Gotham Canopy Project

Mapping, protecting, and growing the green spaces bats call home.

The Gotham Canopy Project protects and restores the trees and habitats that sustain bats across New York City and beyond. By conducting detailed tree inventories and habitat assessments, we identify critical roosting sites, monitor ecosystem health, and guide urban forestry and conservation efforts. This project blends science, data, and on-the-ground action to ensure that both bats and the city’s green spaces can thrive together.

Explore the Canopy, Protect the Bats

Trees are more than just city greenery, they are essential homes for bats, providing roosting sites, foraging grounds, and spaces for courtship and social activity. Through the Gotham Canopy Project, we conduct detailed inventories of tree species at our monitoring sites and assess the surrounding habitats to understand how the presence, or absence, of native trees influences local bat populations.

This research goes beyond data collection. By uncovering the relationships between bats and their arboreal environments, we equip land managers, conservationists, and our own teams with actionable insights to enhance urban and regional bat conservation strategies.

We invite the community to join us in this work. Volunteers, students, and citizen scientists can participate in tree inventories, habitat assessments, and data collection, helping to strengthen the connection between urban forests and the bats that rely on them. Together, we can foster thriving ecosystems where both trees and bats flourish, ensuring a greener, healthier city for all.

Drake et al. Diversity 2020, 12, 76; doi:10.3390/d12020076

Assessing Bat Habitats Across the City

The Gotham Canopy Project goes beyond tree inventories to understand and protect the habitats that sustain urban bats. Through comprehensive habitat assessments, we identify critical roosting sites, foraging areas, and landscape features that support bat populations—ensuring these environments remain safe and suitable for years to come.

Aerial Surveys with Drones

Using drones, our Urban Bat Lab can efficiently survey large or hard-to-reach areas while minimizing disturbance to sensitive wildlife. Aerial footage allows us to map habitat features, identify potential roosts, and assess foraging areas from above. Conducting surveys during the off-season, when foliage is less dense, improves visibility and supports proactive conservation planning.

Ground Assessments and Visual Inspections

On the ground, our team inspects trees, caves, and urban structures for signs of bat presence, including droppings, staining, and natural cavities. Trees with peeling bark, dead limbs, or cavities are prioritized, as these provide ideal roosting conditions. In urban areas, architectural details are examined to locate potential man-made roosts.

Habitat Feature Mapping and Vegetation Surveys

We catalog tree species and their distribution, identify water bodies, and evaluate vegetation types. Mapping landscape features such as cliffs, open fields, and streams helps us understand how bats navigate and forage across urban and natural habitats. Vegetation surveys track plant diversity, structure, and seasonal changes, giving insight into the microhabitats available to bats throughout the year.

Foraging Habitat Quality

To ensure bats have sufficient food resources, we assess insect populations and observe bat foraging behavior. By measuring the diversity and abundance of insects, we identify high-quality feeding areas that are essential for supporting healthy bat populations.

Through these combined efforts, the Gotham Canopy Project provides a data-driven foundation for habitat protection, urban forestry planning, and conservation advocacy—helping bats and the ecosystems they depend on thrive together.

Some Important Tree Species

  • Shagbark Hickory

    Shagbark Hickories, Carya ovata, make ideal summer roosting habitats for bat species, such as Little Brown Myotis, because of their loose, exfoliating bark.

  • Northern Red Oak

    Northern Red Oaks, Quercus rubra, have highly desirable foliage that makes great summer roosting habitats for species such as the Eastern Red Bat.

  • Eastern Black Walnut

    East Black Walnuts, Juglans nigra, provide sheltered and desirable roosting habitat for maternal colonies during summer months.

  • Eastern White Pine

    Eastern White Pines, Pinus strobus, provide dense foliage and protection that serves as ideal roosting habitat during summer months.

Native Deciduous Tree List

  • Black maple (Acer nigrum)

    Boxelder maple (Acer negundo)

    Red maple (Acer rubrum)

    Mountain maple (Acer spicatum)

    Silver maple (Acer saccharinum)

    Striped maple (Acer pensylvanicum)

    Sugar maple (Acer saccharum)

  • Black oak (Quercus velutina)

    Bur oak (Quercus macrocarpa)

    Chestnut oak (Quercus montana)

    Dwarf chestnut oak (Quercus prinoides)

    Northern red oak (Quercus rubra)

    Pin oak (Quercus palustris)

    Post oak (Quercus stellata)

    Scarlet oak (Quercus coccinea)

    Scrub oak (Quercus ilicifolia)

    Swamp white oak (Quercus bicolor)

    White oak (Quercus alba)

    Yellow oak (Quercus muehlenbergii)

    American beech (Fagus grandifolia)

    American chestnut (Castanea dentata)

