Argos USA Corporation
Argos Newberry Plant, Bat Roost Project
Newberry, Florida, United States
Certified through 2025
Project Name
Project Type
Free-tailed bats
Bats
About the Program
Argos Corporation’s Newberry plant is an active open-water mine pit surrounded by 1650-acres of forested property in Newberry, Florida. The plant is located 30 miles west of Gainesville and has installed bat roosts across the forested habitat, supplying native bats with food, water and shelter. The team aims to increase native bat density by replacing artificial roosts lost when bats were evicted from administrative buildings now on-site, demonstrating the success of artificial roosts among natural roosts that exist at the historic mine pit.
Practices and Impacts
Argos Corporation’s Newberry plant is an active open-water mine pit surrounded by 1650-acres of forested property in Newberry, Florida. The plant is located 30 miles west of Gainesville and has installed bat roosts across the forested habitat, supplying native bats with food, water and shelter. The team aims to increase native bat density by replacing artificial roosts lost when bats were evicted from administrative buildings now on-site, demonstrating the success of artificial roosts among natural roosts that exist at the historic mine pit.
Practices and Impacts
- In 2017, the site erected successful bat roosts to increase the total bat density in the local area. The roosts are maintained by team members to repair structural damage as needed.
- The team receives technical advice and support from Lubee Bat Conservancy to improve habitat for the bats, and bat presence is monitored annually using visual observations and acoustic recordings to determine bat density.
