Tongue River Cave Seasonal Closure Extended

The Bighorn National Forest announced Monday that Tongue River Cave will remain closed during the regular season and entry regulations will not be issued to the public until August 1 of this year. According to a Forest Service media release, in 2019, the Tongue River Cave was closed due to the discovery of a maternity roost of Townsend’s big-eared bat. In order to comply with standards in the 2005 Revised Bighorn National Forest Land Management Plan, Forest Service Officials were obligated to close the cave to human entry.

The closure allowed the bats to rear their pups undisturbed. Monitoring for the sensitive bat species occurred throughout last summer and will continue through July 31. Monitoring will determine the use of the cave by bats and will guide future cave management decisions. In addition to monitoring the use by bats,  it is known that vandalism and damage to the sensitive cave ecosystem is occurring. According to the Forest Service,  less than 10 percent of people that entered the cave had completed the mandatory registration and most people did not enter with the appropriate safety gear, nor the necessary skills.   In addition to the egregious damage from graffiti and trash, mineral theft is occurring in Tongue River Cave.  For many years, efforts to clean up litter and graffiti have been a standard; however, they continue to be an issue at Tongue River Cave.

Bighorn National Forest biologists, in partnership with the Wyoming Game and Fish Department, and other agency specialists are also monitoring the spread of White-nose Syndrome (WNS) and Pd, the fungus that causes it, by conducting bat surveys and environmental sampling in caves on the Bighorn National Forest. All other caves on the forest will open as stated under the order and do require the mandatory registration form that can be found, along with further information on caves, on the Forest website, which can be accessed with this story at sheridanmedia.com. For more specific information on the Tongue River Cave closure, you can contact the Forest Supervisor’s Office and Tongue Ranger District at 674-2600.