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Other
Federal Agencies Interested in Cave and Karst Management
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Bureau
of Land Management
by James
R. Goodbar - James_Goodbar@blm.gov |
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The
Bureau of Land Management (BLM) administers 264 million acres
of America's public lands located primarily in 12 Western States,
and has identified over 600 caves in all the states. BLM sustains
the health, diversity, and productivity of the public lands
for the use and enjoyment of present and future generations,
and is responsible for a wide variety of programs on public
lands including minerals, grazing, recreation, and managing
wildlife habitat. It is responsible for the leasing of Federal
oil and gas and geothermal minerals, and for supervising the
exploration, development and production operations of these
resources on both Federal and Indian lands. It is responsible
for solid mineral resources under Federal jurisdiction, including
coal and non-energy leasable minerals, hardrock minerals on
acquired lands, locatable minerals, and salable minerals. BLM
public lands provide visitors with a vast array of recreational
opportunities, and BLM strives to realize healthier and more
productive public lands through better informed citizens who
are willing to participate and assist in solving complex environmental
problems.
The BLM national cave/karst management program is coordinated
by a part-time position located in one of its field offices.
Each state has designated a cave/karst program lead that coordinates
the activities of that state. Local field offices that have
caves rely on an individual in their office to manage the cave
and karst resources as a collateral duty. Approximately 20 people
serve in that capacity.
The
BLM Cave and Karst Resources Management Program coordinates
with state and local BLM programs and is involved directly
with management decisions that may effect cave or karst resources.
The program carries out the direction provided by the Federal
Cave Resources Protection Act of 1988 and implements regulations
issued by the Secretary of the Interior (43 CFR, Part 37,
Cave Management) to:
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Protect sensitive, fragile, biological, ecological, hydrological,
geological, scientific, recreational, cultural, and other
cave values from damage; and ensure that they are maintained
for the use of the public, both now and in the future.
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Establish surface and subsurface management practices and
policies that ensure long-term protection for cave and karst
systems. Address cave and karst resources and issues in
all appropriate management plans including recreation, wildlife,
watershed or other multi-resource activity plans and, as
applicable, in NEPA documents.
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Ensure the listing of significant caves as provided by the
Federal Cave Resources Protection Act and its implementing
regulations, and ensure the confidentiality of cave locations.
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Promote consistency among Federal agencies with cave management
responsibilities, where appropriate; and facilitate the
efficient and effective exchange of information between
Federal, State, and local agencies, private organizations,
research institutions, and individuals concerned with the
management, protection, or scientific investigation of cave
resources.
The
objectives of the program are to:
- Identify,
evaluate, manage, and protect cave resources on public lands
for the purpose of maintaining their unique, nonrenewable,
and fragile biological, geological, hydrological, cultural,
paleontological, scientific, and recreational values for
present and future uses.
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Encourage volunteer involvement by qualified and experienced
individuals and caving organizations in cave management
projects, through the use of volunteer and cooperative management
agreements.
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Work closely with interested parties to identify and address
cave management opportunities and issues.
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Integrate the identification and management of caves and
their associated resource values into resource management
planning and management efforts, and avoid or minimize conflicts
between cave resource management and other surface and subsurface
resource management activities.
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Provide user opportunities that are compatible and consistent
with objectives set forth in Resource Management and Activity
Plans. These might include recreation, education, research,
or commercial activities, when those activities can be adequately
managed.
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Promote awareness among users and managers of caves on public
lands through development of informational and educational
materials about conservation methods and potential hazards.
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more information, go to the BLM website:
www.blm.gov/
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U.S.
Environmental Protection Agency
by Malcolm
S. Field - field.malcolm@epa.gov |
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The
mission of the U. S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is
to protect human health and to safeguard the natural environment—air,
water, and land—upon which life depends. Within EPA, the
Office of Research and Development (ORD) provides leadership
in science and engineering, and conducts most of the Agency’s
research and development. Through research and technical assistance,
ORD provides the scientific foundation for EPA’s regulatory
programs and decisions, assesses the state of the environment,
identifies new issues of potential concern, and provides information
and tools to support risk-based decisions. Environmental research
by ORD is conducted on all aspects of threats to human health
and the environment, and individual EPA program and regional
offices focus studies on selected aspects of environmental pollution.
In all cases, karst landscapes are investigated in the same
manner as other landscapes of different geologic origin, but
with an emphasis on recognizing the unique characteristics of
karst. Although EPA does not maintain a formal research program
directed at evaluating natural and man-made effects on karst
systems, EPA research at times must address the differences
of karst to ensure the best environmental protection possible.
Numerous laws, although not specifically directed at caves or
karst, can be used to protect cave and karst environments. The
Resource Conservation Recovery Act as amended by the Hazardous
Substance Waste Act (RCRA, 1976) strictly controls the generation,
transportation, storage, and disposal of “large”
quantities of hazardous wastes by maintaining a comprehensive
“cradle-to-grave” manifest tracking of the wastes
and requires the proper handling of municipal wastes. RCRA also
requires extensive remediation actions at all owner/operator
hazardous waste and/or municipal waste sites. Significant violations
result in large fines being levied against owner/operators of
the facilities. Where owner/operators of contaminated sites
cannot readily be located in a timely manner, the Comprehensive
Environmental Resource Compensation Liability Act (CERCLA, 1980),
commonly known as Superfund, requires remediation by EPA with
the provision for cost recovery from identified responsible
parties up to three times the actual costs incurred. Together,
these two programs greatly limit the impact of industrial contamination
on the environment. The Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA,
1976) strictly limits the quantity generated, handling and use
of, and disposal of toxic chemicals. The Water Program, an EPA
program that affords protections to the environment, strictly
limits the amount of waste-water discharges allowed to U.S.
waters, supports the designation of wellhead protection zones,
and provides for the delineation of sole source aquifers. Although
EPA has no specific guidance or policy on wellhead protection
in karst areas, their Office of Water acknowledges that karst
requires a different approach and some EPA regional offices
have recommended ground-water tracing for developing well-head
protection zones. |
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For
more information, go to the EPA website:
www.epa.gov/ |
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U.S.
Fish and Wildlife Service
by
Robert R. Currie - robert_currie@fws.gov
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The
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) is the principal Federal
agency for conserving, protecting, and enhancing fish, wildlife,
plants, and their habitats for the continuing benefit of the
American public. The FWS manages the 93-million-acre National
Wildlife Refuge System with more than 530 individual refuges,
wetlands, and special management areas. FWS operates 66 national
fish hatcheries, 64 fishery resource offices, and 78 ecological
services field stations, and enforces Federal wildlife protection
laws, such as the Endangered Species Act (16 USC 1531).
FWS Refuges were surveyed in the early 1990's to determine the
number of caves on Refuge lands. Sixty-two caves or cave-like
structures were identified, ranging in location and type from
a sea cave on the coast of Maine to wind caves in Arizona to
solution caves in Alaska. No staff are devoted exclusively to
management of caves and karst, but rather, this responsibility
is generally one of multiple tasks that refuge staff must accommodate.
The mission of the National Wildlife Refuge System is to administer
a national network of lands and waters for the conservation,
management, and where appropriate, restoration of the fish,
wildlife and plant resources and their habitats, for the benefit
of present and future generations of Americans. It is the policy
of the FWS to ensure that cave and other resources found upon
lands within the refuge system receive the protection needed
for their maintenance as healthy, fully functioning, components
of these systems. The primary goal is the protection of the
trust resources the FWS is charged with managing. Secondary
uses, such as recreation, may be allowed if they are compatible
with the mission of the National Wildlife Refuge System and
the individual refuge purpose.
It is the policy of the FWS to work closely with other Federal
agencies to ensure that they meet the consultation requirements
of the Endangered Species Act and the coordination requirements
of the Fish and Wildlife Coordination Act (1965). The FWS recognizes
that the most effective means of accomplishing the goals of
these programs is close and thorough cooperation throughout
the planning processes used by all agencies.
Caves and karst areas support many of the Federally listed,
candidate and special concern species the FWS is charged with
protecting under the Endangered Species Act. Several cave systems
have been purchased and incorporated into the National Wildlife
Refuge System to protect the rare species they support. Some
hatcheries, such as the Erwin National Fish Hatchery in Tennessee,
depend upon water from karst systems as a supply for their operations.
