Florida Caverns State Park investigation leads to undeserved staff discipline, critics say

MARIANNA — Seven workers at Florida Caverns State Park, including veteran park manager William Bailey, face resignation, transfer, and reprimands after an internal investigation found violations of state archaeology rules and park service training and procedures.

A Department of Environmental Protection Inspector General investigation found that Bailey and a team of rangers and specialists he managed had violated department rules and procedures for what to do when Native American artifacts are found and how to treat wildlife. Florida Caverns State Park is a 1,449-acre geologically unique and historically significant state park in Jackson County, about 70 miles west of Tallahassee.

But park supporters, like the non-governmental Friends of Florida Caverns State Park, railed against the disciplinary actions against Bailey and the park's assistant manager, as well as three rangers and two park specialists. One privately called it “cruel and unusual” given the nature of the violations, their dedication to the park and their cooperation with investigators.

“It’s certainly out of whack with what I see happening out there,” said Chad Taylor of Friends of Florida Caverns State Park when asked about the demotions, pay cuts, forced transfers and resignations handed out to the park's staff.

Taylor, a charter member of the 20-year-old volunteer group for the park, says he fell in love with the caverns outside Marianna as a teen when his family moved to Jackson County from Jacksonville.

It's that kind of devotion that animates locals' defense of Bailey and the others against what they see as a inexplicable attempt by the Florida State Parks to enforce draconian penalties for trivial violations.

Indeed, they fear the discipline meted out will disrupt public education and outreach efforts for a park that's home to the only publicly accessible dry caves in the state, where the first Floridians sought shelter. Native American spear tips, arrowheads, flint, and pottery shards have been uncovered in the region for generations.

During the Seminole War, Gen. Andrew Jackson chased Native American warriors across a land bridge near the caverns while women and children hid in the caves.

The investigation found Bailey and others did not report historically cultural resources such as spear tips and bird feathers as outlined in administrative rules.

On the other hand, Bailey said they did what rangers and specialists have always done in his 18 years with the Park. He is the only person ever to rise from a park volunteer to park manager in the Florida Park Service's 89-year history; one of the specialists reprimanded had worked at the park for 28 years.

"As the leader of the team here, I feel responsible for making sure that people know that they didn't do anything wrong. And I don't know how to best do that other than stating the facts and hoping that it doesn't come back to bite me too hard," Bailey told the Tallahassee Democrat.

Bailey is guarded in his public remarks; his resignation is effective April 15. With the resignation comes the loss of health insurance for his family. They also will have to vacate their home on the park's grounds. He hopes to find employment with another state agency.

The Florida Park Service declined to make the other employees available for an interview.

Fire line for artifacts get park rangers in trouble

Taylor concedes he may not know all the details of the incidents that sparked the IG investigation, but said it looked like the park's rangers got into trouble for doing what they were supposed to do – use the park’s unique features as a tool to explain Florida's history and biodiversity.

Here's how it started: DEP investigator Jason White opened an investigation in September into allegations staff was removing artifacts and taking animals from the park. According to White, Ranger Alexander Bush said he saw the rangers and park specialists walk the fire line of controlled burns looking for arrowheads, pottery shards and other items.

The IG's report found that items picked up would then be brought to morning staff meetings and displayed in the rangers' offices.

Other artifacts confiscated from the offices during the investigation included donated arrowheads said to be from Indiana; a stalagmite, an icicle-shaped cave formation of mineral deposits that had been on display since the 1990s; feathers from a bird of prey; and items found during the cleanup after Hurricane Michael, which destroyed 90% of the park’s tree cover and 60% of its infrastructure, causing the park to be closed for nine months.

A third set of artifacts were in storage boxes that had been turned over by the federal government in the 1940s. Members of the public who have rallied around the seven workers display photo copies of documents showing correspondence between the national and state park services, ones that investigators seem unaware of.

