December 02, 2008
Bowling
Green, Ky. - Western Kentucky University, through its Hoffman Environmental Research Institute, recently purchased Cave Spring Caverns in northern Warren County with a grant from the Kentucky Heritage Land Conservation Fund (KHLCF).
WKU plans to establish the Cave Springs Caverns Educational Preserve on two acres north of Bowling Green, near the town of Smiths Grove. The property not only holds the cave entrance and surrounding sinkhole but is home to native plants and animals, at least one endangered bat species, and important historical and archaeological resources.
The acquisition of Cave Spring Cavern by WKU was endorsed by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, National Park Service, Mammoth Cave National Park, the Kentucky Museum of Anthropology, and the Office of State Archaeology due to its outstanding conservation value and potential for educational benefits. The effort represents a partnership between the Hoffman Institute and the Center for Biodiversity Studies, both within WKU’s Applied Research and Technology Program (ARTP).
“This process illustrates the benefits of developing partnerships across university departments and, in this case, between cooperating ARTP centers,” said Chris Groves, Hoffman Institute Director and, with Pat Kambesis and Albert Meier (biology), author of the successful grant proposal to purchase the property. “The educational benefits will extend beyond the cooperating centers to other WKU departments, as well as beyond the university.”
The KHLCF provides support, through a grant process, to protect land for conservation purposes. In this case, the KHLCF Board gave strong consideration to the fact that the cave is known to be a summer habitat for the federally endangered gray bat. WKU scientists will work with bat biologists to monitor the bats and determine if management strategies might actually increase the numbers of gray bats that utilize the cave.
Scientists and students from the WKU Hoffman Institute, in collaboration with the USDA Agricultural Research Service, have been conducting water quality research at the cave over the past several years and developed a close relationship with the landowner, Bill Marohnic. When Marohnic indicated a willingness to sell the cave entrance, WKU realized the great potential not only to protect an important ecosystem and its biodiversity but also to develop the educational and research opportunities that the Preserve would offer the university. The Hoffman Institute plans on sharing these opportunities with local colleges, regional K-12 educators, regional stakeholders and other environmental educators.
WKU Geography and Geology Department Head David Keeling noted that “this type of collaboration to promote sustainability efforts is crucial if we are to address successfully some of our society’s more pressing land-management challenges. Acquisition of this land will provide practical student learning opportunities and provide a living laboratory for sustainability studies.”
More WKU news is available at www.wku.edu and at http://wkunews.wordpress.com/. If you’d like to receive WKU news via e-mail, send a message to WKUNews@wku.edu.
For information, contact Chris Groves at (270) 745-5974.
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