Lehman Caves Management Plan

Total Page:16

File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb

Lehman Caves Management Plan National Park Service U.S. Department of the Interior Great Basin National Park Lehman Caves Management Plan June 2019 ON THE COVER Photograph of visitors on tour of Lehman Caves NPS Photo ON THIS PAGE Photograph of cave shields, Grand Palace, Lehman Caves NPS Photo Shields in the Grand Palace, Lehman Caves. Lehman Caves Management Plan Great Basin National Park Baker, Nevada June 2019 Approved by: James Woolsey, Superintendent Date Executive Summary The Lehman Caves Management Plan (LCMP) guides management for Lehman Caves, located within Great Basin National Park (GRBA). The primary goal of the Lehman Caves Management Plan is to manage the cave in a manner that will preserve and protect cave resources and processes while allowing for respectful recreation and scientific use. More specifically, the intent of this plan is to manage Lehman Caves to maintain its geological, scenic, educational, cultural, biological, hydrological, paleontological, and recreational resources in accordance with applicable laws, regulations, and current guidelines such as the Federal Cave Resource Protection Act and National Park Service Management Policies. Section 1.0 provides an introduction and background to the park and pertinent laws and regulations. Section 2.0 goes into detail of the natural and cultural history of Lehman Caves. This history includes how infrastructure was built up in the cave to allow visitors to enter and tour, as well as visitation numbers from the 1920s to present. Section 3.0 states the management direction and objectives for Lehman Caves. Section 4.0 covers how the Management Plan will meet each of the objectives in Section 3.0. Topics include improving safety; maintaining and updating cave infrastructure; expanding interpretive opportunities both in and out of the cave; protecting biological, cultural, and geologic resources, and more. This section contains the majority of the management recommendations for the cave. Section 5.0 covers surface management such as development and herbicide use above caves. It includes a map of no-retardant areas near Lehman Cave. Fire retardant dropped in this area could have negative impacts on various cave biota, especially the Model Cave amphipod, which is currently only known to exist in one cave in the world. Section 6.0 lays out how the plan can be changed. Section 7.0 specifies plan updates, Section 8.0 contains literature cited, and Section 9.0 lists the plan preparers. Appendices and Standard Operating Procedures follow the main document. Please cite this publication as: Great Basin National Park. 2019. Lehman Caves Management Plan. Great Basin National Park, Baker, Nevada. ii Contents Page Executive Summary ............................................................................................................................... ii List of Figures ....................................................................................................................................... vi List of Tables ......................................................................................................................................viii Acronyms .............................................................................................................................................. ix 1.0 Introduction & Background ............................................................................................................. 1 Introduction .................................................................................................................................... 1 Purpose and Need ........................................................................................................................... 1 Background..................................................................................................................................... 1 Relationship to Other Park Laws, Regulations, Policies, and Plans............................................... 2 2.0 Natural and Cultural History of Lehman Caves ............................................................................... 8 2.1 Geology .................................................................................................................................... 8 Geology Overview..................................................................................................................... 8 Lehman Caves Speleology ........................................................................................................ 8 Lehman Caves Hydrology ....................................................................................................... 11 2.2 Discovery ................................................................................................................................ 14 Maps ........................................................................................................................................ 16 2.3 Development of Trails ............................................................................................................ 20 Main Trail ................................................................................................................................ 20 Talus Room ............................................................................................................................. 22 Roads ....................................................................................................................................... 27 2.4 Visitation ................................................................................................................................ 29 2.5 Lighting .................................................................................................................................. 31 2.6 Other Cave developments/infrastructure ................................................................................ 33 Staircases and Platforms .......................................................................................................... 33 Tunnels .................................................................................................................................... 33 Cave entrance .......................................................................................................................... 34 2.7 Interpretation .......................................................................................................................... 36 Names ...................................................................................................................................... 36 Tour routes............................................................................................................................... 37 Sizes of tours ........................................................................................................................... 37 Candlelight tours ..................................................................................................................... 38 Spelunker tours ........................................................................................................................ 38 2.8 Paleontology ........................................................................................................................... 39 2.9 Cultural Resources.................................................................................................................. 42 Prehistoric ................................................................................................................................ 42 Ethnography ............................................................................................................................ 42 Historic .................................................................................................................................... 43 2.10 Biology ................................................................................................................................. 45 Bats .......................................................................................................................................... 45 Invertebrates ............................................................................................................................ 45 Other Vertebrates..................................................................................................................... 47 Microbes .................................................................................................................................. 48 Plants, Lichens, Mosses, Fungi ............................................................................................... 48 2.11 Cave climate ......................................................................................................................... 49 Temperature and humidity ...................................................................................................... 49 iii Airflow .................................................................................................................................... 51 Radon ....................................................................................................................................... 51 Other cave atmosphere ............................................................................................................ 52 2.12 Research ..............................................................................................................................