The protection of cave and karst resources is a high priority
for the FWS both on and off federal lands and the FWS will continue
to be actively involved in the protection of these resources.
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For
more information, go to the FWS website:
www.fws.gov/ |
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United
States Department of Agriculture
Forest Service
(USDA - Forest Service)
by Jerry
Trout - jtrout@fs.fed.us
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Cave
Management and Conservation Program:
Mission
Statement
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The USDA - Forest Service (FS) recognizes
that within their managed federal lands lie thousands of caves
and caverns. Each cave is different, and every cave may contain
resources that are non-renewable and unique. Each cave has
the potential to be a priceless laboratory for medical, biological,
geological, hydrological, and other scientific studies. Knowledge
of the positive contributions from the study of cave environments
for the existence and betterment of mankind and global environmental
concerns is only in the embryo stage. The FS acknowledges
that decisions and plans made each day, nationally and locally,
regarding cave management and conservation, could have a direct
impact on the true value to be derived from the expansion
of knowledge of cave environments.
The cave management and conservation policy
of the FS is dedicated to the preservation of these resources,
and to the best possible methods of management of them to
insure that the resources and resources benefits existing
therein remain unchanged, or with minimal acceptable change,
to future American generations.
In order to effectively manage caves, karst
areas, and cave resources of FS lands, the FS is dedicated
to cave conservation and management principles that will best
insure the successful execution of their responsibilities.
These responsibilities include, but are not limited to:
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| A.
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Enactment
and continuing enforcement of the Federal Cave Resources
Protection Act and related federal regulations. |
| B. |
Continuing
and consistent monitoring for, and periodic review of,
cave resource needs under: |
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the
National Environmental Policy Act and related federal
regulations. |
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the
Endangered Species Act and related federal regulations. |
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the
Archaeological Resources and Protection Act and
related federal
regulations. |
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the
Antiquities Act and related federal regulations. |
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the
Water and Soil Conservation Act and related federal
regulations. |
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| C. |
Continuing
and consistent monitoring for, and periodic review of,
mandated and
practical safety regulations and concerns for anyone entering
a FS cave. |
| D. |
Continuing
and consistent monitoring for, and periodic review of,
any foreign,
state, or local regulation or action which may affect
FS cave resources, such as air
quality, discharge and runoff control, dumping, leach
fields, oil and gas leasing,
drilling permits, or mining patents, permits, or contracts.
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| The
FS is committed to the effective management and conservation
of caves, karst, and cave resources of FS lands. In order to
provide the best possible protection to these resources, ongoing
research and action will occur to explore, identify, and employ
the best cave management resources and techniques that are available.
The FS is committed to insuring that obligations are met in
a professional, conscientious, and consistent manner. Among
the avenues that will be pursued are: |
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Explore,
identify, and obtain all possible available federal funding
to manage and protect caves and their environments under
the Federal Cave Resources Protection Act and other applicable
federal regulations. |
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| Explore,
identify, and obtain program funding from other non-federal
sources, as prevailing federal law permits, in order to
manage and protect caves and their environments. |
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| Through
open continuing written communication, seek and obtain
assistance from responsible organizations and individuals
to best provide services, materials, ideas, funding source
suggestions, and other concepts beneficial to the development
and success of FS cave management policies and programs. |
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| Periodical
review of internal responsibilities, regulations, policies
and processes to provide current information, ideas, and
concepts to the task of cave conservation and management. |
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Each cave under FS management and protection
is unique, and may require the employment of unique cave management
methods and techniques in addition to generalized cave management
policies and programs. The FS recognizes this differentiation
and will ascribe suitable unique conservation measures as
capably and practically as possible to assure the best protection
to each cave.
The FS encourages a peer review process of
their cave management policies and programs by knowledgeable
and responsible organizations and individuals, both from within
the federal government and without. The FS will seek and encourage
constructive comments on those policies and programs, and
will endeavor to utilize all such constructive suggestions
to the benefit of cave resource preservation.
