Why are there no entries for caves in the Geographic Names Information System database?
Geographic Names Information System (GNIS) does include caves but the entries are not publicly available. In response to the 1988 National Cave Management Resources Act, Department of the Interior Regulation 43 (CFR Subtitle A, Part 37) forbids the release of information regarding the location of all caves on Federal lands. Currently, GNIS does not distinguish between features on Federal versus non-Federal lands, so all features classified as “cave” are blocked from public access.
Information regarding the names and locations of caves in GNIS can be requested in writing from the Secretary of the Interior. Each request will be analyzed on a case-by-case basis. Mail requests to:
U.S. Department of the Interior, Secretary of the Interior
1849 C Street NW
Washington, D.C. 20240
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Why are bats important? Why are bats important?
By eating insects, bats save U.S. agriculture billions of dollars per year in pest control. Some studies have estimated that service to be worth over 3.7 billion dollars per year, and possibly as much as 53 billion dollars per year. This value does not, however, take into account the volume of insects eaten by bats in forest ecosystems and the degree to which that benefits industries like lumber...