Well as most of you remember, I had gotten ahold of the Leo Drey Foundation regarding opening Dance Hall Cave if only for one time a year.I finally heard back from this and its a no go.. here is what they said :Hi Barb, Thanks for getting back in touch. Its been a busy year for the Foundation, and easy to get sidetracked. As I promised, the Liaison to the Board discussed your interest and request to open Dance Hall Cave. Although we fully understand your desire to see the cave or photos where your and others descendants enjoyed recreational time, we must not deviate from our commitment to conservation on our lands and elsewhere. The gate to the cave was installed, not only to inhibit vandalism, but to keep it a safe haven for its population of Gray Bats. This bat is on both the Federal and State endangered species list. During the winter months, Gray Bats inhabit only 3 caves in Missouri, one of those is Dance Hall Cave. Since 2010 Missouri has had an outbreak of White Nose Syndrome, a fungus lethal to bats. The Missouri Department of Conservation has established an action plan in response to White Nose Syndrome that informs all staff, researches, cavers, and private land owners alike in best practices related to the disease. Accordingly, the L-A-D Foundation now limits researchers to cave access only once per year. The following is from the Missouri Department of Conservation White Nose Syndrome Action Plan, April 12, 2010: Not only are strategic cave closures and restrictions to entry needed to reduce the potential for human transport of spores, the closures are intended to minimize human disturbance to bats to allow them the greatest opportunity for survival to fight this new disease, currently the only action available thought to reduce mortalities. While the human transport of (WNS) is not scientifically confirmed, extensive information is available to demonstrate that human intrusion generally reduces bat survival (Tuttle and Stevenson 1978). We hope you understand our decision to help protect the endangered Gray Bat population in Missouri. If you have any questions please dont hesitate to contact us. All the best, Cher >>>>>>>>>CONTACT THEM AT THE EMAIL ADDRESS [email protected] c/o Cher OR CALL THEM OR WRITE THEM AT THE ADDRESS BELOW THE L-A-D FOUNDATION 319 North 4th Street, Suite 805 St. Louis, MO 63102 314-621-0230 o 314-241-4706 f
Posted on: Tue, 21 Oct 2014 01:26:01 +0000
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