Conservation Issues
The cutting of turf has led to damage in the area. Extensive drainage in parts of the bog has damaged the bog's ability to retain water, resulting in flooding and abnormally high water levels in the caves downstream. This has impeded tourist activity in the past, notably in 1989 when the impact of such damage influencing cave water levels first became evident. As a protective measure, turf cutting has been banned within the wider Geopark. In addition more than 1200 small dams have been put in place across the bogland to slow water flow and encourage the growth of new bog.
Another problem is that human interference can cause the limestone to be damaged or eroded. In a particular case in 1984, a group of vandals broke into the show cave before it was opened to the public and threw stones at some of the calcite formations around the entrance. Many small stalactites were snapped off at their bases, while the tip of the largest stalactite in the show cave (over 2 metres in length) was broken off. This tip fell onto a sandbank on the cave floor where it was retrieved the next day by a workman. It was then sent to the Ulster Museum in Belfast where a calcite resin was specially produced and subsequently used to stick the tip back onto its original position.
Read more about this topic: Marble Arch Caves
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