Today, the park is an enthusiastic partner in bat conservation. The historic entrance to the cave was recently fitted with a proper bat gate. Research is now underway to determine what must be done to restore the system ' s original airflow and microclimate, which are so essential to bat survival. Restoring an undocumented cave climate that has been modified countless times over more than 185 years is an extremely difficult undertaking. The known preferences of hibernating bats may in fact provide one of the only insights to what is needed.
Efforts are also underway to reestablish bats in areas from which they long have been excluded.
Long Cave, also in Mammoth Cave National Park, lost its formerly large population when a gate and concrete wall restricted airflow and prevented the cooling required for bat hibernation. In the summer of 1995, at the request of BCI and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the park replaced the structure with one friendly to bats. A bat-friendly gate has also been built to protect the Dixon Cave entrance, located very near the historic entrance to Mammoth Cave. This fall, Mike Adams, the Park ' s Chief of Interpretation, began rerouting tourists so that at least one of the bats ' former hibernation areas will be free of disturbance from cave tours. The park is also cosponsoring a new workshop with BCI and Western Kentucky University.