Office of the Regional Executive for Biology - Central Region
 |
| About USGS / Science Topics / Maps, Products & Publications / Partnerships / Education / Newsroom / Jobs |
Bureau of Land Management Research Needs
TITLE:
Mine Assessment for Bats in Southern Montana
SUBMITTING BUREAU: Bureau of Land Management
Originating Office: Montana State Office
DATE SUBMITTED: May 21, 1996
BIN NUMBER: BLM11CR98
BRD REGION: Central
DESCRIPTION OF NEED: Within the state of Montana, approximately 5 species of bats are year round residents, with another 10 species being migratory/seasonal residents. Bats are an indicator of environmental health and provide several critical functions within the ecosystem.
In southwest Montana, caves are a limited resource for roosting/hibernaculum and maternity colonies, while mines are very abundant and provide in many cases suitable habitat. Although forests provide habitat for bats, mines/caves are probably the primary seasonal habitat of choice for the majority of species in Montana. With spelunking becoming an ever increasing popular sport, bats are moving from these areas to mines to avoid disturbance. In cases where cave resources are limited, mines are the preferred habitat.
With abandoned mine closures progressing currently at a slow rate, a gain in momentum of closure of these mines is expected. In other portions of the United States, a large percentage of the bat species utilize mines for roosts/hibernaculum and maternity sites. It is expected based on my mine/cave experience and observations here in southwest Montana that mines are a primary habitat for bats. Closing mines without the recognition of habitat in use or potential habitat can displace or extirpate resident and migratory populations.
The proposal is to inventory abandoned mines to determine the presence/absence, abundance and distribution of bats. Determination of seasonal usage, habitat requirements, and species present are a few of the ideas presented at this time. Other parameters can be evaluated, but this gives us a starting point.
MANAGEMENT PROBLEM WITH NEED:
BUREAU CONTACT: David Kampwerth, BLM Dillon Resource Area, 1005 Selway Drive, Dillon, MT 58725 (406) 683-2337
BRD PRIMARY CENTER: MESC
BRD CENTER CONTACT: Tom O'Shea
RESULTS OF BRD-INITIATED COMMUNICATION (FY99): During FY97 as BIN leader I developed and submitted a Species-at-Risk UPO proposal for the work, in collaboration with the Montana Natural Heritage Program (MTHP) and the BLM contact. The proposal was successful in competition and was nearly fully funded at $54,000. A Cooperative Agreement was developed with MTHP and approved by USGS Contracting in August of FY97. The MTHP initiated work by assigning staff, obtaining mine location data from several state and federal agencies, and beginning surveys of abandoned mine sites with acoustic sensors, mist nets, and searches of openings for droppings. I traveled to the Dillon Resource Area September 28-October 2 to join in conducting surveys and to meet with MTHP and the BLM contact to review progress and project organization.
In FY98 I travelled to Montana twice. Once was in winter to attend and evaluate a certified underground mine safety training program that all key participants completed. Then at the beginning of the 1998 field season I met with the new MTHP State Director and pertinent staff as well as the BLM contact to insure that work would progress smoothly (staff changes had occurred), and to assist with kicking off field techniques and identifications. MTHP conducted all subsequent field study, sometimes with the participation of the BLM contact, and we all remained in communication throughout the work. MTHP submitted an interim report with full results to date (a no-cost extension was granted to MTHP to allow completion of the final report and gathering of winter temperature and hibernacula information).
I believe we have successfully met this BIN. About 127 mines were visited for external surveys in 1997-98. We had sightings/captures of 52 bats at 17 openings/workings of 15 mines, involving 4 species, 3 of which were former Category 2 Candidates for listing. Echolocation detectors showed bat activity at < 40 mines. All sites were GPS-referenced during these efforts, and we developed a database on mine locations and characteristics for BLM. The database synthesized and improved upon the previous organization of information on mine locations and attributes for this region we obtained from several state and federal agency files.
DATE SUBMITTED TO REGIONAL OFFICE: December 18, 1998
PREPARED BY: Thomas J. O'Shea, Fort Collins Science Center, Fort Collins.
RESULTS OF BRD-INITIATED COMMUNICATION (FY98): During FY97 the BIN leader developed and submitted a Species-at-Risk UPO proposal for the work, in collaboration with the Montana Natural Heritage Program (MTHP) and the BLM contact, as the needed assessment directly involves six former Category 2 species. The proposal was successful in competition and was nearly fully funded at $54,000. A Cooperative Agreement was developed with MTHP and approved by USGS Contracting in August of FY 97. The MTHP initiated work by assigning staff, obtaining mine location data from several state and federal agencies, and beginning surveys of abandoned mine sites with acoustic sensors, mist nets, and searches of openings for droppings. I traveled to the Dillon Resource Area September 28-October 2 to join in conducting surveys and to meet with MTHP and the BLM contact to review progress and project organization. The work is on track. However, the bulk of the field work will take place in FY98.
DATE SUBMITTED TO REGIONAL OFFICE: October 31, 1997
PREPARED BY: Thomas J. O'Shea, Southern Rocky Mountain Ecosystems Section, Fort Collins Science Center, Fort Collins (970-226-9397; e-mail Tom_O'Shea@usgs.gov)
U.S. Department of the Interior | U.S. Geological Survey
URL: http://biology.usgs.gov/cro/98blm-11.htm
Page Contact Information:
tlwilliams@usgs.gov
Page Last Modified:
