[§6D-1]  Definitions.  As used in thischapter:

"Board" means the board ofland and natural resources.

"Cave" means any naturallyoccurring void, cavity, recess, or system of interconnected passages largeenough for human entry, occurring beneath the surface of the earth or within acliff or ledge, including the cave resources therein, whether or not anentrance exists or is natural or artificial, and that is of archaeological,geological, biological, or cultural significance.  The term includes such formsas a lava tube, natural pit, sinkhole, underwater cave, or other feature thatis an extension of the entrance.

"Cave life" means any livingnative plant, animal, fungus, or microorganism occurring naturally in caves orin cave entrances or entrance pits.

"Cave resource" means anymaterial or substance occurring in caves, such as native animal life, nativeplant life, evidence of past human use over fifty years old, and tangible andintangible attributes associated with cultural traditions over fifty years old,paleontological deposits, sediments, minerals, speleogens, and speleothems. This includes historic properties as defined in chapter 6E.

"Commercial entry" means anactivity undertaken to exhibit a cave for which compensation is received by anyperson for goods, services, or both, rendered to customers or participants inthat use or activity.  Commercial entry includes activities whose base ofoperations are outside the boundaries of the premises, or providetransportation to or from the premises.  Any person receiving compensation inconjunction with a use or activity who seeks to qualify as noncommercial shallhave the burden of establishing to the satisfaction of the department that thefee or charge is strictly a sharing of actual expenses of the use or activity. A not-for-profit organization that charges only a nominal fee to coveradministrative costs and conducts a use or activity at a frequency or magnitudethat does not significantly contribute to the degradation of the cave and itsresources is not conducting a commercial entry.

"Construction context" means allpermitted land-altering activities necessary to construct any and all manner ofimprovements on the surface of a property including but not limited tofoundations, basements, roads, and buildings.  The term also means allpermitted land-altering activities necessary to construct subsurface tunnelsfor highways and utilities.

"Department" means thedepartment of land and natural resources.

"Educational purposes" meansentrance into a cave by faculty or staff and students of recognized educationalinstitutions for the purpose of education relating to some aspect of the cave,including but not restricted to cave geology, mineralogy, hydrology, biology,archaeology, paleontology, management, and hazards.

"Gate" means any structure ordevice located to limit, control, or prohibit access to, or entry to, anyportion of a cave.

"Owner" means the persons whohold title to or are in possession of the land on or under which a cave islocated, or the persons' lessee or agent.  The term also includes an agencythat holds title to, manages, or controls public land on or under which a caveis located.

"Paleontological deposit"means any remains or fossils of life forms or surface debris that are overfifty years of age and provide a record of past climates and biota.

"Person" shall be as definedin section 1-19.

"Scientific purposes" meansresearch, or exploration, or both, conducted by persons affiliated withrecognized scientific organizations with the intent to advance knowledge and topublish the results of exploration or research in an appropriate medium.

"Speleogen" means relieffeatures on the walls, ceiling, or floor of any cave.

"Speleothem" means anysecondary natural mineral formation or deposit occurring in a cave, includingany stalactite, stalagmite, helictite, cave flower, flowstone, concretion,drapery, rimstone, or formation of clay or other sediment. [L 2002, c 241, ptof §2]