MANAGEMENT CONSIDERATIONS 



Three abandoned mine workings inspected during this 1999 survey offer real or potential 

 habitat for bat use. These include the Russian Gulch Mine, the Frost Creek adit #4, and the 

 'Cliff Creek" adit #6 Each would be suitable for gating with a bat-friendly design However, if 

 monetary resources are limited for reclamation activity, the gating option should be reconsidered 

 None of the workings had evidence of recent bat activity, and only one site (Russian Gulch 

 Mine) had any complexity to the underground workings This latter site is one mile S of the 

 Silver King Mine, which offers even better bat habitat and was in use at the time it was surveyed 

 in July 1997. Highest priority sites should include known or potential maternity and/or 

 hibernation roosts (Turtle and Taylor 1994). However, even smaller workings could provide 

 important roosting sites for bats during migration. Although lack of recent bat spoor in the three 

 best workings indicates that they are currently used by few, if any bats, each could be used in the 

 future 



For the "Cliff Creek" adit # 6, lack of current use is likely a result of the cable netting, 

 which should be replaced with a bat-friendly gate or grate (e.g., Turtle and Taylor 1994, Dalton 

 and Dalton 1995). A similar gate/grating design could be used at the Frost Creek adit #4. Both 

 sites are adjacent to areas with relatively heavy human activity. Any design used in these areas 

 will need to withstand the onslaught of determined gate-busters. Portals at both sites are in fairly 

 stable bedrock, which should allow secure anchorage of gates. A gated culvert system, like that 

 used by the Mine Waste Cleanup Bureau of the Montana Department of Environmental Quality 

 (Hendricks 1999), would be most appropriate at the Russian Gulch Mine, where the slope 

 surrounding the portals is unstable and more likely to slump. If bat-friendly reclamation activity 

 is conducted at this mine, both portals should be left open to maintain airflow through the mine 



The remaining accessible mine workings can be closed with little likelihood of negatively 

 impacting the local bat fauna. 



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