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| For
more information, go to the FS website:
www.fs.fed.us |
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National
Cave and Karst Research Institute
by
Zelda Chapman Bailey - zelda_bailey@nps.gov |
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Congress
established the National Cave and Karst Research Institute
within the National Park Service in 1998. The Institute has
no land management responsibilities but will form partnerships
to foster research and education focused on caves and karst.
Congress stipulated that the Institute will be located in
New Mexico, near but not within Carlsbad Caverns National
Park, that it may form a wide range of partnerships, and that
the Institute’s Federal expenditures must be matched
by an equal amount of non-Federal funds. The Institute’s
mission is to facilitate speleological science, enhance public
education, and promote environmentally sound cave and karst
management. In its formative stages, the Institute already
is serving as a focal point for national issues in cave and
karst science among the Federal agencies and with other public
and private partners.
To accomplish its mission, the goals of the Institute are
to:
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Further the science of speleology through coordination and
facilitation of research.
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Serve as a repository and provide analysis and synthesis
of speleological information.
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Foster partnerships and cooperation in cave and karst research,
education, and management programs.
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Promote and conduct cave and karst educational programs.
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Promote national and international cooperation in protecting
the environment for the benefit of caves and karst landforms
and systems.
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Develop and promote environmentally sound and sustainable
cave and karst management practices, and provide information
for applying these practices.
A
small staff will focus on science, education, and information
dissemination. Research is unlikely to be conducted by Institute
staff, but rather, the staff will facilitate focusing a national
body of research and educational programs through a grant
process. Another important function of the Institute will
be to amass information that can be easily accessed by scientists,
educators, and land managers and to synthesize research findings
into regional- and national-scale interpretations.
The Institute is being established by the National Park Service
through partnerships with the City of Carlsbad and the New
Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology. These partnerships
will expand to include other universities, cave and karst
interest groups, agencies, and organizations. The Institute
initially will be guided by three voluntary advisory boards:
a Federal Advisory Board to address agency involvement and
partnership with the Institute; a Management Advisory Board
to provide a management and business perspective, and guidance
on sources of non-Federal funding; and a Science and Education
Advisory Board to address research and educational priorities,
evaluate the merit of research and education grant applications,
and evaluate the progress and results of funded projects.
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For
more information, go to the NCKRI website:
www2.nature.nps.gov/nckri/ |
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U.S.
Geological Survey
by
Eve L. Kuniansky - elkunian@usgs.gov, Randall
C. Orndorff - rorndorf@usgs.gov, and Stephen
J. Walsh - steve_walsh@usgs.gov |
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| The
U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) serves the Nation by providing
reliable scientific information to describe and understand the
earth, to minimize loss of life and property from natural disasters,
to manage water, biological, energy, and mineral resources,
and to enhance and protect our way of life. USGS scientists
conduct research and studies related to water resources in major
karst aquifers; carbonate geology and geochemistry; biological
habitat at caves, springs, and karst wetlands; application of
surface and borehole geophysics in karst areas; and contaminant
transport in karst aquifers. The USGS, Regional Aquifer Systems
Analysis program (1978-1995) assessed the major water supply
aquifers across the Nation. Many of the productive aquifer systems
are in carbonate rocks, some of which are karstified. The USGS
National Water-Quality Assessment Program (NAWQA, 1991-present)
collects water-quality and biological data from selected watersheds
to assess the Nation’s drinking water supplies. Some of
the NAWQA study units are in karst areas. The USGS continues
its efforts to refine geologic frameworks in karst areas, to
develop new technologies and methods for mapping karst, to investigate
geologic controls on sinkhole collapse and hydrologic controls
on sinkhole flooding, to model water flow in karst aquifers,
to collect biological demographic and population data for habitat
assessment, and to provide these data and information to other
agencies. The USGS formed a Karst Interest Group (KIG) in 1999
to encourage and support interdisciplinary collaboration and
technology transfer among USGS scientists working in karst areas,
Participation in the KIG and the workshops it sponsors has expanded
to include other federal, state and local agencies, and private
groups. |
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For
more information, go to the USGS website:
www.usgs.gov/ |
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Cave
and Karst Program
Geologic Resources Division
National Park Service |
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