Recommended publications
  • New Data on the Moss Genus Hymenoloma (Bryophyta), with Special Reference to H
    Cryptogamie, Bryologie, 2013, 34 (1): 1-18 © 2013 Adac. Tous droits réservés New data on the moss genus Hymenoloma (Bryophyta), with special reference to H. mulahaceni Olaf WERNER a, Susana RAMS b, Jan KUČERA c, Juan LARRAÍN d, Olga M. AFONINA e, Sergio PISA a & Rosa María ROS a* aDepartamento de Biología Vegetal (Botánica), Universidad de Murcia, Campus de Espinardo, E-30100 Murcia, Spain bEscuela Universitaria de Magisterio “La Inmaculada”, Universidad de Granada, Carretera de Murcia s/n, 18010 Granada, Spain cUniversity of South Bohemia, Faculty of Science, Branišovská 31, CZ - 370 05 České Budějovice, Czech Republic dUniversidad de Concepción, Departamento de Botánica, Casilla 160-C, Concepción, Chile eKomarov Botanical Institute of Russian Academy of Sciences, Professor Popov Str. 2, St.-Petersburg 197376, Russia Abstract – A molecular and morphological study using two chloroplast molecular markers (rps4 and trnL-F) was carried out with specimens belonging to Hymenoloma mulahaceni, a species described at the end of the 19th century from the Sierra Nevada Mountains in southern Spain as a member of Oreoweisia. The comparison with Asian, European, and North American material of Dicranoweisia intermedia proved the conspecifity of both taxa, which was corroborated by molecular data. Therefore, the distribution area of H. mulahaceni is extended to U.S.A., Canada, Greenland, and several Asian countries (Armenia, Georgia, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan). We also tested the monophyly of Hymenoloma sensu Ochyra et al. (2003), by including in the analysis the Holarctic taxa assigned to the genus together with Chilean material identified as H. antarcticum (putatively synonymous with the type of Hymenoloma) and H.
    [Show full text]
  • Persuaded to Prepare: Rhetoric and a Cold War Fallout Shelter
    PERSUADED TO PREPARE: RHETORIC AND A COLD WAR FALLOUT SHELTER By Carol M. Hollar-Zwick Between 1958 and 1962, at the height of the Cold War between the United States and the Soviet Union, a Wisconsin physician collected government pamphlets on civil defense, articles from medical journals and news magazines, and other information on radioactive fallout and fallout shelters. He assembled the documents in a three-ring binder, which he stored in the fallout shelter that he designed and had constructed in the back yard of his home in July 1960. The physician responded to a rhetoric of preparation from the federal and state governments and from his profession to prepare for nuclear war, a campaign of persuasive education that stood in for what would have been a tremendously expensive and less-than-guaranteed system of public shelters. Designed to induce American households to build private fallout shelters in their basements and yards, preparedness rhetoric combined fear of death in nuclear attack and assurance of survival through preparation. He was one of few who acted; most Americans throughout the 1950s ignored the government’s exhortations to do the same. The historical contexts of the documents, the way the documents reached the physician, the arguments the documents made, and his response to the arguments are discussed in this thesis. Using historical accounts, archival documents from the Wisconsin Bureau of Civil Defense and the State Board of Health, and bound volumes of medical journals and magazines, I place the binder documents in the historical contexts and rhetorical situations in which they were created and circulated.
