Reflections about Ken's, Harvey's, Peter's and other comments on this
subject:
In an area where many of the caves are managed by federal agencies, the
paperwork and regulations are increasing, reflecting the way the
government operates (same thing happening at the gov't owned labs). Its
inevitable. However, going caving for recreation or project-oriented
work shouldn't be hampered, but maybe it is. Overly cautious
WNS-concerns certainly has created a new set of overbearing
requirements, but I shouldn't be a judge of that due to my own
ignorance. Since I have been caving in NM for "only" 20 years, I don't
know what it used to be like without permits and gates, etc.
I have personally become more of a project-oriented caver in NM, than I
was in the east when I was going caving just to see more caves. It has
opened doors to exploring caves, mapping and going to places that I
wouldn't have otherwise. I am taking the opportunities that are here and
adjusting my own caving to fit as best as I can. This means some
sacrifices including going on recreational caving trips less often. Its
a personal thing, and it isn't intended to exclude like-minded cavers
from joining with me. Myself and 3 other (younger) cavers in our grotto
have become hard-working surveyors/explorers in both Lechuguilla Cave
and in Ft Stanton cave, not because they were lucky or in the right
place at the right time, but because they were given an opportunity one
time and quickly figured out that they wanted to do this more. There
have been plenty of one-time cavers who just wanted to say they had been
there, but never returned with a long-term commitment. The same sort of
thing happens in GypKap and in other projects. If we see names on maps
and reports more often, its because they are the cavers sacrificing
personal time to do this work, who love doing it.
As for the work being done at FSC by the FSCSP, it may appear at first
glance that there is a elite cadre of cavers or armchair-cavers who are
making all the discoveries and producing scientific results. The
application of scientific methods to understanding the cave is naturally
going to come from people, either current or retired from technical
careers, as we have. I would venture to suggest that this group has been
very accommodating to include a variety of volunteers, cavers of all
experience levels. The digging of P7 and later the even bigger Don
Sawyer/Mud Turtle connection shaft was a big engineering undertaking. We
should applaud the hard work of many cavers from NM, AZ, TX, CO and
other areas who helped make these access routes to discover Snowy River,
still going on and on. This significant new area will probably never be
open to recreational caving, due to the delicate nature. To get in it,
requires talking to the project leaders and teams and joining in to
help. The far end of south SR is taking its toll on cavers, and has
caused the number of capable local cavers going there to dwindle to a
dozen more or less. This is strictly due to the extreme length and
physical toll it takes. Younger cavers are of course more capable in
these aspects and will be the future explorers of this and other
difficult caves in the region. The rest of us old farts will have to sit
it out and complain about not going.
_______________________________________________
SWR mailing list
[email protected]
http://caver.net/mailman/listinfo/swr_caver.net
