Since 1980, over 80 percent of the Indiana bat population has disappeared. Bats help keep the ecosystem healthy. A nine-gram adult Indiana bat usually eats its weight in insects in a day. The springs and caves contain 17 salamander habitats, including three of the cave salamander. The springs provide aquatic habitats in an otherwise dry upland environment.
Several springs feed lowland wetlands.
Amazingly, Holnam's consultants found no threatened or endangered species on this huge tract of land. Someone else needs to review the site for threatened and endangered species. The Mississippi River Valley, like all large river valleys in the lower 48 states, is prime wintering habitat for American bald eagles. These mighty, predatory birds flock to the Mississippi River Valley in the winter. Apparently, the Corps forgot about the National Environmental Policy Act public announcement procedure, because Holnam had already began to develop this tract.