Effective August 1, 2013 the US Forest Service Rocky Mountain Region will be implementing an adaptive management strategy for white-nose syndrome (WNS) on national forests and grasslands in Colorado, Wyoming, South Dakota, and Kansas. The adaptive management strategy replaces emergency cave closures that have been in place throughout the Region since 2010 when Pseudogymnoascus destructans (Pd), the fungus that causes WNS, was identified in Oklahoma. For national forests and grasslands in the Rocky Mountain Region, most caves are open to public access with some important requirements and exceptions: registration is required to access caves that are open, clothing and equipment used in states/provinces where white-nosed syndrome is found or suspected are prohibited, decontamination procedures following USFWS protocols are required by everyone to enter any and all caves, and all known cave hibernacula are closed during the winter hibernation period. Please refer to the USFS website and the Colorado Cave Survey Closed Cave webpage for more information.
For caves that are open, the USFS website has detailed instructions on how to get authorization. A form must be filled out and sent to [email protected].