How Strategic Mitigation Delivered Habitat for Endangered Bats

When Mountain Valley Pipeline, LLC faced unavoidable impacts to sensitive wildlife from its 300-mile natural gas pipeline through West Virginia and Virginia, they needed a trusted partner to design and deliver a large-scale mitigation solution.

The Conservation Fund stepped in to administer the $18 million Mountain Valley Pipeline Mitigation Fund, created in collaboration with the West Virginia Division of Natural Resources (WVDNR), to offset impacts on federally endangered Indiana and northern long-eared bats, as well as migratory birds.

One of the fund’s first and most impactful achievements was the protection of the Greenville-Saltpeter Cave complex in Monroe County, WV — a National Natural Landmark and critical habitat for multiple imperiled bat species. In 2023, The Conservation Fund strategically acquired two adjacent properties totaling nearly 300 acres and encompassing five major cave entrances, securing the future of this unique ecosystem.

After completing the acquisitions, The Conservation Fund transferred ownership to the nationally accredited West Virginia Land Trust for long-term stewardship. Together with the WVDNR and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the Land Trust is now implementing a comprehensive management plan, which includes a groundbreaking ultraviolet light treatment program to combat White-nose Syndrome — one of the biggest threats to bat survival nationwide.