Cave Spring Cave in Illinois is one of the most biologically significant caves in the United States, providing shelter to several endangered species. But illegal mining activity is threatening these species’ very survival. It is time for the US Fish and Wildlife Service to step in and save this fragile habitat.

The endangered Gray Bat may not be much to look at, but without it, huge numbers of agriculture-destroying insects would literally take over. Its survival is so important that the US Fish and Wildlife Service has even proposed purchasing all major caves where the bats are known to live. So for Martin Marietta and LaFarge, the owners of the limestone mine operating around Cave Spring Cave, to knowingly destroy parts of one of the last remaining gray bat maternity caves is simply indefensible.

Decades of environmental violations have been recorded at Marietta’s mine. At one point, an entire entrance to the cave was almost sealed shut with rubble. Blasting has rendered the cave's very structure unstable. It is time for the US Fish and Wildlife Service to do its job and stand up for these federally protected species.

We are calling on the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to stop ignoring illegal mining activity. Join us in demanding that they do their job and require Martin Marietta and LaFarge to follow the law and protect the endangered species of Cave Spring Cave.

The Endangered Species Act requires businesses to apply for a “take permit” if their actions will impact an endangered species. For too many years, Martin Marietta and LaFarge have mined the land irresponsibly, without such a permit, while the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has looked away. Several endangered bat species, and the last remaining Illinois Cave Beetle population, have suffered the consequences.

They may not be warm and fuzzy, but bats and beetles are extremely crucial to our ecosystem, and this cave is crucial to their survival on earth. This is why your support is critical in getting the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to do its job.

We are not trying to shut this mine down. It is important to this rural community, and protecting these animals won’t kill any jobs. The mine will be allowed to continue to operate; it will simply be required to do so with the cave’s preservation in mind.

We cannot afford the alternative. If Cave Spring Cave is destroyed, critical bat habitat will be lost and the Illinois cave beetle will become extinct. Please sign our petition calling on the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to require Martin Marietta and LaFarge to get a take permit.