Cave Access Management(grating)

---

Little brown bat (Myotis lucifugus)
Family:Vespertilionidae

Myotis lucifugus are known to use caves in the eastern U.S. with colonies numbering into the thousands, particularly during hibernation, (Fenton 1980).  M. lucifugus have been found using several of these structures in Colorado in modest groups of up to 14 individuals (Siemers 2002) and occasionally larger (Navo et al. 2002).  This species is typically more tolerant of disturbance than many species and is probably not impacted by most recreational caving assuming that they are not roused from hibernation and caused to burn excessive winter fat reserves.  Thus, gating efforts are rarely needed to ensure continued use of caves used by this species but, if installed incorrectly, could have detrimental effects to local populations.