Dec. 12—The West Virginia Land Trust recently secured ownership of a historically significant piece of property in Monroe County.

According to a WVLT press release, a 298-acre tract of land that includes the Greenville Saltpeter Cave was transferred by The Conservation Fund. The Greenville Saltpeter Cave is home to 3.8 miles of mapped passage with five entrances. According to the press release, the cave is especially significant for the imperiled bats it supports, such as the Indiana bat, northern long-eared bat, tricolored bat and little brown bat. The cave's tricolored bat population is now one of the largest surviving groups found anywhere, according to officials.

The cave was designated as a National Natural Landmark by the National Park Service in 1973 because of its historic and ecological significance.

At the request of the West Virginia Division of Natural Resources, the Conservation Fund — a leading nonprofit in U.S. land and water protection — 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, the release noted. Both properties were transferred to the Land Trust 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," Joe Hankins, The Conservation Fund vice president and West Virginia director, said in the release. "Our partners at West Virginia Land Trust will serve as unparalleled caretakers for this land."

WVLT will manage the preserve in cooperation with the WVDNR 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 WVLT on educational, interpretive and stewardship programs.

Historical reports say that, as early as 1777, the cave was leased for saltpeter mining for the manufacture of gunpowder, mostly for use by local communities. The cave was mined extensively for saltpeter prior to the Civil War and by the Confederacy during the war.

Following recommendations of the WVDNR and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, cave entrances were gated in the past by previous landowners, preventing non-permitted human visitation. According to the release, WVDNR is expected to implement a new, experimental program for White-nose Syndrome in bats in the cave utilizing treatments via ultraviolet light in the "C" spectrum as a means to improve the bats' survivability. After completion of the project, the WVLT plans to work with the DNR and USFWS, as well as local partners, to safely open the property 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 the project was made possible by a stewardship agreement between WV Land Trust, WVDNR, Mountain Valley Pipeline, LLC and The Conservation Fund. The 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 Project in partnership with the WVDNR and The Conservation Fund.