The Conservation Fund, a leading nonprofit in U.S. land and water protection, recently transferred 298 acres in Monroe County to West Virginia Land Trust (WVLT) for ownership. The property encompasses the Greenville Saltpeter Cave, designated as a National Natural Landmark by the National Park Service because of its nationally significant historic and ecological values.
At the request of the West Virginia Division of Natural Resources, the Fund negotiated the acquisition of 149.6 acres from Amanda Sandell and Matthias Grawe in 2021 and 148.5 acres from the Institute for Earth Education in 2023. Both properties were transferred to the WVLT to be managed as the future Greenville Saltpeter Cave Preserve.
“The biological and historical value of this land made it clear to everyone involved that permanent conservation was more than just prudent – it was paramount,” said The Conservation Fund Vice President and West Virginia Director Joe Hankins. “Our partners at West Virginia Land Trust will serve as unparalleled caretakers for this land. We’re thrilled to have helped secure this outcome, which will benefit West Virginians for decades to come.”
WVLT will manage the preserve in cooperation with the West Virginia Division of Natural Resources (WV DNR), and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. The Institute for Earth Education, whose prior ownership launched conservation stewardship of the cave system, will partner with the Land Trust on educational, interpretive and stewardship programs at the preserve.
Amanda Sandell, the previous landowner and a Monroe County native, said about the project, “Working with The Conservation Fund toward the goal of protecting the cave habitat environment was a cooperative and solution-oriented process. These caves have long held a special place in the hearts of those living in Monroe County and beyond. May this protection serve to preserve the caves for generations to come.”
The most notable feature of the preserve is the Greenville Saltpeter Cave that has developed in the Greenbrier Limestone. The cave has 3.8 miles of mapped passage with five entrances. In the 18th and 19th centuries, one entrance was known as the Singing Cave for the gospel sings held there because of favorable acoustics.
As early as 1777, the cave was leased for saltpeter mining for the manufacture of gunpowder, mostly for use by the local communities. The cave was mined extensively for saltpeter prior to the Civil War and by the Confederacy during the war. William Davies, a notable American geologist who authored “Caverns of West Virginia,” noted in 1958 that the cave contained many “cart ruts, burro tracks, mattock marks, and other relics of saltpeter operations.” Unfortunately, many of these remnants and artifacts were removed, damaged or destroyed by vandalism.
The cave is especially significant for the imperiled bats it supports. Of these bats, currently the Indiana bat and northern long-eared bat are listed by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service as endangered; the tricolored bat has been proposed for listing as endangered; and the little brown bat is under review for possible listing as threatened or endangered. Once one of the most abundant bats in eastern North America, the tricolored bat has declined precipitously, but the Greenville Saltpeter Cave population has held up better and is now one of the largest surviving groups found anywhere.
Human disturbance and the fungal disease White-nosed Syndrome (WNS) have imperiled many cave-dwelling bat species. WNS is a disease that affects hibernating bats and is caused by an invasive, cold-loving fungus. The fungus grows on bats’ skin, disturbing their hibernation and resulting in dehydration, starvation and often death.
Following recommendations of the WV DNR and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the Greenville Saltpeter Cave entrances were gated by the previous landowners, preventing unpermitted human visitation. Controlling access continues to be a major strategy for recovery of imperiled bats.
Although gating the cave entrances did help increase bat populations in the cave, the spread of WNS has caused further declines.
WVDNR will be implementing a new, experimental treatment for WNS in the Greenville Saltpeter Cave. Ultraviolet light in the “C” spectrum (so-called UV-C light) is capable of killing Pseudogymnoascus destructans, the causative agent of WNS, without leaving trace residue within caves, and with minimal disturbance of other cave dwelling organisms. During UV-C treatments, WV DNR biologists will bathe the ceiling and walls of the cave in areas where bats aggregate, or historically aggregated, in large numbers. Treatment of these areas just prior to the hibernation season will significantly reduce the prevalence of Pd. Reduction of prevalence of Pd is expected to reduce infection rate and intensity of hibernating bats, thereby increasing survival of hibernating bats. Results of these treatments will be tracked by the WVDNR and provided to other state and federal natural resource agencies to help guide broader efforts at bat conservation.
Alex Silvis of WV DNR will be leading the WNS treatment project and said, “UV-C light treatment is a cutting-edge process, and this is the first time we are performing this method in West Virginia. I am enthusiastic the results will be positive, and the UV-C light method will become standard practice in reducing White-nose Syndrome.”
After completion of WV DNR’s research project, the West Virginia Land Trust plans to work with WV DNR, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, as well as local partners, to safely open the property to the public. While the property may open to the public for hiking, bird watching, nature study and photography, the cave will remain closed to the public for the foreseeable future.
Funding for this project was made possible by the voluntary stewardship agreement between West Virginia Land Trust, WV DNR, Mountain Valley Pipeline, LLC and The Conservation Fund. This agreement provided funds to secure conservation lands for public use and enhance community economic development, advance the WVLT’s work to manage and protect the Greenville Saltpeter Cave system and fund bat research performed by WV DNR. These lands are being conserved, in part, by funding and technical assistance made available as mitigation for habitat impacts arising through construction of the Mountain Valley Pipeline, LLC Project in partnership with the West Virginia Division of Natural Resources, and The Conservation Fund.