State agreement adds protection for Utah bats

SALT LAKE CITY — Two divisions within the state Department of Natural Resources are carrying out a cooperative agreement that formalizes protection for bats roosting in Utah's abandoned caves.

The Division of Wildlife Resources penned the agreement with the Division of Oil, Gas and Mining to solidify a process in place the last couple of years. It acknowledges the agencies have missions that may be at odds with one another.

The mining division is tasked with shoring up the state's estimated 17,000 abandoned mines to protect public safety. Wildlife resources does not want bat populations entombed and killed because of a mine closure.

"We have to make sure we carry out our mandate to protect the public and to safeguard and ameliorate hazards related to abandoned mines," said Luci Malin, administrator of the division's abandoned mine program. "At the same time, we want to make sure we are not endangering any bat populations."

A bat consultant has been hired to do a survey of mines, especially to determine if they are being used as "maternity wards," where females get together and have their pups in one location.

Colonies also cluster together to keep warm for hibernation in the fall, Malin said.

The agreement specifically targets uranium mines because of radiation hazards.

"We know abandoned uranium mines are not a good place to live — and so should we encourage that for bats? No, we really shouldn't," Malin said.

Utah has an estimated 18 species of bats, although there could be more.

"There is very little known about bats," said George Oliver, a research zoologist with the Division of Wildlife Resources.

"Bats are an extremely diverse group. The only group of mammals more diverse than bats are the rodents."

Bats are long-lived mammals — perhaps 40 or 50 years. Some feed only on fruit, or only on fish, or only frogs. None of Utah's known bat species feeds on blood, and some are so small they weigh just 10 grams — comparable to the weight of two nickels.

Some bats, when they leave their caves to forage for food, fly as far as 200 miles away in a single excursion, or they may stay as close as within one mile, Oliver said.

"It's like when people say, 'Save the whales,' what whale are they talking about? There are all sorts of whales," Oliver said.

Bat populations in general have been in severe decline over the last few decades, precipitating worldwide concern because of their critical role in the ecosystem.

Certain species of flowers depend on bats for pollination, and some bats are vociferous consumers of insects, with nursing females in particular gobbling up to their own body weight nightly.

Mine closures already have to follow strict environmental controls regulated by the federal government, and this state agreement adds a layer of protection for Utah's bats, Malin said.

"It's a step forward to try to figure out some basic guidelines when bat populations are present in these mines," Oliver added.

e-mail: amyjoi@desnews.com