Arizona's batman works to save critters

PHOENIX — He may not be caped, but in the bat world, Jason Corbett is definitely a crusader.

Since January, the Arizona conservation biologist has taken on a specialized role that has him descending into mine shafts to ensure bats living underground don't become casualties of efforts to close abandoned mines across the Southwest.

"It's easy enough to exclude bats from mines. There's no reason for them to be entombed," said Corbett, who works out of Tucson as a coordinator for the nonprofit group Bat Conservation International. "It's easy enough to deal with."

As someone designated to stick up for the little — albeit furry — guy, the bat buff travels around Arizona and other states offering inspections and recommendations for bat-proof closures. He is getting more companies and agencies to agree that doing nothing would be senseless.

Bats occupy a very important niche as nocturnal predators. They help the ecosystem by eating insects, including pests that eat crops like cotton and corn.

Angie McIntire, bat management coordinator for the Arizona Game & Fish Department, said mines can house thousands of bats. They may only use a mine for a couple months but it could be during a critical time such as giving birth or feeding young.

Both McIntire and Corbett said there is no way to gauge how many bats may have been lost in mines. There is no official survey. But they've heard of such occurrences.

"I'm sure sites have been closed without any thoughts to bats or even knowledge they're in there," McIntire said.

Bat Conservation International first started a national bats-and-mines program about 12 years ago. It was only a couple years ago that officials decided it would be better to have a coordinator devoted specifically to the Southwest.

Corbett's mine visits are generally determined by when government agencies and groups approach him with a mine location. But sometimes he will learn about a site and initiate contact. The real work begins once he and a support team, usually a trio of land officials and wildlife biologists, decide to go in.