Artificial hibernacula are…

Artificial hibernacula are NO solution to the loss of natural hibernacula and necessary habitat.

I have reviewed a research article, entitled "Thinking Outside the Box: A Review of Artificial Roosts for Bats", Wildlife Society Bulletin 38(4): 741-751;2014; DOI 10.1002/wsb.461

While some of the study data appears somewhat 'hopeful', there are too many 'unknowns', regarding factors such as roost 'microclimate', rate of colonization with respect to different species, plus a cautionary note on p. 747, specifically: "Thus although artificial roosts are almost universally considered positive for conservation, they may undesirably affect species composition. LESS THAN 5% OF BATS HAVE BEEN DOCUMENTED TO USE ARTIFICIAL ROOSTS; but almost a quarter of bat species are threatened (Mickleburgh et al. 2002)."

Knowing this, HOW can Ontario ever meet the requirements of the Endangered Species Act, 2007, which includes providing an overall benefit to a protected species, which means improving circumstances for the species in Ontario -- where 'overall benefit' is defined as:
- more than “no net loss” or an exchange of “like for like”
- grounded in the protection and recovery of the species at risk
- must include more than mitigation measures or “replacing” what is lost

Ontario cannot meet the provisions of the Endangered Species Act, 2007, since artificial roosts have NOT been demonstrated to be effective in preserving, protecting, or maintaining myotis populations.