Cave Gates
Why Cave Gates Are Important
Cave gates play a critical role in conserving fragile underground environments while ensuring public safety and responsible access. Many caves shelter endangered species, fragile mineral formations, or historic and cultural resources that can be permanently harmed by uncontrolled entry. Properly designed gates limit disturbance, deter vandalism, and reduce accidents, all while allowing natural airflow, water movement, and wildlife passage to continue. When caves are also important bat habitats, gates become even more vital, requiring careful engineering to protect sensitive colonies. This leads directly to the concept of the “bat-friendly gate,” a specialized design developed to safeguard both caves and the wildlife that depend on them. The ACCA pioneered the development of a style of cave gate which is the industry standard for protecting endangered bats.
What Is A Bat-Friendly Gate?
By David Foster, ACCA President & CEO
What exactly is a bat-friendly gate? Around 40 years ago, under the guidance of one of the ACCA’s founders, Roy D. Powers, Jr., the American Cave Conservation Association began working with organizations such as Bat Conservation International (BCI) and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to learn how to successfully build gates to protect endangered bats living in caves.
Gate construction is more complex than you might think. Build the gate in the wrong location and you change the cave’s microclimate. A temperature change of a few degrees might make the cave unsuitable as habitat for hibernating bats. Build the gate in the wrong way and you may see predation from animals such as snakes and raccoons increase. Make the bars too wide and humans can easily squeeze through. Make the bars too narrow and bats might refuse to use the gate. Put the gate in the wrong location and flooding might cause debris to stack up against the gate and block the cave passage. Put a solid door across a cave entrance and entire colonies of bats could perish … and this actually occurred at Coach Cave, near Mammoth Cave National Park, Kentucky.
These and many other concerns make it important that cave gating be done in the correct manner. Over the past 4 decades, the ACCA helped to develop an industry standard for cave gates. ACCA/BCI designs are now accepted by the U.S. Forest Service, Bureau of Land Management, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, National Park Service, many state agencies and conservation groups across the United States.
ACCA gates are protecting a substantial percentage of America’s cave bats, and their specific impact on various species. Anyone planning on building a cave gate should consult with ACCA, Bat Conservation International, or the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service before constructing it. More information can be found by checking out the Agency Guide To Cave and Mine Gates and additional resources which can be found online at CaveGators.com.
Above: Hubbard’s Cave, in Tennessee, is considered The Nature Conservancy’s foremost cave preserve. The cave serves as a hibernaculum for two federally endangered bat species: the Indiana bat (Myotis sodalis), and the gray bat (Myotis grisescens). Hubbard’s is the largest hibernaculum for gray bats in the State of Tennessee. ACCA led the effort to construct the world’s largest cave gate at Hubbard’s Cave In 1985 in cooperation with The Tennessee Nature Conservancy, the Tennessee National Guard, Bat Conservation International, The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the National Speleological Society. The gate was rebuilt and improved in 2006 under the direction of Roy D. Powers, Jr. Photo by: Jim Kennedy
The American Cave Conservation Association (ACCA) is a National 501 (c) 3 Nonprofit Organization.
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