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Karst News Stream – KNS
July 01, 2004 #0002
CONTENTS:
1) True karst in a land scoured by glaciers?
2) Limrock Blowing Cave, a major north Alabama conduit stream cave, is purchased by the Southeastern Cave Conservancy, Inc.
3) A lake in a suburb of St. Louis, Missouri empties into karst below.
4) Lower Powell River - Riparian Restoration and Karst Conservation Program.
5) Hernando County Celebrates Its Designation as a Groundwater Guardian Community - An outstanding example of citizens working
with government to reduce pollution and protect groundwater in Karst land areas.
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1) True karst in a land scoured by glaciers?
Karst in a land literally scoured by glaciers and covered with glacial clay, sand and gravel? Surprisingly, Michigan contains some areas of
true karst. They are limited in extent, but this rarity increases their interest and importance. There is also considerable variety in Michigan
karst areas: gypsum karst is found in Kent and Iosco counties; a significant amount of surface drainage goes underground in Monroe County and
reappears at "blue holes" in Lake Erie; spectacular sinkholes and earth cracks are found in Alpena and Presque Isle counties; and the broad
band of outcrops of the Niagara Escarpment in the Upper Peninsula hosts a number of karst sinks, springs and caves.
http://www.caves.org/conservancy/mkc/
Current MKC Projects:
http://www.caves.org/conservancy/mkc/projects.html
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2) Limrock Blowing Cave, a major north Alabama conduit stream cave, is purchased by the Southeastern Cave Conservancy, Inc.
Limrock Cave, a multi mile stream Cave in Jackson County Alabama is now permanently protected thanks to its purchase by the Southeastern Cave
Conservancy, Inc. (SCCi). The cave drains a very large, prominent sink called "McAllister Sinks." The huge sink is an excellent example of
southern Cumberland Plateau escarpment erosion and the process of cove formation into the limestone slopes that extent out from under sandstone
cap rock. For more information about the cave see:
http://www.scci.org/preserves/limrock/
For information about the SCCi go to their home page at:
http://www.scci.org
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3) A lake in a suburb of St. Louis, Missouri empties into karst below.
Building on karst without using practices specifically designed for this type of landscape lends itself to problems. In a suburb of St. Louis Missouri, a 23 acre lake disappears in a few days. See the Associated Press article at:
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/5191079/?GT1=3584
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4) Lower Powell River - Riparian Restoration and Karst Conservation Program.
Virginia is one of the more progressive states that extend watershed management and nonpoint source pollution to include sensitive karstlands. During 1992, the Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation, Division of Soil and Water Conservation, awarded the Nature Conservancy a nonpoint source pollution implementation grant for the Lower Powell River Riparian Restoration and Karst Conservation Program in Lee County, Virginia. This program was designed specifically to protect priority riparian and karst areas in the Lower Powell River Hydrologic Unit. The Department of Conservation and Recreation ranks this area as a priority because it is sensitive to nonpoint source pollution and host to an unusually rich aquatic and cave biodiversity.
Biological assessments using EPA Rapid Bioassessment Protocol III were inconclusive. Factors contributing to this result include the limited time allotted to the study, the variety of sites, and difficulty at some locations in determining valid control sampling locations. Despite these challenges, several sites did improve following BMP installations and visual indications are that habitat improvements (such as plant recovery on banks and sediment reductions) will prove beneficial to macroinvertebrate populations and species diversity. In each case, vegetation improved and bank instability was reduced by removing livestock from sensitive rivers, streams, sinking streams, and cave entrances.
More details about this project can be found at:
http://www.epa.gov/owow/NPS/Section319II/VA.html
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5) Hernando County Celebrates Its Designation as a Groundwater Guardian Community - An outstanding example of citizens working
with government to reduce pollution and protect groundwater in Karst land areas.
The Hernando County Utilities Department is proud to announce that Hernando County has been recognized and officially designated as a 2002
Groundwater Guardian Community by The Groundwater Foundation, a private, international, not-for-profit educational organization that educates
and motivates people to care about and for groundwater. To achieve designation, a community must form a local team, submit an annual entry
form, work with community leaders to develop and implement result-oriented activities, and prepare and submit an annual report. The Hernando
County Groundwater Guardian Team was formed with the authorization of the Hernando County Commission and under the auspices of the Groundwater
Foundation. For more information see:
http://www.co.hernando.fl.us/utils/groundwater/about.htm
This site also contains exceptionally well done PDF files of posters covering topics such as aquifers, porosity and permeability, karst topography, groundwater and surface water interaction, and more.
A model "GROUNDWATER PROTECTION AND SILTING ORDINANCE" can be found at:
http://www.epa.gov/nps/ordinance/documents/hernando_fa.pdf
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Informative Links:
Missouri Springs--Jewels in the Ozarks:
http://www.umsl.edu/~joellaws/ozark_caving/springs/jspring.html
Biospeleology:
http://www.utexas.edu/depts/tnhc/.www/biospeleology/
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The Karst News Stream is published by The Karst Conservancy. Permission is granted to use, forward, or publish information only to further
the protection of caves and karstlands.
Subscription: Go to www.karstconservancy.org and join The Karst Conservancy. There is no charge and you'll automatically receive the
Karst News Stream. To view previous issues of KNS, go to http://www.karstconservancy.org/KNS/KNS.asp
To Unsubscribe: You can manage your subscription to this and other TKC mailings by following this link:
http://www.karstconservancy.org/other/subcriptions.asp
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