Take a moment this week to consider a mammal that has struggled in this region in recent years: bats.

As the only mammal capable of true flight — the others all glide — bats are not just unique and fascinating but also extremely important members of our natural world, according to the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources.

“They are vital to many ecosystems and provide significant positive environmental, economic and public health benefits. For example, insectivorous (bug-eating) bats consume large numbers of agricultural pests, saving farmers and forest-owners billions of dollars every year,” the Wisconsin DNR states in a news release.

Which is why for International Bat Week, which fittingly extends through Halloween on Friday, the DNR has set a series of educational events across the state.

Of the eight bat species found in Wisconsin, four are state-threatened species – the big brown bat, little brown bat, northern long-eared bat (also federally endangered) and tricolored bat. Another, the silver-haired bat, is of special concern, meaning the population is declining and in need of conservation action, the DNR advises.

The decline of bats in Wisconsin is primarily due to white-nose syndrome, a disease caused by a fungus that attacks the bare skin of bats during hibernation each winter. The disease exhausts their energy stores and leaves them vulnerable to starvation before their insect diet becomes available in the spring.

Fortunately, after experiencing steep declines since 2014, when white-nose syndrome first arrived in Wisconsin, recent Wisconsin Bat Program survey counts show rebounding numbers of little brown bats at some significant roost and hibernation sites across the state.

According to DNR conservation biologist and bat program hibernacula specialist Jennifer Redell, many of these sites offer ideal conditions for little brown bats and were known to hold large numbers before white-nose syndrome arrived in the state.

“Due in part to those large aggregations, we are still seeing significant numbers holding on, and our annual counts of little brown bats keep increasing,” Redell said in the news release. “Most of those sites are former mines, and despite being relics of industry, it’s important that we recognize them as habitat critical to a significant proportion of the nation’s little brown bats. The sites need entrance stabilization and maintenance to remain accessible for these huge bat populations for generations to come.”

Despite the recent glimmers of population recovery in little brown bats, there’s still a long way to go. Hibernating bats are still stressed by white-nose syndrome each winter, and species like the tricolored bat and northern long-eared bat have not shown similar signs of recovery.

The DNR has scheduled 50 bat events across 34 Wisconsin counties; some have already taken place. To see a list of ones still to come, go online to https://batweek.org/home/event/.

The DNR also offers these tips to help backyard bats:

— Build and put up a bat house.

— Plant native plants that are foundational to a healthy backyard ecosystem.

— Maintain an insecticide and herbicide-free yard. They harm bats through their diet.

— Humanely exclude bats from homes and buildings.

Opportunities to volunteer and support bats include:

— Become a Wisconsin Bat Program volunteer and participate in roost or acoustic monitoring — go to https://wiatri.net/inventory/bats/.

— Sign up for email updates about bats and bat conservation at https://public.govdelivery.com/accounts/WIDNR/subscriber/new?topic_id=WIDNR_586.

Donate to the Endangered Resources Fund to support threatened and endangered species and habitat protection in Wisconsin. Go to https://dnr.wisconsin.gov/topic/EndangeredResources/endangeredresourcesfund.

For more information about bats, go to the Wisconsin DNR’s bat frequently asked questions webpage, https://dnr.wisconsin.gov/topic/EndangeredResources/batFAQs.