The Durham Bat Mine was recently awarded a special designation as an Important Mammal Area or IMA. This designation is afforded to special natural areas in the commonwealth that meet strict guidelines for the presence of unique habitat that support important species of mammals. In this case…bats, over 8,000 of them, located in this abandoned mine in Durham Township.

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Some Background…
The specific term used to describe where bats live during the winter months is bat hibernaculum. This one is the second largest in the state with 8,000 to 10,000 recorded in a 1997 survey.

The bat hibernaculum is actually part of a larger protected area. This natural area is listed in the 1999 Bucks County's Natural Areas Inventory (NAI) as a Priority #1 site of state-wide and county-wide significance based on the uniqueness and exceptional high quality of the natural features it encompasses.

Approximately 296 acres comprise this entire natural area, of which 150-175 critical forested acres provide protection and vital habitat between the hibernaculum and the Cooks Creek and Delaware River corridors, for over 62 bird species, including 10 rare breeders, and for at least six species of bats, including two species of special concern in Pennsylvania.

Surrounded by nearly 300 acres of a gently to steeply rolling topography of woodlands and agricultural fields, the area consists primarily of forested, north-facing rocky slopes with numerous caves and abandoned mines. Both Mine Hill and Rattlesnake Hill supplied iron ore to the Durham Iron Works in the early 1800's. The abandoned mine has since been discovered to be home to a rare, fresh-water invertebrate, Prices's cave isopod and is also the second largest bat hibernaculum in Pennsylvania. Due to problems with vandalism and bat colony disturbances, Heritage Conservancy and the Pennsylvania Game Commission collaborated to install specially designed gates to exclude humans, while still allowing bats free access.

The Important Mammal Areas Project

The Important Mammal Areas Project, or IMAP, is a voluntary, grass-roots project with two goals: to designate areas in Pennsylvania that are important for mammal conservation and to help people learn more about mammals and their habitats.
IMAP is being carried out by a broad based alliance of sportsmen, conservation organizations, wildlife professionals and scientists. It is funded primarily by the Wildlife Conservation and Restoration Account, which is a federally-funded program administered in Pennsylvania by the PA Game Commission. For more information about IMAP, please click here.

So what does IMA designation mean??

The designation as an IMA provides unique recognition for the bat mine and highlights it's ecological value in the state to the public and other state agencies such as the PA DCNR and PA DEP in funding environmental projects.

READ MORE ABOUT THE ONGOING BAT TELEMETRY PROJECT BY CLICKING HERE.