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MAMMOTH CAVE AREA BIOSPHERE RESERVE Click here for MAP
The Mammoth Cave Area Biosphere Reserve is a karst system of underground water courses that includes the longest cave in the world. Long-term hydrological studies have delineated the extent of the system. Mammoth Cave National Park is the core of the biosphere reserve while the groundwater recharge area for the park's caves is the zone of cooperation. A Biosphere Reserve Cooperative administered by the regional development authority coordinates the biosphere reserve program that features monitoring for water pollution sources, establishing a regional geographic information system, and educational and cultural heritage projects. These projects complement ongoing park research and have attracted considerable financial support. A major emphasis of the biosphere reserve program is to assist area landowners in improving their land-use practices. Partnerships are developing in support of ecosystem management and sustainable development goals.
I. AREA DESCRIPTION
The Mammoth Cave Area Biosphere Reserve (MCABR) is located in Edmonson, Barren, and Hart counties, Kentucky. The biome is temperate broad-leaf forest and the biogeographic province is eastern forest. The area is a karst system typified by complex underground water courses and a multilayered cave system (longest in the world) with unique fauna and mineralization features.
There is evidence that prehistoric peoples explored and extracted minerals from the caves, used them for shelter, and cultivated the surface area. Post-Columbian American Indians resided in the area. Europeans began to settle the region during the Revolutionary War period. Later westward migration through the Ohio River Valley slowly developed the are and began to affect its ecology. Mammoth Cave has been a tourist attraction since the early 19th century.
The rural area includes small towns and farms and a fairly stable population. Farming has been an economic mainstay since prehistory. Saltpetre mining in Mammoth Cave and other area caves peaked during the War of 1812 and is no longer an economic activity. Commercial development along major highways, tourist services, some light manufacturing, and agriculture are the basis of the regional economy.
II. MAJOR ISSUES
The most significant issue for the MCABR is achieving a sustainable economy within the zone of cooperation that improves the economic and social well-being of local people and is compatible with the core area values. Of particular concern to Mammoth Cave National Park is the impact of agricultural, commercial, and residential land use on ecosystems--especially with respect to the effects of groundwater pollution on cave biota.
III. BACKGROUND
The U.S. Man and the Biosphere Program nominated the Mammoth Cave Area Biosphere Reserve for several reasons. There is a long history of research on the regional hydrological system and the relationship between human uses of the land surface and groundwater quality. There is a local development authority that is willing to consider the results of this research in regional planning. The designated biosphere reserve (BR) includes both Mammoth Cave National Park (core area) and the surrounding region (zone of cooperation).
The 83,377 hectare MCABR was designated in 1990. The protected core area of the biosphere reserve is Mammoth Cave National Park, which is the only officially designated administrative site in the BR. The biosphere reserve has no delineated zone of managed use (i.e., buffer zone). The zone of cooperation (transition zone) is the groundwater recharge area that surrounds the park.
The principal monitoring and research themes of the BR are groundwater hydrology, water quality, the effects of agricultural land uses, the health of freshwater ecosystems, and atmospheric pollutants. Long-term hydrological and ecosystem research projects were initiated in the park and surrounding region decades ago. The hydrological studies have produced a precise map of the groundwater basin that locates specific surface and subsurface water sources. Cave ecosystem studies have described the underground physical and biological environment so that natural or human induced changes can be detected and understood. The research has produced a substantial knowledge base that is available for use in planning development projects in the zone of cooperation.
Within the zone of cooperation, the principal economic issues are sustainable agriculture and sustainable development for small tourist-oriented businesses as well as light industry. Unlike most other U.S. biosphere reserves, the zone of cooperation--the groundwater recharge area for the Mammoth Cave System--has a well delineated boundary. Rural development in this area is coordinated through the Barren River Area Development District (BRADD) in accordance with broad goals for sustaining the regional ecosystem and taking into account the results of the long-term research program. BRADD was established by state statute and is composed of local officials and representatives of economic interests and human welfare.
Following designation of the biosphere reserve by the United Nations Education, Scientific, and Cultural Organization, the MCABR Cooperative was established as an adjunct to the Natural Resources Planning Council of BRADD. The members of the Cooperative have signed a Memorandum of Understanding concerning establishing and coordinating the BR program. BRADD serves as the biosphere reserve secretariat.
The BR program is jointly planned and coordinated by the partners in the Cooperative. The objectives of the Cooperative as stated in the Memorandum of Understanding are:
PARTNERS IN THE COOPERATIVE
BRADD - 10 COUNTIES
Elected OfficialsCityCountyStateCouncil ChairsSpecial AdvisorsState
- agency headsFederal-regional agency heads
BRADD NATURAL RESOURCES PLANNING COUNCILAgencies and Citizens
Concerned about Natural Resources
MAMMOTH CAVE Area BR COOPERATIVE
State of Kentucky Tennessee Valley AuthorityWestern Kentucky U.Soil
Conservation ServiceAgriculture Stabilization and Conservation
ServiceNational Park ServiceBRADD Resource Conservation &
Development DistrictArmy Corps of EngineersEconomic Development
Administration KY Nature Preserves Commission
IV. IMPLEMENTATION
The BR program supports cooperative ecosystem management of the Mammoth Cave region and specific efforts to address the effects of regional land use and development on surface and groundwater resources. Through the MCABR Cooperative, federal, state, and local agencies have joined Mammoth Cave National Park, local landowners, and citizens in supporting cooperative projects that address shared concerns. The Cooperative encourages the stakeholders to understand the park and the surrounding region as an ecological, economic, and cultural unit and to use consultation and cooperation--and information--as the guideposts for its management and development.
