We are honored to be recognized for our efforts to secure the open mine portals on Ruffner Mountain from the public and to protect the bat habitats inside the mines.
Ruffner Mountain Conservation Director, Jamie Nobles, believes safety for the public and protection of the bat hibernacula are the two direct reasons that led to the gated mine portals. We have known for some time that bats were using the mines as hibernacula. In 2017, our first official bat surveys were conducted and the first cases of White-nose syndrome were confirmed in the Ruffner mines. The official survey gave evidence to the scientific community of the size of the population as well as a confirmation that Pseudogymnoascus destructans (Pd) the White-nose syndrome-causing fungus had been found in this area. The bat survey to confirm Pd in the bat population in the Ruffner mines increased the need for limiting access in order to reduce human transmission.
The completed bat gates and the presence of Pd in a man-made environment, which supported bat hibernacula presented a unique opportunity for scientific research to combat this deadly disease. Researchers from Bat Conservation International (BCI) conducted a Fungal treatment efficacy study in 2018-2019 inside one of Ruffner's gated mine portals.
Currently, we are investigating seasonality and potential swarm timings of bat usage with acoustic sampling (with BCI) as well as conducting annual winter hibernacula surveys with the Alabama Department of Conservation and Natural Resources and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
