๐ Summary
A former iron mine in North Carolina, which operated from the 1820s to the 1930s, now provides a winter shelter for five bat species, including rare and endangered ones. The Southern Appalachian Highlands Conservancy has purchased 320 acres around the historic mine to protect its underground tunnels, recovering forest and wildlife habitat. The move strengthens earlier conservation efforts to safeguard bats from habitat disturbance and white-nose syndrome, a deadly fungal disease.