Don't forget that any TPWD action will effect only a tiny percentage of Texas caves.
Andrew G. Gluesenkamp, Ph.D. 700 Billie Brooks Drive Driftwood, Texas 78619 (512) 799-1095 [email protected] --- On Wed, 8/4/10, Logan McNatt <[email protected]> wrote: From: Logan McNatt <[email protected]> Subject: Re: [Texascavers] TPWD, bats, and cavers To: "David Ochel" <[email protected]> Cc: [email protected] List-Post: [email protected] Date: Wednesday, August 4, 2010, 12:23 AM David, et al., I'm not sure why the EO "010-005" is not yet posted on the TPWD website, because #s 001 to 007 are (except 005). Please understand that the biologists and other folks involved in the decision making process at TPWD are consulting with other experts, and are not considering issuing some kind of blanket order closing all TPWD caves. In fact, the Park Managers at Colorado Bend (Cory Evans), Government Canyon (Deirdre Hisler), Kickapoo Cavern (Mike Knezek), and Devil's Sinkhole (Mark Garrett) have been very vocal in their support of all the tremendous volunteer work that cavers have donated over decades. The Managers' input in the process of deciding which caves to close (or not) definitely carries weight. As does the input from a certain professional bat biologist named Jim who also happens to be a very active TSA caver. Keep in mind that the significant bat caves on TPWD properties have had restricted access for years, e.g. Government Canyon Bat Cave, Stuart Bat Cave, and Devil's Sinkhole. By far most of the work and/or recreational caving done on the TSA projects does not involve bat caves. As I said in my previous post, Gorman Cave is the only cave that has been closed so far, and that is because the bats have begun using the areas close to the entrance(s), and because guided tours were going into the cave. I personally trust all of the people mentioned above to make reasonable decisions based on all available information. I hope all of you are willing to give them a chance to do their job, and please refrain from wild speculations (which are of course exceedingly rare on this list). O:-) WNS is a complicated, expanding, and little-understood disease, so let's hope we all make the "right" decisions, even though we're not sure what they are. For me the bottom line is: Imagine Texas without bats. Sincerely, Logan ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ David Ochel wrote: > Hmm... > > It's missing from the list of executive orders on their website at > http://www.tpwd.state.tx.us/publications/executive_orders/ - I wonder > where on the TPWD site they intend to post the list of closed caves > that's mentioned in the order? > > Cheers, > David > --------------------------------------------------------------------- Visit our website: http://texascavers.com To unsubscribe, e-mail: [email protected] For additional commands, e-mail: [email protected]
