Throughout the winter, park biologists will monitor the site and collect population, ecological and behavioral data — information that resource managers will use to develop a long-term protection plan for bats. If winter data suggest that an extended closure would be best for the bats, the area might stay closed longer. 

Cave-dwelling bats are in dramatic decline throughout the nation, with the N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, finding declines as high as 99 percent in North Carolina over the past three years. The first confirmed case in the park was found in 2010, with some cave-dwelling bat populations in the park declining by 80 percent. 

The culprit, white-nose syndrome, causes bats to wake up from hibernation during the winter months. Waking up causes them to burn energy too quickly to last through the winter, and they soon die when forced to fly into frigid weather looking for nonexistent food. Humans are not susceptible to white-nose syndrome. 

The park is home to 11 species of bats, including the federally endangered Indiana bat and the Rafinesque’s big-eared bat, which is a state listed species of concern in both Tennessee and North Carolina. Bats play a significant role in maintaining ecological balance as the primary predators of night-flying insects. Biologists estimate that an individual bat can eat between 3,000 to 6,000 insects each night including moths, beetles, and mosquitoes.