Bureau of Land Management Volunteer Feature

Volunteers Assist the Townsend's Big-eared Bat

Volunteers in Idaho are giving the Townsend's big-eared bat an assist at two important bat wintering caves in Idaho. Both Owl and Gypsum caves provide critical winter habitat for the bat which has suffered dramatic population declines in the past few years. Monitoring at four major winter roosts in the Upper Snake River Districts has shown that Townsend's big-eared bats have declined an alarming 50 percent, from 2,871 animals to 1,489 in the last decade. Volunteers with the Gem State Grotto (GSG), a local chapter of the National Speleological Society, designed, built and installed vandal resistant bat gates at both Owl and Gypsum caves to increase protection for this BLM sensitive species. They donated 800 hours and saved BLM an estimated $15,000 in labor and contracting costs.

The 40 x 15 foot gate at Owl Cave is located 300 feet inside the cavern. Installment required nearly 30 tons of materials to be hand carried over boulders and rocks. The gate is constructed of 4" x 4" angle iron, reinforced by 1" x 1" iron "stiffeners" -- materials that are prohibitively heavy and awkward to position and weld into place. Each angle iron section was custom cut, ground smooth, and welded together to fit the cave passage dimensions. Vertical steel tubing, and ceiling, wall, and floor anchors were installed to provide additional strength and stability. Work took place during weekends so that the volunteers' normal jobs were not disrupted. Underground volunteer teams rotated work and rest periods, while surface teams ran camp, providing hot meals, snacks, and plenty of beverages during 16-18 hour workdays. The Owl cave gate was completed by 22 volunteers with no injuries or mishaps, a remarkable accomplishment. Shortly after the Owl gate was finished, the GSG rallied for the second cave gate project at Gypsum cave. Twelve volunteers worked long days to finish the gate in one weekend. These two gates will help BLM meet the mandate of the 1988 Federal Cave Resources Protection Act and Idaho's interagency Conservation Strategy for the Townsend's Big-Eared Bat.

Idaho BLM's cave resource management program has enjoyed a 21-year partnership with the Gem State Grotto (GSG). The GSG is a local chapter of the National Speleological Society, the world's largest organization dedicated to the exploration, conservation and study of caves. This remarkable partnership was founded in 1978 with the signing of a Cooperative Agreement (CA) for management of Pot O' Gold cave. This CA was later expanded to include a range of cave management actions, including inventory, monitoring, restoration, public education, and the design and construction of ecologically sensitive cave gates. The GSG has donated an average of 200 hours per year under this CA, for a total of 4,000 volunteer hours. With numerous accomplishments at minimal costs to taxpayers, this partnership is viewed as a model for federal cave programs around the nation.

For more information on this program, contact BLM's Paula Call, Shoshone Resource Area, Upper Snake River Districts, Shoshone, Idaho. (208) 886-7254