Project Management

Purpose

The public should be informed and supportive of how their monument’s resources are being managed. This website shows the monument’s goals, plans, and projects to facilitate positive public involvement in the form of volunteer hours, research interests, and constructive comments.

FY2008 Projects

Protecting Cave Resources through Enhanced Cave Security

Project Year 2008; Funding through SEPAS $60,200

[Proposal] [Report]

Preventing illegal entries and their adverse impacts to the Timpanogos Cave environment and its biologic, mineralogic, and cultural resources is the number one priority for monument staff. The fragile cave environment at Timpanogos Cave National Monument is susceptible to human disturbance because of a variety of factors. The Monument is only a 45-minute drive from 2 million people that live between Provo and Salt Lake City, Utah. (See Photo #1) Additionally, because the Monument is closed for six months of the year, and the caves are located a mile away from headquarters and 1.5 miles up a paved trail, illegal entries may go unnoticed for weeks or even months. The main entrance to the Timpanogos Cave System has been breached four times in the past ten years, and other incidents indicate how accessible other areas of the Monument are to a trespassing public.

Installing electronic security devices and signage before and at the cave entrances will decrease the vulnerability of illegal entry into the fragile, non-renewable cave environment, and increase the opportunity for apprehension. This proposal requests financial support for the purchase and installation of additional security technology, as well as, support for interdisciplinary review of the project and the publication of the project results and implementation in the American Caves Journal and National Speleological Society Magazine.

FY2007 Projects

Inventory of Significant Park Features

Project Year 2007; Funding through SEPAS $9,940

[Proposal] [Report]

In 2004, Timpanogos Cave NM was able to conduct a successful GIS project that produced a detailed cave layer to inventory cave features. A park-wide inventory is also needed to represent the locations of park resources and facilities, document park activities and research, and aid in park planning. Using mobile mapping techniques (ArcPad, Pocket PC, and GPS) significant features throughout the park such as electrical wiring, historic artifacts, rare formations, and monitoring stations will be mapped and inputted into a GIS system. This project will help manage the park resources and facilities in disciplines of Resource Management, Maintenance, Interpretation, and research.

Restoring the Natural Cave Soundscape

Project Year 2007; Funding through SEPAS $9,897

[Proposal] [Report]

Species-specific voices within an undisturbed ecosystem evolve to perform within the acoustic parameters of that habitat and especially within the symbiotic structure imposed by the other species voices occupying the same biome. The result is a rich integrated texture of sound spread over both the audible (human) and inaudible spectrum. Natural sounds are intrinsic elements of the environment that are often associated with parks and park purposes. The loss of natural soundscapes begins with the loss of habitat itself. Restoring the natural soundscape of the Timpanogos Cave System is vital to the functioning of the park, may provide indicators of the health of the cave ecosystem, and will increase our understanding of the impact of human noise on quiet places. Marine-based digital timers will replace the thirty-five mechanical timers. These timers will be noiseless; push button operated, and are able to withstand the 98% humidity in the cave system.

Penstemon and Pollinators

Project Year 2006 to 2007; Funding through US Wildlife $15,000

[Proposal] [Report]

The foundation of a healthy ecosystem relies on healthy plant communities and pollinators. At Timpanogos Cave NM we are striving towards building the world’s healthy ecosystem with volunteers who will be restoring plant and bee communities. These volunteers will also be working in the community to educate the next generation of the importance of our local environments.

To accomplish this project we are partnering with Brigham Young University, the Utah Native Plant Society, the USDA Bee Lab and the Utah County school system to educate local youth about the importance of maintaining native plants and pollinators and to restore neighboring native plant ecosystems. This project will also fund growing supplies, a greenhouse, lights, heating and cooling systems, and supplies for pollinator nests.

FY2006 Projects

Restoring Cave Resources

Project Year 2005 to 2006; Funding through SEPAS $38,500

[Proposal] [Report]

Due to cave development and approximately 85,000 people a year visiting the caves, cave resources are being degraded from the introduction of foreign debris and altered drainages. This foreign debris discolors cave features, dries out speleothems, and provides a food source for opportunistic cave biota. Resource impacts will be mitigated by removing algae growth, lint accumulation, and mud accumulation. This cave cleaning and restoration project will meet the monument’s GPRA goal of restoring 3,000 sq ft of cave surfaces in FY04 and FY05 before irreversible damage occurs to cave resources.

