NATIONAL PARK SERVICE • U.S. DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR Cave and Karst Management Plan / Environmental Assessment Mammoth Cave National Park Kentucky July 2019 BACK OF COVER PAGE ii HOW TO COMMENT ON THIS PLAN The National Park Service (NPS) welcomes comments on this plan and will accept them for 30 days following the official public release. To respond, please submit written comments by the following means. The preferred method for receiving comments is through the NPS Planning, Environment, and Public Comment (PEPC) system. INTERNET WEBSITE The NPS PEPC website is http://parkplanning.nps.gov/MACA_CKMP. Click on the “Open for Comment” link on the left side of the page to access the online document. US MAIL Written comments can be mailed to the park at: Superintendent, Mammoth Cave National Park Re: Cave and Karst Management Plan P.O. Box 7 Mammoth Cave, KY 42259 Reviewers are encouraged to use the PEPC website to comment and access the document if possible. Please submit only one set of comments. Before including your address, phone number, e-mail address, or other personal identifying information in your comment, you should be aware that your entire comment—including your personal identifying information—may be made publicly available at any time. Although you can ask us in your comment to withhold your personal identifying information from public review, we cannot guarantee that we will be able to do so. i This page intentionally blank. ii CONTENTS HOW TO COMMENT ON THIS PLAN ................................................................................................................ i INTERNET WEBSITE ...................................................................................................................................... i US MAIL ...................................................................................................................................................... i ACRONYMS AND ABBREVIATIONS ................................................................................................................. v CHAPTER 1: PURPOSE AND NEED FOR ACTION .............................................................................................. 1 INTRODUCTION .......................................................................................................................................... 1 PURPOSE OF THE PLAN ............................................................................................................................... 1 NEED FOR ACTION ..................................................................................................................................... 1 GOALS AND OBJECTIVES ............................................................................................................................ 1 VISITOR USE MANAGEMENT ...................................................................................................................... 2 ISSUES AND IMPACT TOPICS RETAINED FOR FURTHER ANALYSIS ............................................................... 4 IMPACT TOPICS CONSIDERED BUT DISMISSED FROM FURTHER ANALYSIS ................................................. 6 CHAPTER 2: ALTERNATIVES .......................................................................................................................... 11 INTRODUCTION ........................................................................................................................................ 11 NO-ACTION ALTERNATIVE ........................................................................................................................ 11 ACTION/PREFERRED ALTERNATIVE ........................................................................................................... 12 RESOURCE MANAGEMENT ...................................................................................................................... 16 MITIGATION MEASURES RELATED TO PROJECT IMPLEMENTATION .......................................................... 17 PRELIMINARY OPTIONS CONSIDERED BUT DISMISSED FROM DETAILED EVALUATION .............................. 21 CHAPTER 3: AFFECTED ENVIRONMENT ........................................................................................................ 25 BIOLOGICAL RESOURCES ......................................................................................................................... 25 RARE, THREATENED, OR ENDANGERED SPECIES AND SPECIES OF INTEREST ............................................ 26 CAVE CLIMATE ........................................................................................................................................ 29 PHYSICAL CAVE FEATURES ...................................................................................................................... 30 WATER RESOURCES ................................................................................................................................. 31 PALEONTOLOGICAL RESOURCES.............................................................................................................. 32 PUBLIC HEALTH AND SAFETY ................................................................................................................... 33 CULTURAL RESOURCES ............................................................................................................................ 33 VISITOR USE AND EXPERIENCE ................................................................................................................. 34 CHAPTER 4: ENVIRONMENTAL CONSEQUENCES .......................................................................................... 39 RESOURCE IMPACTS OF THE CAVE AND KARST MANAGEMENT ALTERNATIVES ..................................... 39 BIOLOGICAL RESOURCES ......................................................................................................................... 41 RARE, THREATENED, OR ENDANGERED SPECIES AND SPECIES OF INTEREST ............................................ 43 CAVE CLIMATE ........................................................................................................................................ 45 PHYSICAL CAVE FEATURES ...................................................................................................................... 46 WATER RESOURCES ................................................................................................................................. 49 PALEONTOLOGICAL RESOURCES.............................................................................................................. 50 CULTURAL RESOURCES ............................................................................................................................ 52 VISITOR USE AND EXPERIENCE ................................................................................................................. 54 iii CHAPTER 5: CONSULTATION AND COORDINATION ..................................................................................... 59 US FISH AND WILDLIFE SERVICE, SECTION 7 CONSULTATION .................................................................. 59 KENTUCKY HERITAGE COUNCIL AND AFFILIATED TRIBES, SECTION 106 CONSULTATION ........................ 59 PREPARERS AND CONSULTANTS .............................................................................................................. 60 CHAPTER 6: REFERENCES ............................................................................................................................. 63 APPENDIX A: FIGURES .................................................................................................................................. 67 APPENDIX B: VISITOR USE MANAGEMENT MONITORING STRATEGY FOR INDICATORS, THRESHOLDS, AND VISITOR CAPACITY ....................................................................................................................................... 77 APPENDIX C: STATE AND FEDERAL SPECIAL STATUS SPECIES AT MAMMOTH CAVE NATIONAL PARK ......... 89 APPENDIX D: LIST OF CAVE AND KARST PLANNING AND MONITORING GUIDELINES ASSOCIATED WITH THIS PLAN ............................................................................................................................................................ 93 TABLES Table 1. Federal special status species at Mammoth Cave National Park ....................................................... 27 Table 2. Cave tours available in Zone A ........................................................................................................ 84 Table 3. Identified tour capacity in Zone A .................................................................................................... 85 Table 4. Cave tours available in Zone B ......................................................................................................... 86 Table 5. Identified tour capacity in Zone B .................................................................................................... 87 FIGURES Figure 1. Map of Mammoth Cave National Park ........................................................................................... 69 Figure 2. Map of Mammoth Cave system ..................................................................................................... 70 Figure 3. Overview of visitor use management planning process ................................................................... 71 Figure 4. Current cave zones .......................................................................................................................