Wildlife Protection

Keeping It Simple: Easy Ways to Help Wildlife Along Roads

Preserving tree canopy along river means more insects for bats

Federally endangered gray bats forage for insects along Calfkiller River next to State Route 111 in White County, Tennessee. So when the highway needed to be widened and a few trees removed, the Tennessee Department of Transportation limited the number of trees that could be removed along the stream. Maintaining the tree canopy helped keep the stream water temperature in a range tolerable for the midges, mayflies, stoneflies, craneflies, and other aquatic insects on which the area's gray bats feed.

--Apr 25, 2003

Deedee Kathman, (615) 253-2472 or R.Deedee.Kathman@state.tn.us

Photo by Brian K. Brasher, FHWA, Tennessee Division

Tree canopy along Calfkiller River

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On or Along Waterways - Tennessee