STUDY AREA AND METHODS 



Three groups of abandoned mine workings in the Philipsburg, Granite County, Montana 

 area were identified by Missoula Field Office BLM personnel for assessment as bat habitat prior 

 to reclamation activity. These included the Russian Gulch Mine (2 adits) above Rock Creek 

 about 1 1 miles WSW of Philipsburg (T6NR15WS8NWSE; 5200 ft elevation), the Frost Creek 

 workings (5 adits) just SE of Philipsburg (T7NR13WS30SE and S31NW), and the "Cliff Creek" 

 workings (7 adits, 1 shaft), also just SE of Philipsburg in the next drainage north of Frost Creek 

 and south of Camp Creek (T7NR13WS30SW); elevation of workings in the Frost Creek and 

 "Cliff Creek" groups ranged between 5600 and 6000 ft. The last two groups of workings exist 

 among a confusing clutter of other old mining activity on patented claims, therefore site 

 designations follow those provided by BLM personnel (Dave McCleerey and Mindy Mason) as 

 shown in Fig. 1 (Frost Creek workings) and Fig. 2 ("Cliff Creek" workings). 



Mine workings were visually inspected for bat spoor (guano, insect parts, bats 

 themselves). Configuration and size of portals were recorded and notes taken on entrance 

 stability. Where deemed safe and suitable, mines were entered and inspected internally. If 

 possible, mine air temperature and relative humidity were recorded at measured distances from 

 portals using a Bacharach sling psychrometer. Air movement and direction were also noted, and 

 extent of underground workings was measured using a meter tape. 



Ultrasound electronic bat detectors (ANABAT II; Titley Electronics, Ballina, Australia) 

 were used at workings that appeared to have greatest potential for use by bats, or where for 

 safety reasons open workings were not inspected internally. These units are sensitive to 

 broadband ultrasonic calls common in bat vocalizations (usually 20-180 kHz). Calls are 

 captured and converted to an audible frequency, and recorded on magnetic tape for later analysis. 

 Detector units (consisting of a detector, timer/tape driver delay switch, and a voice-activated tape 

 recorder) were set up before dusk at mine portals (facing into the adit) and left overnight. 

 Recorded calls were analyzed on an IBM compatible PC using ANABAT ZCAM software. 

 Assignment of vocalizations to a particular species of bat is achieved by matching field 

 recordings with reference sets of calls or descriptions from the published literature (e.g., Fenton 

 et al. 1983, O'Farrell 1997). However, bat species can show significant variation in call 

 structure (Betts 1998, Barclay 1999), and flying bats were not actively tracked and recorded 

 (O'Farrell et al. 1999) to maximize quality and quantity of diagnostic sequences. Furthermore, 

 units were situated were they would record bats exiting roosts or flying near potential roosts. 

 Roost-exit calls and calls in high clutter tend to be fragmentary, lacking diagnostic features 

 necessary for species identification (O'Farrell 1999). Therefore, all species-level identifications 

 based on recorded vocalizations, where made during this survey, are considered tentative. 



Mist nets (50 denier, 2.6 m length) were deployed at dusk across mine portals where 

 deemed appropriate and left open for two hours. During this survey netting occurred only at the 

 Russian Gulch Mine. 



The databases at the Montana Natural Heritage Program were examined for bat records 

 from Granite County. These include museum specimens and other observations, and indicate the 

 potential array of bat species that could use abandoned mines in the survey area. A list of 

 database records is provided in the Discussion section of this report. 