FY2005 Projects

Restoring Cave Drainages

Project Years 2003 to 2005; Funding through SEPAS $114,000

[Proposal] [Implementation Plan (180 KB)] [Annual Report 2003 (180 KB)] [Completion Report 2005 (50 KB)]

A lighted, paved trail allowing over 80,000 people/year to tour Timpanogos Cave has significantly modified the natural drainage of water through the cave. Where the drainages cross the cave trail, the visitors’ feet spread the mud coating the surrounding formations and discoloring the cave’s pure water supplies. This introduced mud causes the formations to lose their astounding color, it decreases the water quality, and it provides food sources to sustain non-cave adapted species. The natural processes can be restored by minimizing the cave trail’s interaction with the water flow paths and creating maintainable catchments to keep the imported debris from escaping the trail.

Complete Catalog Backlog

Project Year 2004 to 2005; Funding through SEPAS $23,900

[Proposal] [Report]

The park museum has identified 2,671 backlogged objects (or 27% of the entire museum collection.) Only 200 objects a year are cataloged using collateral duty personnel. This many objects can easily be added to the museum each year. To improve the value and use of the museum, the backlogged objects need to be cataloged. This proposal can accomplish cataloging the entire backlog with a dedicated museum staff of two museum technicians within 6 months.

FY2004 Projects

Monitoring Cave Water Quality

Project Years 2003 to 2004; Funding through SEPAS $19,980

[Proposal] [Report (13 KB)]

Information on Timpanogos Cave waterflow rates and sources is almost non-existent at the monument. It is known that water quality and quantity can be affected by the adjacent Forest Service land practices of grazing, ATV and off-road vehicle use, camping, and fire suppression. The most critical natural and human impact on the caves is the quality and quantity of water entering them. Even though information on the quantity of water entering the caves is limited; it is probable that some of the subsurface water flow comes from outside the monument as indicated by the calcite deposition in the caves.

Inventorying Cave Features

Project Year ~~2003~~ 2004; Funding through SEPAS $9,200

[Proposal] [Report]

Using a georeferenced map of the Timpanogos Cave System, significant features throughout the caves such as cultural resources, rare or unusual formations, water and photo-monitoring stations, and lighting systems will be mapped and input into a GIS system. This project will help manage the cave system in all aspects of park management; resource management, maintenance, interpretation, and research.

Writing a Vegetation Management Plan

Project Year ~~2003~~ 2004; Funding through SEPAS $10,000

[Proposal] [Report]

Develop and implement a vegetation management plan describing standard operating procedures to protect and manage vegetation in developed areas for public recreation, off-trail non-developed areas, concession areas, and administrative and utility areas. This plan will be consistent with NPS and Regional policy including treatment of the following topics: restoration and maintenance of developed area vegetation, restoration of vegetation outside of developed areas, maintaining genetic integrity, exotic plant control, nursery operation guidelines, roadside vegetation management, monitoring schedules and guidelines, and the establishment of restoration priorities.

FY2003 Projects

Administrative History

Project Year 2003; Funding through SEPAS $35,000

[Proposal] [Report (11 KB)]

This project will produce an administrative history that will address the major issues that have shaped the current management philosophy of Timpanogos Cave National Monument. The history will include issues relating to changes in superintendency, visitor education, development of resource management programs, the basis for pending issues, and changes in land acquisition policy and boundaries. It will also address the impact these issues had on the relationships with park neighbors.

Installing Cave Handrails

Project Years 2002 to 2003; Funding through SEPAS $20,000

[Proposal] [Designs and Specifications (1.3 MB)] [Report (285KB)]

The Timpanogos Cave system is made up of three caves connected by two man-made tunnels. Approximately 85,000 people a year take a guided tour through caves. Although the tours are guided, the close proximity of cave formations along the trail provides an easy opportunity for visitors to touch, lean against, or break. Handrails need to be installed in the cave system to mitigate the resource damage occurring to these non-renewable cave resources, and provide a safe experience for monument visitors.

Current cave handrails are inadequately placed, and are made-up of three different types of metals; aluminum, galvanized, and stainless steel. The aluminum has started to oxidize because of the cave’s constant 97% humidity and 45 degree temperature. This oxidation is introducing foreign materials into the cave ecosystem. These soft aluminum rails are also a safety and maintenance problem. The rails break frequently and have been repaired and re-bolted for years beyond their functional life. Visitors use these rails as safety handrails in the cool, wet cave environment, and also as a rail to lean against to view formations.

