Parks commissioners met May 21 after an earlier workshop, originally scheduled for May 7, was cancelled with no notice to the public. All commissioners were present with the exception of Cameron DeNoewer.
Director Justin Huss said that he received a letter from the Cave Research Foundation (CRF) that has, by way of expert caving volunteer Aaron Thompson, discovered tricolored bats in a large cave off Old Miner’s Rock Trail in Lake Leatherwood Park. Thompson spoke about entering the cave upon approval, finding a pool of water underneath, and locating the bats.
Because this cave entrance has about a 20-ft. drop, he recommended that Parks build a custom bat-friendly gate on the cave entrance to prevent humans from harming the bats and keep the public safe from falling. Estimated cost for raw material would be $4,000, and the CRF would be directly involved to ensure it does not prevent bat movement in and out of the cave.
The Tricolor bat (Perimyotis subflavus) population is threatened by white-nose syndrome, a disease responsible for killing large numbers of the bat species. There is a scientific petition urging Washington to place tricolored bats under the protection of the Federal Endangered Species Act.
Commissioners asked if there were any federal funds for which they could apply to build the cave gate, and there are none that the CRF is aware of, so the burden falls on Parks. After making commissioners aware of the situation, Thompson closed by asking for its involvement in bat conservation.
“Basically I am here today to see the interest in Parks in pursuing this type of thing,” he said.
“In the grand scheme of things,” Chair Bill Featherstone said, “it is not a lot of money and it’s very worthwhile, and this just needs to happen. It’s way overdue actually.” After 15 minutes of discussion, commissioners agreed unanimously to instruct Huss to work with the CRF to devise a way to construct the cave gate. It was noted that hikers need to stay on the trails, and access to the cave is not permitted without express written consent from the director.
Getting out of a rut
Commissioners held Public Comments first, and heard from a resident who had attended the Enduro events May 18-19 who asked the director to provide feedback to the trail rehabilitation since rain and Enduro traffic had taken their toll, causing ruts and unlevel terrain.
Huss provided no specific remedy, said he had only heard positive feedback from the event, and that if he needs to be made aware of a specific area, please do so. The resident asked who was responsible for the roads/trails, and Huss said there is a partnership between Parks and the event sponsors. However, Chair Bill Featherstone stepped in and said clearly, “We are ultimately responsible.”
The next regular meeting is scheduled for Tuesday, June 18 at 6 p.m. in the Auditorium.