reviews was conducted to produce first draft documents. Then a list of potential document reviewers, including academic taxa experts, conservation organizations, private consultants, and government agency staff, was compiled for each species. The documents underwent review and revision. What follows is the final document providing conservation guidance for Indiana bat, which was reviewed by 7 individuals.