Neda Mine Project

Saturday, July 29 – 8:00 AM to 11:00 AM

Location: Niagara Escarpment near Mayville and Horicon

We have been requested to help clear brush away from the entrance to this mine. The bats are experiencing difficulty swarming without predation as the brush is forcing them to swarm lower and in a more condensed mass.  Neda Mine, an abandoned iron mine located on the Niagara Escarpment near Mayville and Horicon, Wisconsin, is among the largest bat hibernacula in the Midwest. The property was acquired by the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee in 1976; at that time an estimated 75,000 bats were using the mine.  By 2005 up to 150,000 bats of four species (Little brown bats, Big brown bats, Eastern pipistrelles, and Northern long-eared bats) were using the hibernaculum.  The fungus that causes white-nose syndrome (WNS) in bats was first detected at Neda Mine in 2015. The disease was confirmed in the bat population in 2016, and the population of bats in the mine has declined.

The mine is also of geological interest; its cliffs provide an excellent exposure of the Niagara Dolomite and the only accessible exposure of the Neda Iron formation. Nearby, Neda Beechwoods lies on the escarpment and is a well-developed beech stand at the western boundary of beech.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:

We have been offered a place to stay nearby on Friday night because of the early start. Laurie Sullivan is offering supper and a stay over at her home (formerly a retreat center) set in an 18 acre prairie. If you are interested in staying overnight on Friday, please contact Alison Reinhoffer. She is the coordinator of this workday, and she will give you the details. Her cell phone is 414-837-8474.

For those not staying overnight, the meeting place is Ore Rd at Hubbard.

WHAT TO BRING:

Please wear sturdy workclothes and boots, bring a waterbottle, and work gloves, and safety glasses if you have them.