Installing Cave Gates

Project Years 2002 to 2003; Funding through SEPAS $10,000

[Proposal] [Designs and Specifications (831 KB)] [Report (157 KB)]

The Timpanogos Cave System is showing a large decline in Townsend’s Big-Eared Bat (Corynorhinus townsendii) populations. One explanation for the decline is that the natural entrances to the three cave system were improperly gated in 1991. These gates were installed for cave security, not for maintaining the cave ecosystem and bat populations. In FY2002, new gates will be designed and installed to maintain the cave’s security, but also to restore the cave’s natural airflow, maximize the ease of bat passage, and eliminate the chances of bat predation.

Controlling the Spread of Invasive Plants

Project Years 2002 to 2003; Funding through SEPAS $10,000

[Proposal] [Annual Report 2002 (573 KB)]

Invasive plants are the greatest threat to the health of our ecosystems. Invasive plants are plants that choke out desired vegetation. In the late 60s, Dalmation Toadflax was introduced to stabilize rocky slope; it has spread to cover over 9 acres of the Timpanogos Cave NM slowly choking out the native grasses and Penstemons. The small mammals and insects are dependent on these plants. The food chain is altered and the whole ecosystem is affected. Timely action is needed to save the ecology that took thousands of years to evolve from these recent infestations of invasive plants.

In the last year, the monument has started to combat its invasive plants. At least 22 invasive plants (see Table) have been identified infecting approximately 15 acres (6%) of the monument’s 250 acres (see map). Being a small cave park, most of the funding and time is focused on the cave. Controlling invasive plants is treated as a collateral duty. The monument is of a manageable size that with funding support and timely action, the spread of invasive plants could be controlled.

Monitoring Microbial Diversity

Project Year 2003; Funding through SEPAS $9,940

[Proposal] [Report (11 KB)]

A comprehensive survey of microbial species in the Timpanogos Cave system is needed to understand their role in the cave’s ecology. The Biotechnology Center at Western Kentucky University has developed a "DNA fingerprinting" technique that allows many different microorganisms to be surveyed in a single sample. The growing database of DNA sequence and phylogenetic information along with fragment sizes from the cave clone database provides a means for recognizing and monitoring bacterial species in cave sediments, without the need to isolate and culture the organisms.

Writing a Integrated Pest Management Plan

Project Year 2003; Funding through SEPAS $10,000

[Proposal] [Report (11 KB)]

An integrated pest management plan (IPM) will be developed according to NPS guidelines, and pertinent state regulations and will address the NPS nine step IPM process. This plan will address pest management in each of the following areas of the park: Visitor Center, Park Housing, Maintenance Facility, Restroom Facilities, Concessions, Resource Management Office, and Administrative Office.

Specific pests to be addressed may include but are not restricted to the following: Exotic plant species (Dalmation toadflax, Spotted knapweed, Tall fescue, Bulbous Bluegrass, etc.) Exotic animal species (House Sparrow, etc.) Invertebrate pests (tent caterpillars, ants, yellow jackets, etc.) Native vertebrate pests (mice, rats, snakes, ringtails, skunks, gophers, etc.) Native plant pests (roots in sewer lines, algae in the caves, etc.).

FY2002 Projects

Interpreting Bat Calls

Project Year 2002; Funding through Western Parks and Monuments Association (WPMA) $6,916

[Proposal (20 KB)] [Annual Report (6.3 MB)]

Bats are highly misunderstood mammals, with a general negative public perception. In reality, they are very valuable to our ecosystem. Bats can be identified and studied by analyzing their unique calls. This proposal to purchase a high frequency recorder called an Anabat Detector, will allow the monument to identify and research bats in flight, and educate the visiting public about the value of bats through evening program presentations and bulletin boards. The Anabat detectors will enhance Timpanogos Cave National Monument's ability to identify the bat species present in the monument, identify in what capacity the bats are using the monument, evaluate the effectiveness of new 'bat friendly" cave gates to be installed in 2002, and provide an increased awareness of the value of bats to the public.

Cave Restoration

Project Year 2002; Funding through SEPAS $10,000

[Proposal] [Annual Report (271KB)]

About 80,000 people/year introduce mud, hair, lint, and algae into the Timpanogos Cave System. The accumulation of these foreign materials is a threat to the cave resources. They can change the appearance cave formations, add energy sources allowing exotic species to invade the cave ecosystem, add impurities to the cave water, and can changes the cave’s chemistry. This accumulation of foreign threatens the purpose that Timpanogos Cave System was set aside as a National Monument.

The cave was cleaned through hauling out debris with buckets, scrubbing of hard flowstone formations, spraying natural cave water with backpack sprayers, and dabbing delicate formations with paint brushes. A total of 3,110 ft² of the cave was cleaned.

Maintained by Jon Jasper - last updated August 23, 2006