Interesting discussion concerning cave access, publicity, secrecy, and ethics. It really gets to the meat of the matter when cavers are involved in owning and/or managing cave and karst resources. I appreciate Julie's well thought and timely email that started this thread. We do need to severely limit any publicity regarding the location of caves in general and especially those that are either dangerous for the general public and/or are located in urban areas. Though I'm sure the video in question was well intentioned, we do ourselves and the average citizen no service by advertising the merits and specific location of caves located near cities and public areas. At this point I diverge from the sentiment that has been expressed thus far in this thread; that being the continued uncontrolled access to Airman's Cave for any and all. I'd love to see the cave continue to be accessible to both responsible cavers and non-cavers whenever they like, but I see that as an increasingly untenable position. Like it or not, more and more people know about or will find out about Airman's Cave. Traffic will increase as a result and the inevitable trashing of the cave will occur. A rise in accident and rescue incidents goes hand-in-hand with the escalation of non-caver visitation. Whether we like it or not, the cave is a liability to the city of Austin which has a responsibility for providing a safe environment within its park systems, and must either police or take ultimate responsibility and liability for any incidents that occur there. It is inevitable that the present access situation will not last forever. As a good steward to the cave, and a partner in cave management with the City of Austin, it seems to me that the responsible course of action for cavers is to be proactive in managing the cave in manner that : 1.) Protects the cave 2.) Attempts to control the influx of yahoos that will inevitably come and either get lost or trash the cave, and 3.) Demonstrates to the City of Austin our ability to recognize and promote safe and responsible cave management practices that are in the best interest of both the owner and the cave. To continue to actively promote uncontrolled access to the cave is probably self-defeating. We will most likely lose both access to the cave and the trust of the city. Better to face the music and advocate gating the cave, and doing so in a way that places the keys within the caving community and thus still control access. This is not the solution we would like, but some caves are located in areas that dictate no other viable course of action short of physically closing the entrance permanently. I'm fairly certain that if a real caving accident occurred in Airman's that resulted in either a serious injury or death, that the cave would be sealed for all times. Jerry Atkinson.
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