Sometimes the best solution to protecting a cave is to build a cave gate

on it. The designs and specifications of the American Cave Conservation

Association and Bat Conservation International should be followed, as

outlined in the booklet "Bats and Mines", available from BCI. Strong, 

angle-iron, air-flow bat gates can be used for many species of bats, as

well as protecting other cave values that are threatened. Not all species

of bats can tolerate a cave gate. The half-gate and tube-gate designs

(pictured below) were built for maternal colonies of Gray bats, Myotis

grisescens, who usually will not fly through a full gate. Other species,

like Mexican free-tailed bats, do not tolerate gates at all and we must

use other means of protection. Gates are only one tool used in cave

protection, and they must be maintained and checked often. We must

not forget to properly manage the land around the cave to maintain

a natural hydrology and ecology.

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