    [Show full text]
  • Translocation and Transport
    Glime, J. M. 2017. Nutrient Relations: Translocation and Transport. Chapt. 8-5. In: Glime, J. M. Bryophyte Ecology. Volume 1. 8-5-1 Physiological Ecology. Ebook sponsored by Michigan Technological University and the International Association of Bryologists. Last updated 17 July 2020 and available at <http://digitalcommons.mtu.edu/bryophyte-ecology/>. CHAPTER 8-5 NUTRIENT RELATIONS: TRANSLOCATION AND TRANSPORT TABLE OF CONTENTS Translocation and Transport ................................................................................................................................ 8-5-2 Movement from Older to Younger Tissues .................................................................................................. 8-5-6 Directional Differences ................................................................................................................................ 8-5-8 Species Differences ...................................................................................................................................... 8-5-8 Mechanisms of Transport .................................................................................................................................... 8-5-9 Source to Sink? ............................................................................................................................................ 8-5-9 Enrichment Effects ..................................................................................................................................... 8-5-10 Internal Transport
    [Show full text]
  • Bristlecone Great Basin National Park Summer, 1990 Information Activities
    BRISTLECONE GREAT BASIN NATIONAL PARK SUMMER, 1990 INFORMATION ACTIVITIES Welcome to Great Basin National Park Welcome to Great Basin National Park; an area of surprising beauty and diver­ sity. As the nation's 49th national park, Great Basin enters a select corps of the finest and most valued portions of this nation's heritage which are protected as units of the National Park System. A concept which began with Yellowstone National Park in 1872 and has spread throughout the country and, indeed, around the globe, now has incorporated one of the most superlative examples of Great Basin geology, biologic diversity and scenic grandeur. As you visit Great Basin National Park this season, we hope that you take ad­ vantage of the naturalist programs and activities which will provide a greater understanding of this special place. Join a ranger on a walk to an ancient grove of bristlecone pines, or attend an evening campfire program to learn more of the history, geology or wildlife of the park. Schedules and program descriptions are to be found elsewhere in this newspaper. We sincerely believe that a more com­ plete understanding of what you see here, will help to enhance your appre­ Park Drafts Management Plan ciation of the park. While Great Basin National Park is A General Management Plan (GMP) is Local issues, such as grazing, mining, the mailing list, for their further review new, and changes in facilities and opera­ being developed at Great Basin Na­ interpretive services, fishing and wild­ and comment. Responses regarding the tions will continue for many years, there tional Park which will guide the man­ life management, cave management and recommended directions to be taken is one constant trait which is already agement direction of the park for the special uses (i.e.
    [Show full text]
  • Junior Cave Scientist Cave and Karst Program Activity Book Ages 5 – 12+
    National Park Service U.S. Department of the Interior Geologic Resources Division Junior Cave Scientist Cave and Karst Program Activity Book Ages 5 – 12+ Name: Age: Explore • Learn • Protect 1 Become a Junior Cave Scientist Caves and karst landscapes are found throughout the United States. These features are important as part of our Nation's geologic heritage. In this book, you will explore a fascinating and fragile underground world, learn about the values of caves and karst landscapes, and complete fun educational activities. Explore magnificent and beautiful caves. You will find an amazing underground world just beneath your feet! Learn about caves and karst systems and the work that cave scientists do. Protect our natural environments and the things that make caves and karst areas special. To earn your badge, complete at least activities. (Your Age) Activities in this book are marked with an age indicator. Look for the symbols below: Flashlight Lantern Helmet and Headlamp Ages 5 - 7 Ages 8 – 11 Ages 12 and Older Put a check next to your age indicator on each page that you complete. I received this book from: After completing the activities, there are two ways to receive your Junior Cave Scientist badge: • Return the completed book to a ranger at a participating park, or 2 • Visit go.nps.gov/jrcavesci What are Speleo-Fact: Mammoth Cave is the longest cave in world with over 405 miles (652 km) of connected passageways. Caves and Karst? Caves are naturally occurring voids, cavities, interconnected passageways, or alcoves in the earth. Caves preserve fossils, minerals, ecosystems, and records of past climates.
