(Fredonia, AZ) – What comes to mind when someone mentions Pipe Spring National Monument? A Mormon fort, history of the Arizona Strip, Kaibab Paiute exhibits? How about bats and bugs?! All National Park Service units are charged with understanding and caring for the resources within their boundaries. While the primary focus of Pipe Spring National Monument is the cultural history of the area, there is also a significant amount of natural history within these 40 acres that need understanding and care. To date, natural history inventories have been conducted on birds, plants, mammals, reptiles, amphibians, and aquatic invertebrates. Numerous studies on the geology and hydrology of the area have also been completed. So what’s the deal with bats and bugs? For the last 2 years, in cooperation with the Kaibab Band of Paiute Indians, Pipe Spring has been working on a bat research project with Dr. John Taylor of Southern Utah University. This study will determine spatial and temporal bat activity, such as migration patterns and distribution across the Monument and the Kaibab Reservation. And just this summer Pipe Spring has embarked on an arthropod (bugs) survey with the help of Dr. Neil Cobb, Curator of the Colorado Plateau Museum of Arthropod Biodiversity, Department of Biological Sciences at Northern Arizona University, and his entomology students. This survey will yield data and information on the quantity and diversity of arthropod species found on the Monument. You are invited to learn more about bats and the bugs they eat at Pipe Spring on Friday, September 14, from 6 – 8 pm AZ (7-9 UT). The National Park Service cares for special places saved by the American people so that all may experience our heritage. Manager, Frank F. Hasbrouck Insect Collection at Arizona State University, sharing her love of bugs. Ms. Lee and other NAU students will also be collecting a variety of insect and arachnid (spider) specimens during the evening. Then when the bats begin to appear, Dr. Taylor from SUU and park rangers will be capturing them over the ponds. Please bring a lawn chair, flashlight, bug spray, and water to drink. Come out early (5 pm AZ, 6 pm UT) and visit the Pipe Spring National Monument Visitor Center and Museum. Regular entrance fees will apply - $5.00 per person 16 and older (younger are free). Interagency passes also are accepted and sold at Pipe Spring. Pipe Spring National Monument is 15 miles west of Fredonia, AZ on AZ 389, or 45 miles east of Hurricane, UT on UT 59 and AZ 389. For more information, please call Andrea Bornemeier at 928-643-710