by gindling » Jan 31, 2013 12:05 pm
Here is the synopsis of a meeting between the Northern Rocky Mountain Grotto and the USFS Region 1. It is interesting to see how all the regions have different rules and regulations. This has a lot to do with the "C" word and how the different entities define it.
Here is the meeting synopsis from Thursday’s meeting with USFS Northern Region (Region 1) staff, hosted by Eric Johnston.
1. The Forest Service (FS) would like to partner with the grotto on information gathering on bats and cave use as part of their risk abatement strategy with respect to White-Nose Syndrome (WNS).
2. The FS recognizes the grotto’s expertise in caving, and has neither the knowledge nor the resources to make informed management decisions in the region without the help of cavers.
3. The FS would like to formalize an agreement (Memorandum of Understanding, (MOU) or similar) with the grotto which, in exchange for information gathering and conformance to current decontamination procedures, would allow grotto-sanctioned trips to continue with an online “registration” process. Free, self-issued wilderness permits which are required in many US wilderness areas was offered as an analogy to the FS proposal. With respect to the “C word” (closure), it was offered that wilderness areas that require self-issued permits are technically “closed to cross-country travel, except by permit.” This example is to show that the FS’s use of the word “closure” should not be taken adversely, as hikers consider the wilderness areas “open,” although technically, again, they are “closed…except by permit.” This was part of a discussion of semantics (the “C” word) that are required to be used by the FS in their policies. Red Watson offered that the word “registration” is preferred over “permit” if possible, which was duly noted. Another perspective is that if grotto members want continued access to the region’s caves, we can keep our access in exchange for attesting to decontamination and reporting bat sightings. Finally, one mentioned grotto members should be doing that anyway.
5. An exception for exploration-related discoveries will be considered in the agreement. Since a large portion of the grotto membership routinely finds and explores virgin caves in the region, the agreement will include a provision for such activities, provided that decontamination procedures are followed and a subsequent report on bat observations is submitted.
6. The focus of the proposed agreement is on information gathering and risk mitigation. It is not the intention of the FS to keep us out of caves, rather it is their full intention to gather, as quickly as possible, information of bat use in the region’s caves while mitigating the risk of WNS transmission by utilizing the national decontamination policy.