    [Show full text]
  • BIOLOGICAL FIELD STATION Cooperstown, New York
    BIOLOGICAL FIELD STATION Cooperstown, New York 49th ANNUAL REPORT 2016 STATE UNIVERSITY OF NEW YORK COLLEGE AT ONEONTA OCCASIONAL PAPERS PUBLISHED BY THE BIOLOGICAL FIELD STATION No. 1. The diet and feeding habits of the terrestrial stage of the common newt, Notophthalmus viridescens (Raf.). M.C. MacNamara, April 1976 No. 2. The relationship of age, growth and food habits to the relative success of the whitefish (Coregonus clupeaformis) and the cisco (C. artedi) in Otsego Lake, New York. A.J. Newell, April 1976. No. 3. A basic limnology of Otsego Lake (Summary of research 1968-75). W. N. Harman and L. P. Sohacki, June 1976. No. 4. An ecology of the Unionidae of Otsego Lake with special references to the immature stages. G. P. Weir, November 1977. No. 5. A history and description of the Biological Field Station (1966-1977). W. N. Harman, November 1977. No. 6. The distribution and ecology of the aquatic molluscan fauna of the Black River drainage basin in northern New York. D. E Buckley, April 1977. No. 7. The fishes of Otsego Lake. R. C. MacWatters, May 1980. No. 8. The ecology of the aquatic macrophytes of Rat Cove, Otsego Lake, N.Y. F. A Vertucci, W. N. Harman and J. H. Peverly, December 1981. No. 9. Pictorial keys to the aquatic mollusks of the upper Susquehanna. W. N. Harman, April 1982. No. 10. The dragonflies and damselflies (Odonata: Anisoptera and Zygoptera) of Otsego County, New York with illustrated keys to the genera and species. L.S. House III, September 1982. No. 11. Some aspects of predator recognition and anti-predator behavior in the Black-capped chickadee (Parus atricapillus).
    [Show full text]
  • Rhodes Cabin (#19)
    DATA SHEET Form 10-306 UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR (Oct. 1972) NATIONAL PARK SERVICE Nevada COUNTY: NATIONAL REGISTER OF HISTORIC PLACES White Pine INVENTORY - NOMINATION FORM FOR NPS USE ONLY FOR FEDERAL PROPERTIES ENTRY DATE (Type all entries - complete applicable sections) COMMON: Bhodes Cabin (#19) AND/OR HISTORIC: STREET AND NUMBER: Lehman. Caves National Monument CITY OR TOWN: CONGRESSIONAL DISTRICT: Baker Congressman-at-lsrge STATE: COUNTY: Nevada White Pine CATEGORY OWNERSHIP STATUS (Check One) |~~1 District [yl Building [El Public Public Acquisition: I | Occupied Yes: QSite [^Structure O Private I|In Process [jyt Unoccupied I | Restricted CD Object Q Both f~~| Being Considered I | Preservation work [;j£] Unrestricted in progress a NO PRESENT USE (Check One or More as Appropriate) Q Agricultural Q] Government 53 Park | | Transportation | | Comments [^ | Commercial [ I Industrial | | Private Residence Q Other (Specify) [~~| Educational Q Military [~"| Religious Q Entertainment I I Scientific- National Park Service REGIONAL HEADQUARTERS: (If applicable) STREET AND NUMBER: ___________Western Region h50 Golden Gate Ave, . 36063 CITY OR TOWN: STATE: San Francisco California 06 COURTHOUSE, REGISTRY OF DEEDS, ETC: White Pine County Courthouse STREET AND NUMBER: CITY OR TOWN: STATE: CODE a Ely Nevada 32 TITLE OF SURVEY: DATE OF SURVEY: Federal f~1 State STREET AND NUMBER: IN7UIONAL REGISTER CITY OR TOWN: STATE: V CODE T" (Check One) BQ Excellent Q Good Q Fair |~~1 Deteriorated | | Ruins [~~| Unexposed CONDITION (Check One) (Check One) Cg Altered Q Unaltered I j Moved |T] Original Site DESCRIBE THE PRESENT AND ORIGINAL (if known) PHYSICAL APPEARANCE !Freservation-restoration recommended This one'"room log cabin, 19 feet long and 11 feet wide, originally rested on the ground.
