The Western Subterranean Bats Program

Conservation Issue

Abandoned mines throughout the United States provide homes for more than half of America’s bat species – some shelter as many as 1 million bats. Unfortunately, these old mines often pose threats to human safety. While these mines must be managed and the threats to public safety reduced, their loss would be a critical threat to America’s bats. And if mines are closed before being examined for use by bats, the bats can be entombed inside.

Despite greater awareness, largely due to BCI’s pioneering Bats and Mines Program, some government and private managers lack the resources to effectively address bats in mines over large areas. Bats, meanwhile, are losing their natural habitat due to human disturbance and urbanization.

BCI’s Western Subterranean Bats Program is based in our western office in Tucson, Arizona, to allow us to work more effectively with regional partners and address abandoned-mine roosts throughout the American West.