(WFRV) - Officials with the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (DNR) are encouraging residents to help bats during International Bat Week and to learn at an educational bat event statewide.

International Bat Week falls on October 24 through October 31, conveniently with Halloween, of course. The DNR says that bats are critical members of nature, providing significant benefits to the environment, economy and public health.

Bug-eating bats eat agricultural pests that help farmers and forest owners save money annually, and in Wisconsin, there are eight species of bats, four of which are state-threatened: • Big brown bat • Little brown bat • Northern long-eared bat (federally endangered) • Tricolored bat

The silver-haired bat is also of concern due to its declining population

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