Investigators concluded no one was aware of any artifacts being removed from the park. They dismissed the wildlife allegations after confirming that Bailey had rescued and helped a stranded baby owl under the guidance of a licensed rehabilitator.

And while Bailey's daughter had rescued an injured baby possum, the department apparently has no rules governing injured possums. Both animals were released into the wild once they were healthy.

Bailey and others told investigators the animals and artifacts were "used to enhance visitors' appreciation of the park's environment and history."

But state investigators informed Bailey that if a ranger picked up a turtle, a frog, or even feathers from a bird of prey, they would be in violation of state rules.

Bailey said he thought such directives applied to park visitors, not park staff, and he followed the park's operational manual, which permits the use of the park's resources as interpretive tools.

Ultimately, the IG report concluded no laws were broken or criminal acts committed by Bailey and his staff, but state and department rules were violated. Those rules require artifacts discovered in a state park to be left in their original location unless threatened by illegal collection, erosion or fire.

Bailey told investigators he and others removed artifacts to protect them from a scheduled controlled burn. The investigation, however, concluded Bailey was negligent in not enforcing departmental directives.

Related story: Civilian Conservation Corps: The 'backbone' of Florida State Parks

Critics say state lacks historical context in artifact investigation

The Florida Division of Historical Resources' report on the case recommends that the DEP should ensure all staff are properly trained in protecting natural and cultural resources.

The Florida State Parks system's response was to reprimand staff for the rule violations. A source close to the investigation, who asked not to be identified because she or he is not allowed to speak with news media, said Florida Parks Director Chuck Hatcher wants to "set an example."

One ranger resigned in November while the investigation was underway. When the investigation was completed in March, Bailey was given the opportunity to resign as park manager or be fired. He signed a resignation letter.

His assistant park manager was told he was indefinitely ineligible for promotion or a transfer. Two rangers were transferred and received a 10% pay cut, two specialists and a part-time employee were reprimanded, and a ranger quit.

Dale Cox is puzzled by the state's response to what he said is a bureaucratic violation equivalent to not dotting an "i." He lives in Two Egg, about 12 miles from the park, and has written 19 books about the history of north Florida, including Jackson County, where Native Americans once lived.

Some of the artifacts confiscated in the investigation were in boxes stored at the park for nearly 70 years. They were dug up by the Civilian Conservation Corps in the 1930s, and Cox has correspondence between the National Park Service and the state of Florida when the boxes were delivered to the Florida Caverns State Park 10 years later for safe keeping.

"There's all kinds of letters from the 1940s up to the 2000s, where park managers reported to the state these artifacts, and the state never did anything, (and) now the staff is being blamed for having these artifacts," Cox said.

That the IG report makes no mention of this leads Cox to question the investigation.

Off the beaten path: Beat the heat and take a cave tour, what to know before you visit Florida Caverns State Park

In addition to picking up arrowheads in advance of a controlled burn, investigators also cited as "artifacts" soda bottles taken from an abandoned golf course next to the park. State historians had previously considered them rubbish when they surveyed the site 10 years ago.

Taylor worries how much disruption of park services will result in the turnover of staff, and whether the staff has received fair treatment: "I don't want to make a political statement out of it. But there been a lot of (staff) cuts and things and it's not an easy job to manage a park," he said.

Taylor suggested that some extra staff would help the rangers stay current on paperwork requirements. The state is about 17,000 workers short; about one in five positions are vacant, according to the state's Department of Management Services.

When asked about citizens’ concerns about the investigation and disruption to park staff, DEP spokesman Brian Miller pointed to the IG report, which he said sustained the allegations of breaking rules governing artifacts and wildlife.

Other than that, the department “has no further comment,” he added.

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James Call is a member of the USA TODAY NETWORK-Florida Capital Bureau. He can be reached at jcall@tallahassee.com and is on X as @CallTallahassee.

This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: Florida Caverns State Park staff discipline unwarranted, critics say