The BR program is providing the framework for cooperative regional monitoring and assessment of water quality to support human needs and those of the unique aquatic biology. It is also promoting the joint development of a regional geographic information system and regional cultural heritage projects. These regional activities complement ongoing research conducted by agency scientists, university researchers, and non-governmental organizations. The scientific activities contribute directly to a public environmental education program and the development of a Resource Conservation and Development District (RC&D), which receives technical and funding support from participants in the BR program. Since 1990, the BR program has received significant funding from a growing number of agencies, such as the Soil Conservation Service (SCS) and the Agriculture Stabilization and Conservation Service (ASCS). Specific projects which the BR program has initiated or significantly influenced are:
PROJECTS INITIATED THROUGH THE BIOSPHERE RESERVE PROGRAM
Project: Regional Geographic Information System (GIS)
Purpose: Develop GIS for BR and adjacent areas to support planning
and ecosystem management.
Partners: BRADD, National Park Service (NPS), RC&D, Western
Kentucky U., Kentucky Division of Conservation, SCS
Funding: $50,000 in federal, state and local funds
Activities:
* Data collection to link cultural and natural features, update existing state maps of natural features, locate and describe cultural features.
* Process information using shared equipment, software, and personnel and integrate existing information into a unified regional program.
Unique Feature: Local, state, and federal agencies will work together to document regional cultural resources interpretation, and development (tourism) of those resources without any government ownership.
___________________________________________
Project: Economic Impact Study (completed)
Purpose: Assess potential for sustainable industrial development
along major transportation corridor.
Partners: Economic Development Administration, BRADD
Funding: $22,500
Activities:
* Information has been collected that assesses present and future water pollution potential and other environmental risks from business and industrial development along I-65.
__________________________________________
Project: Environmental Education Program
Purpose: Present regional environmental issues to park visitor,
local students, and teachers throughout the state focusing on
the schools within BRADD.
Partners: NPS, local school districts, Kentucky Department of
Education, SCS, RC&D
Activities:
* Adapt program to meet adult education needs.
* Establish cooperative program with SCS.
___________________________________________
Project: Resource Conservation and Development District (RC&D)
Location: 10 BRADD counties including MCABR
Purpose: Develop and carry out plans that improve the general
welfare, health, and economy of the area through resources management.
Partners: SCS, BR Cooperative, local citizens committees, NPS
(Special Water Project)
Funding: $30 million from federal and other sources have been
requested.
Activities:
* Rural water development systems.
* Rural sewage systems.
* Coordination with Mammoth Cave Area Special Water Quality Project.
* Adult and environmental education on best management practices and water quality protection.
PROJECTS EXPANDED OR FACILITATED BY THE BIOSPHERE RESERVE PROGRAM
Project: Mammoth Cave Area Special Water Quality Project
Purpose: Assess, monitor and mitigate non-point source pollution
on water quality in watershed.
Partners: NPS, Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), U.S. Geological
Survey (USGS), ASCS, SCS, University of Kentucky, Kentucky Divisions
of Water and Conservation, and Kentucky Geological Survey
Changes Due to BR
* Funding increased by $950,000 when ASCS and SCS joined in a partnership to construct on-farm pollution from pesticide and animal waste through containment and recycling.
* Focus moved from park to entire region in assessing water quality through monitoring surface and subsurface waters in zone of cooperation and monitoring downstream in park.
Participation of Mammoth Cave National Park in the BR program has substantially influenced planning and management of the park itself. The goals of the biosphere reserve are an important consideration in the biennial updating of the park's Statement for Management, which identifies important resource issues, assesses the relationship of the park to the surrounding region, and establishes the objectives that provide the basis for park planning and management. Biosphere reserve status and the BR program have helped the park articulate its role in the larger region and attract the technical and financial resources to strengthen support for cooperative ecosystem management. The biosphere reserve was a catalyst for integrating all science and management functions relating to natural and cultural resources into a single organization. The biosphere reserve has also influenced the biennial revision of the park's Land Protection Plan, which establishes the strategy for protecting park resources. The BR program has helped the park work with land owners to achieve conservation objectives in ways that reduce the traditional reliance on land acquisition to reduce threats from development outside the park.
