Post by L Roebuck on Feb 9, 2008 7:35:15 GMT -5
Repost From: Steve Stokowski
Dave and the NSS:
I take issue with the closure of the caves of the John Guilday Caves Nature Preserve, commonly called the Trout Rock Caves.. This closure has no stated scientific purpose and no criteria for it's end. It violates the first policy on use in the Management Plan for the property: "1. Hamilton, Trout, and New Trout caves will be open to responsible caving all year, except when the management committee closes one or the other for short-term scientific studies." MANAGEMENT PLAN for the JOHN GUILDAY CAVES NATURE PRESERVE
In addition, this closure is the second betrayal of cavers by the managers of the property. The first betrayal occurred in the early 1980's when some felt that closure would help bats. That closure betrayed the cavers who donated the money to purchase the caves. When the caves came up for sale, the explicit fund-raising statements by the caving group that purchased the property were that the caves were guaranteed to be kept open. When the caves were donated to the NSS, they were almost immediately closed to protect bats. It took the skill of Paul Stevens, then President of the NSS, to get the caves open again to cavers. He forced, yes, forced is the correct word, the scientific studies that might have proven or disproven that closure would increase the bat population. The conclusion from these scientific studies was that the closure of the Trout Rock Caves did not increase the bat population. Perhaps it takes a good betrayal every 25 years for us to remember again that the warm feeling that arises from saving bats through blanket closure of sport caves does not translate scientifically into anything. The bats live, breed, hibernate, and die for reasons outside of our control of the access to these caves. I recommend that our cave managers pay more attention to protecting the sport of caving.
Please disseminate this email to any other caving listservers
Steve Stokowski
NSS 14425
NSS Fellow
Caver directly affected by closure of the Trout Rock Caves
Dave and the NSS:
I take issue with the closure of the caves of the John Guilday Caves Nature Preserve, commonly called the Trout Rock Caves.. This closure has no stated scientific purpose and no criteria for it's end. It violates the first policy on use in the Management Plan for the property: "1. Hamilton, Trout, and New Trout caves will be open to responsible caving all year, except when the management committee closes one or the other for short-term scientific studies." MANAGEMENT PLAN for the JOHN GUILDAY CAVES NATURE PRESERVE
In addition, this closure is the second betrayal of cavers by the managers of the property. The first betrayal occurred in the early 1980's when some felt that closure would help bats. That closure betrayed the cavers who donated the money to purchase the caves. When the caves came up for sale, the explicit fund-raising statements by the caving group that purchased the property were that the caves were guaranteed to be kept open. When the caves were donated to the NSS, they were almost immediately closed to protect bats. It took the skill of Paul Stevens, then President of the NSS, to get the caves open again to cavers. He forced, yes, forced is the correct word, the scientific studies that might have proven or disproven that closure would increase the bat population. The conclusion from these scientific studies was that the closure of the Trout Rock Caves did not increase the bat population. Perhaps it takes a good betrayal every 25 years for us to remember again that the warm feeling that arises from saving bats through blanket closure of sport caves does not translate scientifically into anything. The bats live, breed, hibernate, and die for reasons outside of our control of the access to these caves. I recommend that our cave managers pay more attention to protecting the sport of caving.
Please disseminate this email to any other caving listservers
Steve Stokowski
NSS 14425
NSS Fellow
Caver directly affected by closure of the Trout Rock Caves
