Virginia Cave Board

ALERT!
BAT POPULATIONS AT EXTREME RISK!
WHITE NOSE SYNDROME NOW IN VIRGINIA

Please read the Virginia Cave Board statement on White-nose Syndrome and Commercial caves

To anyone wishing to assist with White-Nose Syndrome monitoring, please print and submit the Cave Entrance Survey Form for Whitenose in Virginia

Please read the joint statement Recommended caver practices and equipment protocols for reducing the risk of transmission of White Nose Syndrome by humans.

DGIF Press Release of 3/9/2009

WNS outreach materials and signs

For more information on white nose syndrome, please see: www.fws.gov/northeast/white_nose.html

caves.org/WNS/WNS%20Info.htm

Myotis with white nose syndrome.

white nose killed pipistrelle.

You are invited to attend general meetings of the Board, held at various locations in Virginia at least three times a year. You can also contact the Board by writing or calling:

Virginia Cave Board
Virginia Division of Natural Heritage
Department of Conservation and Recreation
217 Governor Street, 3rd Floor
Richmond, VA 23219
phone: (804) 786-7951
fax: (804) 371-2674

Next Meeting: Saturday, January 9, 2010; Board Committee meetings begin at 11:00a.m. Board meeting begins at 1:00 p.m. The public is invited. The building is not handicap accessible.

Location: 217 Governor Street, DCR Natural Heritage Division Conference Room, Richmond, Virginia 23219

Virginia is rich in cave and karstland resources with over 4000 known caves. The Virginia Cave Board was established to conserve and protect caves and karstlands of the Commonwealth and advocate the wise use of these resources.

VCB members serve Virginia by advising private individuals, organizations and public agencies on cave and karst related matters, providing cave management expertise, preparing and presenting educational material, identifying significant caves, and recommending conservation and preservation measures for cave resources within the Commonwealth.

Click here to read a paper by the current Chairman of the Cave Board, The Virginia Cave Protection Act: A Review (1966 – 2009), which summarizes the Act and enforcement actions taken over the more than 40 years of its existence in the protection of cave and karst resources of the Commonwealth. This article was published in The Journal of Cave and Karst Studies, v. 71, no. 3 (December 2009), p. 204-209 and used with permission of the National Speleological Society (www.caves.org).