The foresters of the Bieszczady Mountains are not the most patient people, and since the construction of a bat tower in their area is not planned until two years from now, they decided to take care of their horseshoe bats a little earlier. The building of the old pinecone hulling house, belonging to the Baligród Forestry Commission, in the village of Bukowiec, has undergone a unique adaptation on a national scale (and not just) and has become what our towers are to be. Only… in a slightly less vertical way.
Horseshoes have had their summer colony here for a long time, but the deteriorating condition of the building every year posed a serious threat to its continued existence. In particular, the roof, covered with asbestos cement, was in urgent need of replacement. Thanks to the combined efforts and cooperation of RDOŚ in Rzeszów, the Baligród Forestry Commission and PTPP ‘pro Natura’, the building was completely renovated and the bats received an exclusive (!) permanent, safe shelter, which can now serve not only horseshoes and not only in summer.
The adaptation of the building in Bukowiec is a model example of the use of practically all previous experience of the Lesser Horseshoe Bat Conservation Programme in Poland. The original solutions of PTPP ‘pro Natura’ were used here, improved and developed in subsequent projects of the Association and in the activities of the Regional Directorates for Environmental Protection in Rzeszów, Kraków and Opole. Among other things, a pool filled with water from the roof was built to provide a watering hole and to increase the humidity in a room that can serve as a shelter during transitional periods. The interior of the facility on both levels is full of micro-roofs offering varied microclimatic conditions and protection from predators, while the structure of the gable wall is a kind of giant shelter for bats that prefer crevice roosts. Special boxes on the outside of the building, mounted under the roof eaves, also play this role. Horseshoe bat boxes and underfloor spaces have been fitted with stone slabs, which are ideal for this type of shelter.
The reconstruction of the building was financed mainly through the project ‘Protection of endangered bat species within the Natura 2000 network in the Subcarpathian Voivodeship’, carried out by RDOŚ in Rzeszów and financed by OPI&E. Whereas the development of all adaptation solutions to the bats’ requirements, as well as the nature supervision of the works carried out, were the exclusive responsibility of PTPP “pro Natura”.
The Baligród Forest District was the first of all forest districts in Poland to be awarded the Quality Mark ‘Land of the Lesser Horseshoe Bat’ already in 2017, testifying to its commitment to the active protection of the Lesser Horseshoe Bat. Now, in turn, with true Bieszczady fantasy and flair, it has shown in practice how – for the protection of bats – an old, decaying building, which elsewhere would most likely simply be demolished, can be adapted. In cooperation with PTPP ‘pro Natura’, the Directorate General of State Forests is completing a list of facilities on State Forest land (we wrote about this in the post To be continued from 18 December 2022) that can be used similarly, so now the only thing left to ask is:
Who’s next?! But those from Baligrod have set the bar really high….
Building in Bukowiec before conversion
Horseshoe kennel provides stable microclimate
A pool that provides drinking water supply and increases humidity in the shelter
Outdoor shelters
Anti-predator entrance via smooth pipe and rock tiles for gripping 
Boxes for crevice-dwelling species
The attic after renovation – boarding of the roof, subdivision of space and protective structures
Hollow blocks as additional shelter
Building in Bukowiec after adaptation
