Land managers, students, private citizens, and cave enthusiasts from around the country convened at the National Cave and Karst Management Symposium held in St. Louis from October 8-12. Missouri Ecological Services biologists Heidi Kuska and Paul McKenzie attended the symposium to learn and share ideas on new projects and initiatives in cave and karst management.

Karst systems are widespread throughout many different management areas in Missouri, Arkansas, and  Oklahoma. Many imperiled species rely on these systems for survival, including the endangered Ozark cavefish, Tumbling Creek cavesnail and Indiana bat. Missouri Department of Conservation fisheries biologist Brad Pobst presented current research on recovery efforts for the grotto sculpin, a candidate for listing, and water quality monitoring of the species’ habitat in Perry County, Missouri.

Kuska and McKenzie attended a Bat Cave Identification Management Workshop and discussed the potential for surveys for the Ozark big-eared bat. Currently, there are no known occupied sites for these bats in Missouri.  Symposium attendants were also invited to Meramec State Park for a dinner reception held inside the Meramec Caverns.

Sponsors of the symposium included Bat Conservation International, Missouri Department of Conservation (MDC), U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), Missouri Cave and Karst Conservancy, and other supporting and contributing agencies.