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SALT LAKE CITY (AP) -- The Bureau of Land Management wants to limit access to southern Utah's largest cave.
Bloomington Cave, which is about 15 miles west of St. George, has for years been trashed by vandals wielding spray paint and litterbugs leaving behind beer cans and other garbage.
Volunteers in recent years have started cleaning up the 1.3-mile long cave.
The BLM now is proposing locked gates on the cave's two entrances. Access would be limited to those with free permits who can show they have proper caving equipment.
BLM officials estimate the cave has about 800 to 1,200 visitors per year.
The proposal is up for public comment. Jimmy Tyree, director of the BLM's field office in St. George, says the gates and new rules could be in place by summer.
(Copyright 2009 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