    [Show full text]
  • IN TIME of EMERGENCY, a Citizen's Handbook on Nuclear Attack - Natural Disasters, Department of Defense (Dod), Office of Civil Defense, 1968
    Description of document: IN TIME OF EMERGENCY, a citizen's handbook on Nuclear Attack - Natural Disasters, Department of Defense (DoD), Office of Civil Defense, 1968 Posted date: 24-October-2016 The governmentattic.org web site (“the site”) is noncommercial and free to the public. The site and materials made available on the site, such as this file, are for reference only. The governmentattic.org web site and its principals have made every effort to make this information as complete and as accurate as possible, however, there may be mistakes and omissions, both typographical and in content. The governmentattic.org web site and its principals shall have neither liability nor responsibility to any person or entity with respect to any loss or damage caused, or alleged to have been caused, directly or indirectly, by the information provided on the governmentattic.org web site or in this file. The public records published on the site were obtained from government agencies using proper legal channels. Each document is identified as to the source. Any concerns about the contents of the site should be directed to the agency originating the document in question. GovernmentAttic.org is not responsible for the contents of documents published on the website. This handbook is the property of: Name---------------------- Address Location of designated fallout shelter, or shelter nearest to: IIome ______________________ School ------------------­ Workplace----------------- Emergency telephone numbers:* Ambulance __________________ Civil Defense----------------- Doctors Fire IIealth Department --------------­ IIospitals ------------------ Police ______________________ Red Cross __________________ Utility Companies --------------- Weather Bureau----------------- Other _____________________ •Jn a time of nuclear attack or major natural disaster, don't use the telephone to get information or advice.
    [Show full text]
  • Moss Cell Walls: Structure and Biosynthesis Alison W
    University of Rhode Island DigitalCommons@URI Biological Sciences Faculty Publications Biological Sciences 2012 Moss cell walls: structure and biosynthesis Alison W. Roberts University of Rhode Island, [email protected] Eric M. Roberts See next page for additional authors Creative Commons License This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License. Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.uri.edu/bio_facpubs Citation/Publisher Attribution Roberts AW, Roberts EM and Haigler CH (2012) Moss cell walls: structure and biosynthesis. Front. Plant Sci. 3:166. doi: 10.3389/ fpls.2012.00166 Available at: https://doi.org/10.3389/fpls.2012.00166 This Article is brought to you for free and open access by the Biological Sciences at DigitalCommons@URI. It has been accepted for inclusion in Biological Sciences Faculty Publications by an authorized administrator of DigitalCommons@URI. For more information, please contact [email protected]. Authors Alison W. Roberts, Eric M. Roberts, and Candace H. Haigler This article is available at DigitalCommons@URI: https://digitalcommons.uri.edu/bio_facpubs/205 MINI REVIEW ARTICLE published: 19 July 2012 doi: 10.3389/fpls.2012.00166 Moss cell walls: structure and biosynthesis Alison W. Roberts1*, Eric M. Roberts2 and Candace H. Haigler3,4 1 Department of Biological Sciences, University of Rhode Island, Kingston, RI, USA 2 Department of Biology, Rhodes Island College, Providence, RI, USA 3 Department of Crop Science, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC, USA 4 Department of Plant Biology, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC, USA Edited by: The genome sequence of the moss Physcomitrella patens has stimulated new research Seth DeBolt, University of Kentucky, examining the cell wall polysaccharides of mosses and the glycosyl transferases that syn- USA thesize them as a means to understand fundamental processes of cell wall biosynthesis Reviewed by: and plant cell wall evolution.
    [Show full text]
  • Fossil Mosses: What Do They Tell Us About Moss Evolution?
