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Problems from Abandoned Mines
Problems from Abandoned Mines
Deforestation
Deforestation
In some places, such as Vietnam, the cheapest way to get to underground resources is simply to burn down the forests on top of them. Once the forest has been burned away, it is much easier and cheaper for people to dig out the coal with heavy equipment.
Water Pollution
Water Pollution
Benefits of Abandoned Mines
Benefits of Abandoned Mines
Bat Conservation
Bat Conservation
"The estimated 500,000 abandoned mines throughout the United States present many potential dangers to human health and the environment; therefore, State and federal government agencies are tasked with reclamation and closure of these hazards through abandoned mine land (AML) programs. Yet many of these abandoned mines have become significant habitat for bats as they seek refuge from encroachment by human development." - Bat Conservancy International: Abandoned Mines
Benefits of Abandoned Mines for Bats
Benefits of Abandoned Mines for Bats
"Bats are attracted to mines because they mimic the safety and unique conditions of cave environments:
Mines may offer consistent temperatures and humidity that bats prefer for critical roosting periods such as giving birth to their young and hibernation.
Mines are often located in remote areas away from human development and typically experience low human disturbance.
Mines are abundant, widely distributed, and offer a range of physical conditions, making them critical components of the roosting landscape."
Key Issues
Key Issues
"Poorly conducted or inappropriate surveys, exclusions, and closures of mines put bats at risk of losing a roost or being trapped alive.
Abandoned mines represent a significant liability to owners and land managers; thus abandoned mine lands (AML) closure programs exist to remove the threat from the landscape. AML programs that do not operate in a bat-friendly manner risk destroying roosts and the bats that call them home."
District Heating
District Heating
Organizations & Programs
Organizations & Programs
International
International
Merlin Tuttle’s Bat Conservation (MTBC) "was founded by Dr. Merlin Tuttle. He has studied and photographed bats worldwide for more than 60 years. Merlin’s unique photography and communication first led to global appreciation of bats as safe, invaluable, even cute, and likable. No one has better demonstrated the power of combining captivating photos with sound science to win friends instead of battles for bats. Nor has anyone better demonstrated how conservation can benefit humans. Merlin’s legendary photos and experience provide invaluable guidance and inspiration that must be preserved and shared for future generations. He founded and led Bat Conservation International (BCI) for 30 years, then left BCI in 2009 and founded MTBC. MTBC is now Merlin’s sole source of support, both for his ongoing conservation efforts and for preservation of his priceless photo collection and legacy resources."
North America
North America
USA
USA
Bat Conservancy International: Abandoned Mines Project "partners with agencies including the Bureau of Land Management, U.S. Department of Defense, U.S. Forest Service, National Park Service, and state AML programs to identify significant bat habitat and ensure long-term protection. On average, our Subterranean Team members spend two weeks of each month in the field conducting biological surveys and mapping underground abandoned mines to assess bat habitat and recommend long-term protection of important bat roosts.
Our abandoned mines initiative is a long-term plan with enormous benefits for bat populations. We survey mines internally and identify features that represent significant habitat and/or contain evidence of bat use. We then make specific management recommendations for each mine and protect important bat roosts while keeping people safe from harm. Since the launch of our abandoned mines initiative in 2008, we have surveyed more than 8,000 mines. Over the next five years we are committed to surveying and protecting an additional 2,500 subterranean features that provide bat habitat."The Bureau of Land Management's Abandoned Mine Lands Program "is responsible for closure of physical safety hazards at abandoned mines on BLM-administered lands. While these hazards are controlled to ensure public safety, abandoned mines also provide critically important habitat for a large percentage of cave-dwelling bat species in the United States. Conservation of bats is extremely important due to their significant role as pollinators and as primary predators of night-flying insects, including many harmful crop pests.
To help simultaneously manage public safety and protect bat populations, for the last five years BLM's AML program has partnered with Bat Conservation International, an organization “dedicated to the enduring protection of the world's 1300+ species of bats and their habitats and creating a world in which bats and humans successfully coexist." Through an assistance agreement, BCI supports the AML program by completing biological surveys of abandoned mine shafts and adits prior to closure and by helping to manage AML's bat-centered research efforts."
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