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Show Mammoth, Bowers Creek Caves Open PANGUITCH LAKE -Mammoth and Bowers Creek Caves, located east of Mammoth Creek Road on Cedar Mountain, are now open for the public to enjoy, says Acting Cedar City District Ranger Donna Owens. The Forest Service recently decided to close the caves in winter to protect Townsend's . big-eared bats that hibernate there. With the departure of the bats in the spring, the caves will be open annually from May 1 to Sept. 30. "Interrupting hibernation cost the bats a lot of energy, and can result in death," says Lydia Allen, wildlife biologist for Cedar City Ranger District, i "These two caves are among the few in Southern Utah that the bats use to hibernate, so it's important that the cave environment environ-ment be protected during the winter hibernation period." Allen says in some cases bats have been intentionally disturbed dis-turbed and even killed. Mammoth Cave is a lava tube cave with five entrances and over 2100 feet of passages. Bowers Cave is a lava tube cave accessed by a ladder. It has about 1000 feet of passages. People with questions can contact the Cedar City Ranger District at 435-865-3200. |