Partnership honored by National Park Foundation

ats and visitors in Big Bend National Park, Texas, are better off following the 1995 installation of habitat-preserving batgates over dangerous mine openings at the abandoned Mariscal mercury mine. The new closures allow free passage of bats, are much more effective at excluding humans, and are more in keeping with the historic fabric of the site. In April 1996, the National Park Foundation, the Congressionally chartered nonprofit fundraising partner of the National Park Service, recognized the partnership between the National Park Service and the Railroad Commission of Texas that led to the completion of the innovative project. Presented by NPS Director Kennedy in the Rayburn House Office Building, the award went to Linda Dansby (NPS Southwest Support Office), John Burghardt (NPS Geologic Resources Division), Mike Fleming (Big Bend National Park, now retired), and Mark Rhodes (Railroad Commission of Texas) for their roles in restoring bat habitat, protecting wildlife and cultural resources from human disturbance, and improving public safety.

Dansby, who is the NPS Intermountain Region Minerals, Oil and Gas, and Geologic Resources Program Leader, was the principal coordinator for the Mariscal project. She coordinated resource and engineering surveys and wrote the environmental assessment (EA). Fleming, then Environmental Protection Specialist at Big Bend, circulated the EA for public comment, completed the NEPA process by writing a finding of no significant impact-decision record, and coordinated contractor operations at the site. Burghardt, a geologist with expertise in abandoned mine closures and bat conservation issues, assisted park staff in inventorying the mine openings and identifying hazards. He also provided technical oversight with Fleming during the implementation of the contract. The $177,000 batgate construction and installation contract was funded by the Railroad Commission of Texas, Division of Surface Mining and Reclamation, through a cooperative agreement arranged by Geologic Resources Division staff. Rhodes, who is Assistant Division Director of the Abandoned Lands Section of the Texas Surface Mining and Reclamation Division, obtained state funding from Title IV provisions under the Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act.

According to Dan Taylor, North American Bats and Mines Project Director for Bat Conservation International, "the Mariscal Mine closure project is one of the most extensive, innovative, and ecologically important mine closures ever undertaken in North America." The project was completed in a timely fashion and within budget, largely due to excellent coordination by the four honorees. Reflecting on the award, Dansby said that "Mariscal Mine is a wonderful success. With over 10,000 abandoned mine hazards in the national park system, we have many opportunities for similar partnership projects." She also observed that the "National Park Service has experienced great support from states in closing mine openings." This is certainly true in Texas where the Mariscal effort spawned a similar project in 1996 in Guadalupe Mountains National Park, also funded by the Railroad Commission of Texas.

Kemp's Ridley returns to Padre Island

Resource specialist receives Mather award

Retiring superintendent knows the value of resource management

Air quality at Big Bend is an international challenge

Director honors natural resource stewards

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This material is from Natural Resource Year in Review--1996, published by the National Park Service, U.S. Department of the Interior, in May 1997 (publication D-1182) http://www2./YearInReview/yir/yr_rvw96 /chapter8/npfaward.htm
Last Update:8/20/2002