    Bry. Div. Evo. 043 (1): 072–097 ISSN 2381-9677 (print edition) DIVERSITY & https://www.mapress.com/j/bde BRYOPHYTEEVOLUTION Copyright © 2021 Magnolia Press Article ISSN 2381-9685 (online edition) https://doi.org/10.11646/bde.43.1.7 Fossil mosses: What do they tell us about moss evolution? MicHAEL S. IGNATOV1,2 & ELENA V. MASLOVA3 1 Tsitsin Main Botanical Garden of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow, Russia 2 Faculty of Biology, Lomonosov Moscow State University, Moscow, Russia 3 Belgorod State University, Pobedy Square, 85, Belgorod, 308015 Russia �[email protected], https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1520-042X * author for correspondence: �[email protected], https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6096-6315 Abstract The moss fossil records from the Paleozoic age to the Eocene epoch are reviewed and their putative relationships to extant moss groups discussed. The incomplete preservation and lack of key characters that could define the position of an ancient moss in modern classification remain the problem. Carboniferous records are still impossible to refer to any of the modern moss taxa. Numerous Permian protosphagnalean mosses possess traits that are absent in any extant group and they are therefore treated here as an extinct lineage, whose descendants, if any remain, cannot be recognized among contemporary taxa. Non-protosphagnalean Permian mosses were also fairly diverse, representing morphotypes comparable with Dicranidae and acrocarpous Bryidae, although unequivocal representatives of these subclasses are known only since Cretaceous and Jurassic. Even though Sphagnales is one of two oldest lineages separated from the main trunk of moss phylogenetic tree, it appears in fossil state regularly only since Late Cretaceous, ca.
    [Show full text]
  • Old Woman Creek National Estuarine Research Reserve Management Plan 2011-2016
    Old Woman Creek National Estuarine Research Reserve Management Plan 2011-2016 April 1981 Revised, May 1982 2nd revision, April 1983 3rd revision, December 1999 4th revision, May 2011 Prepared for U.S. Department of Commerce Ohio Department of Natural Resources National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Division of Wildlife Office of Ocean and Coastal Resource Management 2045 Morse Road, Bldg. G Estuarine Reserves Division Columbus, Ohio 1305 East West Highway 43229-6693 Silver Spring, MD 20910 This management plan has been developed in accordance with NOAA regulations, including all provisions for public involvement. It is consistent with the congressional intent of Section 315 of the Coastal Zone Management Act of 1972, as amended, and the provisions of the Ohio Coastal Management Program. OWC NERR Management Plan, 2011 - 2016 Acknowledgements This management plan was prepared by the staff and Advisory Council of the Old Woman Creek National Estuarine Research Reserve (OWC NERR), in collaboration with the Ohio Department of Natural Resources-Division of Wildlife. Participants in the planning process included: Manager, Frank Lopez; Research Coordinator, Dr. David Klarer; Coastal Training Program Coordinator, Heather Elmer; Education Coordinator, Ann Keefe; Education Specialist Phoebe Van Zoest; and Office Assistant, Gloria Pasterak. Other Reserve staff including Dick Boyer and Marje Bernhardt contributed their expertise to numerous planning meetings. The Reserve is grateful for the input and recommendations provided by members of the Old Woman Creek NERR Advisory Council. The Reserve is appreciative of the review, guidance, and council of Division of Wildlife Executive Administrator Dave Scott and the mapping expertise of Keith Lott and the late Steve Barry.
    [Show full text]
  • 2009 Vermilion, Alberta
    September 2010 ISSN 0071‐0709 PROCEEDINGS OF THE 57th ANNUAL MEETING OF THE Entomological Society of Alberta November 5‐7, 2009 Vermilion, Alberta Content Entomological Society of Alberta Board of Directors for 2009 .............................................................. 3 Annual Meeting Committees for 2009 ................................................................................................. 3 President’s Address ............................................................................................................................. 4 Program of the 57th Annual Meeting.................................................................................................... 6 Oral Presentation Abstracts ................................................................................................................10 Poster Presentation Abstracts.............................................................................................................21 Index to Authors.................................................................................................................................24 Minutes of the Entomology Society of Alberta Executive/Board of Directors Meeting ........................26 Minutes of the Entomological Society of Alberta 57th Annual General Meeting...................................29 2009 Regional Director to the Entomological Society of Canada Report ..............................................32 2009 Northern Director’s Reports .......................................................................................................33
    [Show full text]