V. BENEFITS, CONSTRAINTS, OPPORTUNITIES
Mammoth Cave National Park and the region surrounding it have benefited from its biosphere reserve status. BR stakeholders---federal, state, and local governments, and citizens---have joined in partnerships supporting ecosystem management and sustainable development and have attracted resources to the area. As local land owners derive tangible benefits from these projects and discover better ways to manage their properties, the park enjoys an extra mantle of protection. Where once there was apathy, if not antipathy toward the park, there is now a growing understanding and willingness to pursue mutual interests that serve the conservation goals of the park.
Several factors influenced the development of the BR program. The biosphere reserve designation and attendant program was not viewed as a federal program; therefore, local citizens and communities felt comfortable participating. Public acceptance was due in part to the early efforts of the park and BRADD to focus the BR program on meeting the needs of the surrounding community (zone of cooperation) and then assessing the benefits to the park. With park managers playing a cooperator role rather than asserting a leadership role, other members of the BR Cooperative and the local people perceived the federal presence as demonstrating open, honest government. The people who are benefiting from the BR program recognize that it is largely the presence of the core area that has generated these benefits.
Learning from the experiences of the Southern Appalachian MAB Cooperative (SAMAB) and BR program and more recently working with the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) Land Between the Lakes BR, has helped stakeholders adapt the BR concept to the particular conditions in the Mammoth Cave Area. One of the TVA specialists from Land Between the Lakes has been added to the BR Cooperative to facilitate the exchange of ideas. Land Between the Lakes offers years of experience in environmental education; the MCABR Cooperative offers experience in working cooperatively with area residents.
The BR program has nurtured the community's land and conservation ethics. As the farming and rural resident community became more involved with groundwater issues, their consciousness has been raised on what groundwater is and where it goes. In the more urban areas, the Caveland Sanitation Authority, a local sewerage, through planning and construction of a regional wastewater system has heightened awareness of how sewage can enter the groundwater system and its impact to local aquifers.
The National Association of Development Organizations has given an innovation award to the BR Cooperative. The award recognizes the BR program as a model for consideration in other areas. The RC&D has produced a videotape that highlights the successes of the water quality projects in the biosphere reserve. It promotes the MCABR as a framework for demonstrating sustainable approaches to ecosystem management. BRADD has nominated the biosphere reserve for a Governor's award as an outstanding example of coordination among government units.
The park and the BR Cooperative have noted the following areas for emphasis in future development of the BR program.
In addition, there is a need to involve rural residential landowners, who are not farmers. The BR Cooperative will look for opportunities to bring these stakeholders into new or existing partnerships concerning water quality and sustainable economic development. The BR program can provide information and management skills to these stakeholders to help them deal with air, water, soil, and land-use issues.
The BR Cooperative has submitted a proposal to expand the zone of cooperation of the biosphere reserve. The expanded biosphere reserve would include a proposed state park and an Army Corps of Engineers recreation area. The proposed addition to the biosphere reserve is outside the Mammoth Cave watershed, but within regional hydrologic boundaries and within the area in which development has impact on natural and cultural resources as well as the economy of the current MCABR region.
NEEDS of the PARK and the BR COOPERATIVE
* Policy guidance
* Increased emphasis on inventory and monitoring of biodiversity
* Increased emphasis on long-term ecological research
* Enthusiastic local constituency
* Financial and human resources to implement and coordinate Brprogram
VI. OBSERVATIONS
The story of the Mammoth Cave Area Biosphere Reserve is an encouraging one. Where once there was resentment there are now cooperative efforts such as experimental farms where the objective is to improve crop production as well as protect the watershed which is the life blood of the park and its caves.
The BR Cooperative focused its attention on the zone of cooperation in the belief that solving problems and meeting needs there would benefit the core area and the resource values it seeks to conserve. The BR has served as a framework for supporting the local community's needs for economic development within the context of ecosystem management.
The approach used for implementing the BR concept was to form a regional cooperative that linked a national park with a regional development authority and focused the BR program on meeting needs in the zone of cooperation. This approach was successful because:
The MCABR is a well-defined ecological and hydrological unit for which ecosystem management goals can be established. The national park has an important role in the local economy. The former park superintendent's commitment to and prior experience in applying BR concepts motivated others to participate in the BR program. BRADD is a well-established and trusted regional authority that provides a suitable home for the BR Cooperative. The zone of cooperation has a fairly stable, homogeneous population that is concerned about its economic well-being and quality of life.
As with any cooperative effort, there needs to be dedicated and effective leaders. BRADD is managed by an executive director who has held his position for years. The stability of this organization was instrumental in setting up the regional cooperative. Park managers have been willing to challenge and change traditional methods for attaining park goals. In a region where the federal presence is viewed with suspicion, park management has shown an enthusiastic willingness to help solve regional problems as the route to protecting park values.
PRINCIPAL CONTRIBUTORS
David Mihalic, Former Superintendent, Mammoth Cave National Park
Jack Eversole, Executive Director, BRADD
Jeff Bradybaugh, Director, Division of Science and Resource Management,
Mammoth Cave National Park
OTHER CONTRIBUTORS
George Gregory, Resource Management Specialist, Mammoth Cave National
Park
Dr. Wayne Hoffman, Chairman, Natural Resources Planning Council,
BRADD
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