Bat inventory and habitat evaluation of selected Idaho AML sites

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Abstract:

Idaho's bats serve to fulfill vital functions within the state's ecosystem. All Idaho bat species are insectivorous, helping to keep our agricultural crops, rangelands, and forest healthy. The distribution of bats in Idaho is based on the availability of forage habitat and roost sites. Suitable roost sites for maternity use or winter hibernation include caves and abandoned mines. Such sites may also be receiving use as migration resting points or as temporary day and night roosts. Eleven of the bat species present in Idaho are known to utilize abandoned mines as roost sites. Due to human safety issues, pressure has been mounting on state and federal land managers to permanently close old mines in Idaho and other western states. The most extensive closures have taken place under the federally funded and state administered Abandoned Mine Lands or AML programs. Thousands of abandoned mines on private, state, and federal lands have been permanently closed in the West without input from wildlife professionals. In many states, mines represent a substantial portion of the suitable roosting habitat available to dependent species such as the Townsend's Big-eared Bat. Such sites often serve as substitute habitat where recreational caving or vandalism has destroyed natural habitats. Closure of mines for hazard abatement has led to the loss of roosting habitat, and can trap bats inside if performed improperly leading to an accelerated decline of sensitive and endangered bat species. Field evidence gathered at selected Abandoned Mine Lands (AML) sites in Idaho indicates that bats are actively using mine locations currently slated for closures within the Lava Hot Springs and Sun Valley regions. The verified presence of bats within these mines calls for the use of appropriate closure methods to avoid entombing sensitive or endangered bat species while meeting the need to provide for public safety. The following report explores the value and risks of abandoned mine sites selected for closure activities due to public safety and liability issues.

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ANIMAL EF: BATS; ELECTRONIC FILE - ZOOLOGY: MAMMALS