In October 2023, the West Virginia Land Trust assumed management of a historic Monroe County cave system.
The cave was once mined for saltpeter by pioneer settlers and Confederate soldiers. Saltpeter is a key component in the making of gunpowder. The cave now provides habitat for at least two endangered bat species.
Partial funding for the preserve was made available as habitat impact mitigation arising from construction of the Mountain Valley Pipeline, which passes just west of Greenville.
The new, 298-acre Greenville Saltpeter Cave Preserve encompasses its namesake limestone cavern, which contains nearly 4 miles of mapped passages.
The cave provides prime habitat for endangered Indiana and Northern long-eared bats during their breeding and hibernation seasons, which extend from late summer to early spring. The cave system provides a refuge for three other bats of varying conservation concern, in addition to being the home of two invertebrate species that are globally rare and endemic to the Greenbrier Valley.
The preserve, to be managed in cooperation with the West Virginia Division of Natural Resources and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, will be the first site in the Mountain State where a promising experimental treatment designed to reduce bats’ vulnerability to white-nose syndrome will be deployed. A fungal disease that has brought about precipitous declines in bat populations since it appeared in the United States in 2006, white-nose syndrome disrupts hibernation, causing dehydration, starvation and often death.
DNR biologists will bathe in ultraviolet light the ceilings and walls where hibernating bats congregate in large numbers in Greenville Saltpeter Cave. The UV light is a wavelength capable of neutralizing the pathogen that causes the disease. The UV-C light has a minimal effect on other cave-dwelling organisms, and after it is applied, leaves no trace residue within the cave.
“UV-C light treatment is a cutting-edge process,” said Alex Silvis, the DNR biologist who led the white-nose syndrome treatment project. “I am enthusiastic the results will be positive and the UV-C light method will become standard practice in reducing white-nose syndrome.”
The Greenville Saltpeter Cave is registered with the National Park Service National Natural Landmarks Directory. There are currently 605 designated National Natural Landmark sites within 48 states, American Samoa, Guam, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands. Louisiana and Delaware are the only two states that do not contain a NNL site. Of the existing landmark sites approximately one-half are administered solely by public agencies (e.g., Federal, State, county, or municipal governments), nearly one-third are owned entirely by private parties and the remaining are owned or administered by a mixture of public and private owners. Click here to view the NNL map.
The previous owners of the preserve’s property, following recommendations by the DNR and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, installed gates at the cave’s five entrances to restrict human access in an effort to prevent the spread of white-nose syndrome.
The interior of the cave will stay closed to the general public indefinitely, with the possibility of small research or educational explorations possible in the future, after the conclusion of DNR’s UV-C project. By 2030, WVLT hopes to open the exterior of the Preserve to non-motorized recreation, including a parking lot and small trail system which will allow users plenty of hiking, birding, and other nature viewing opportunities.
The Land Trust will work with the DNR, Fish and Wildlife and the Institute for Earth Education on a plan to safely open the property to the public.
WVLT is working closely with U.S Fish and Wildlife Service, West Virginia’s Department of Natural Resources, and other local, regional, and national partners to ensure that the fragile natural resources contained on the property continue to stay protected. Please adhere to the following stipulations if you do plan a visit to the property in the future:
To avoid disturbance to bats, gatherings of more than 4 people within 50 yards of the cave entrances is prohibited from one hour before dusk until one hour after dawn from September – April.
In an effort to reduce harm to insect and bat populations, the following are prohibited: the use of electrical and chemical insect repellant devices, loud or intrusive noises such as fireworks, and surface night lighting which can disorient and fatally attract both bats and insects.
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