Conservancy fundraising to buy batcave(s)

Caves in Kickapoo home to three endangered species

For a La Crosse conservation group, rescuing a bat population means keeping people away from them.

That’s why the Mississippi Valley Conservancy says it’s admittedly going slightly outside its normal mission to buy an 83-acre site near Wauzeka, Wis.

The group wants to put the caves at the Kickapoo Indian Cavern off limits to commercial spelunking in order to protect three threatened species of bats that make those caves their home.

The MVC is in the middle of a $435,000 fundraising effort to buy the site. They’ve just received a $10,000 grant from the John C. Bock Foundation to help with that fundraising.

The goal is to not make it completely off limits. The conservancy says some guided tours will still be allowed for educational purposes.