by PYoungbaer » Mar 1, 2014 9:57 am
Oh, boy. I get to register a personal opinion now, rather than an "official" one.
First, what surprises me about this announcement is that we haven't seen an immediate call by a certain overly-zealous organization for the immediate shut down of Mammoth and all other federally-owned caves in the country, as they called for years ago, and have continued to call for in the West. Are they asleep? Can't they figure out what to do? OK, enough of that.
I'm not surprised Mammoth has decided to keep the cave open. As Extremophile says, Mammoth has had a WNS plan in place for years now, and has been following it, so I am not surprised.
Wyandottecaver's assertion that their decision is money-based has some truth to it, but that's certainly not the entire reasoning. That said, I beileve Wyandottecaver is pointing out that in many instances with both federal and state agencies, all caves were closed in their jurisdiction EXCEPT the one giving tours and generating revenue. Look at Illinois, Iowa, and others for examples. And then there are the show caves. Wyandottecaver's point that if the decisions were biology-based, then the closures for many would have been the closures for all. It was hypocrisy, no question, and someone had to say the emperor was naked.
As I pointed out in the NSS response to CBD early on, closing Mammoth or Carlsbad would have a huge economic impact on their regions, and do little or nothing to contain the disease. We (the NSS) opposed that approach on both scientific and economic reasons.
Extremeophile is correct to point out the policies have varied by land managers. This has been true both agency-wide (as different federal agencies have different statutory missions), as well as regional and even local variations.
I also agree that looking in the past is generally not productive. However, we're still living with some of those past decisions, such as blanket closures by several of the U.S. Forest Service regions, or continued blanket closures by separate FS units where WNS saturation makes preventive closures entirely pointless, and surrounding private and state policies are totally different (Monongahela NF is one example). Looking forward with decisions driven by known science, but also common sense, is what's needed.
Kudos again to Extemeophile and others in the Colorado region for their work with the Forest Service, BLM, and state officials on a more flexible approach. Contrast that with the Forest Service Southeast Region, where the blanket closure order was extended. Still, even there, the regional TES (Threatened and Endangered Species) coordinator says he will accept permit requests. I just haven't seen any cavers interested in taking them up on it. That's probably due to the vast availability of caves on private land in the East, as opposed to the predominance of government-owned land in the West, but whatever - the invitation stands.
That said, areas like Arkansas, Kentucky, and Missouri, seem to be hot WNS regions this winter. I expect more of that. I also expect that no closure policy will do anything to change what the bats will do to themselves, but I doubt we'll change those local policies in those WNS-hot areas at this time.
The lead federal agency on WNS has been and continues to be the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Other than the National Wildlife Refuge system (and Fern Cave), they are not land managers. I am thankful for that, as their statutory mission is entirely biologically driven. They have no language guiding them to give the public access to and enjoyment of their resources - read caves - unlike the other agencies, which must balance various aspects of their mission statements.
USFWS is the author of the original cave advisory. It remains unchanged and out of date since its original distribution. They have been working on an update for years now. Indeed, I presented the NSS position on a draft back at the 2012 Madison WNS Symposium, as did others. The agency is using some convoluted, bureaucratic "structured decision-making" process that is about the most inefficient and undemocratic thing I have ever witnessed. It's an egregious waste of taxpayer money. I'm sure it pays the consultants they hire well, but serves them poorly. It's simply out of touch.
During the past year, they circulated (privately) another new "draft" to stakeholders. It's even more out of touch. Jennifer Foote, the new WNS Liaison for the NSS is on that Stakeholder Committee, and can share her perspective. All I can say is that if anything like the draft is issued, it will be roundly ignored. I'm sure it'll be issued with all the fanfare their publicity arm can muster, will be well-covered by the media, and will purport to be "national guidance" for the combined federal agency effort. Big whoop. As with the previous advisory, it is just that - advisory. Even the decon protocols took forever to get out, because there was no unanimity among the federal agencies. They were issued with caveats that local agencies could (and did) alter them. Yeah, so watch for that to be issued sometime - this year? next year? Who the hell knows, or frankly, cares.
By the way, just FYI, official National Park Service policy is that all caves on their lands are, and have always been closed. This is pre-WNS, and is their default position. To the extent they open caves (park tour caves like Mammoth, show caves within the parks, or wild caves) they are done with permits (edit: a ticket is a defacto permit). Might be simply a back-country permit, such as in Carlsbad NP, or something more specific. All depends on the cave. So, it was curious, for example, that when Great Smokey Mountains NP announced the closing of caves within that park, most cavers already knew they were closed. Any trips into them were already by permit only.
So, yes, Mammoth now has WNS. The park remains open. Tourists are educated about bats and WNS - that's a good thing - and, of course, about the cave itself. That's a great thing. Caves are wonderful things, as we know, and Mammoth is particularly so. They are told about decon and helping not to spread the disease, or not to disturb hibernating bats. That's a good thing. Then they have to walk on a bio mat to clean their shoes. That doesn't work or count as effective disinfection. The best that can be said for that is that it is a partial cleaning, which is, I suppose, better than no cleaning, but it is NOT disinfection. Does it help heighten awareness? Sure.
I also think that it instructs the public that cave visitation is possible, even with WNS present. That's actually an added bonus for cavers, as it helps build a public knowledge environment that caving doesn't have to be shut down. So, absolutely, keep Mammoth open. There is nothing to be gained by closing it, and everything to be gained by keeping it open.