  • Bitternut hickory (Carya cordiformis)

    Pignut hickory (Carya glabra)

    Shagbark hickory (Carya ovata)

    Butternut (Juglans cinerea)

    East black walnut (Juglans nigra)

    Mockernut hickory (Carya tomentosa)

  • American hophornbeam (Ostrya virginiana)

    Gray birch (Betula populifolia)

    Mountain paper birch (Betula cordifolia)

    Paper birch (Betula papyrifera)

    River birch (Betula nigra)

    Yellow birch (Betula alleghaniensis)

    American ironwood (Carpinus caroliniana)

  • Balsam poplar (Populus balsamifera)

    Big-toothed aspen (Populus grandidentata)

    Cottonwood (Populus deltoides)

    Quaking aspen (Populus tremuloides)

    Swamp cottonwood (Populus heterophylla)

    Black willow (Salix nigra)

  • Black cherry (Prunus serotina)

    Fire cherry (Prunus pensylvanica)

    Canadian serviceberry (Amelanchier canadensis)

    Downy shadbush (Amelanchier arborea)

    Intermediate shadbush (Amelanchier intermedia)

    Low shadbush (Amelanchier humilis)

    Mountain shadbush (Amelanchier bartramiana)

    Round-leaved shadbush (Amelanchier sanguinea)

    Smooth shadbush (Amelanchier laevis)

    Bilmore hawthorn (Crataegus biltmoreana)

    Brainerd’s hawthorn (Crataegus brainerdii)

    Common fireberry hawthorn (Crataegus chrysocarpa)

    Dotted hawthorn (Crataegus punctata)

    Frosted hawthorn (Crataegus pruinosa)

    Entangled hawthorn (Crataegus intricata)

    Large-seeded hawthorn (Crataegus macrosperma)

    Northern downy hawthorn (Crataegus submollis)

    Rough hawthorn (Crataegus scabrida)

    Scarlet hawthorn (Crataegus coccinea)

    Succulent hawthorn (Crataegus succulenta)

    Zigzag hawthorn (Crataegus irrasa)

    American mountain-ash (Sorbus americana)

    Northern mountain-ash (Sorbus decora)

  • Flowering dogwood (Cornus florida)

    Kousa dogwood (Cornus kousa)

    Pagoda dogwood (Cornus alternifolia)

    Silky dogwood (Cornus amomum)

  • Black ash (Fraxinus nigra)

    Green ash (Fraxinus pennsylvanica)

    White ash (Fraxinus americana)

  • American elm (Ulmus americana)

    Rock elm (Ulmus thomasii)

    Slippery elm (Ulmus rubra)

  • American linden (Tilia americana) – Malvaceae

    American persimmon (Diospyros virginiana) – Ebenaceae

    American sycamore (Platanus occidentalis) – Platanaceae

    Black locust (Robinia pseudoacacia) – Fabaceae

    Black tupelo (Nyssa sylvatica) – Nyssaceae

    Cucumber magnolia (Magnolia acuminata) – Magnoliaceae

    Tulip tree (Liriodendron tulipifera) – Magnoliaceae

    Common hoptree (Ptelea trifoliata) – Rutaceae

    Hackberry (Celtis occidentalis) – Cannabaceae

    Red mulberry (Morus rubra) – Moraceae

    Sassafras (Sassafras albidum) – Lauraceae

    Smooth sumac (Rhus glabra) – Anacardiaceae

    Staghorn sumac (Rhus typhina) – Anacardiaceae

    Winged sumac (Rhus copallinum) – Anacardiaceae

    Sweetgum (Liquidambar styraciflua) – Altingiaceae

    Yellow buckeye (Aesculus flava) – Sapindaceae

Native Coniferous Tree List

  • Eastern white pine (Pinus strobus)

    Jack pine (Pinus banksiana)

    Pitch pine (Pinus rigida)

    Red pine (Pinus resinosa)

    Scotch pine (Pinus sylvestris)

    Shortleaf pine (Pinus echinata)

    Virginia pine (Pinus virginiana)

    Black spruce (Picea mariana)

    Red spruce (Picea rubens)

    White spruce (Picea glauca)

    Balsam fir (Abies balsamea)

    Eastern hemlock (Tsuga canadensis)

    Larix laricina (Eastern larch)

  • Atlantic white cedar (Chamaecyparis thyoides)

    Carolina hemlock (Tsuga caroliniana)

    Common juniper (Juniperus communis)

    Eastern red cedar (Juniperus virginiana)

    Northern white cedar (Thuja occidentalis)

    Bald cypress (Taxodium distichum)

  • American holly (Ilex opaca) – Aquifoliaceae

    Canadian yew (Taxus canadensis) – Taxaceae