Nonprofit acquires 4-acre cave preserve in Cedar Park
By
Claire Osborn -
American-Statesman Staff
Posted: 11:00 p.m. Saturday, December 24, 2016
Highlights
- The Wilcox Cave preserve has three caves, including two with an endangered
beetle species.
- The preserve will be open to public only at certain times of the year.
There’s a new 4-acre cave preserve in Cedar Park. But it’s not ready for
visitors. Fox River Austin Properties, a developer, donated the Wilcox Cave
Preserve to the Texas Cave Management Association in early December. The
nonprofit will open it up at certain times of the year to help educate the
public about caves and the aquifer, said Jay Jorden, an association board
member.
“We are excited about managing this significant tract of land in an urban
area,” Jorden said.
The land includes three small caves, including two that are home to an
endangered species, the tooth cave ground beetle, also known as Rhadine
persephone, said Jim Kennedy, another board member.
”These are not the stand up and walk around caves,” said Kennedy. “They are the
squirm and crawl through caves.”
Only people with the right equipment and training will be allowed to enter the
caves when the preserve is open.
According to the Texas Cave Management Association, Fox River Austin Properties
worked with another group that has since dissolved, the Texas Cave Conservancy,
from 2003 to 2014 to protect and preserve the caves on the property, according
to the cave management association. The owner of Fox River Austin Properties
couldn’t be reached for comment.
The preserve is located at the end of West Park Street in Cedar Park. The
association doesn’t want to give its exact location, Kennedy said, because of a
fear of trespassers and campers.
“It’s a nice, little parcel of native vegetation surrounded by a whole bunch of
development,” he said.
The property was named after Bertha Wilcox, who used to own a house that still
stands on the property. The cave management association hasn’t decided whether
to use the home as its headquarters or as a rental.
The association plans to eventually build a trail for the public around the
preserve, Kennedy said. The land in the preserve is flat and has many types of
local trees on it, including live oak, juniper and cedar elm, he said.
The Texas Cave Management Association was founded in 1986 and owns nine cave
preserves across Central and Southwest Texas. Those caves include the Avery
Ranch Cave in Austin, the Robber Baron Cave in San Antonio, the Ezell’s Cave in
San Marcos and the Deep and Punkin Cave Preserve in Edwards County.
Exploring caves
For training on how to become a caver and to eventually be able to visit the
Wilcox Cave Preserve, visit the National Speleological Society website at
caves.org.
If you want to walk inside a cave owned by the Texas Cave Management
Association, the group opens up the Avery Ranch Cave Preserve at 9420 Morgan
Creek Drive in Northwest Austin at least once a year for a “cave day.” For more
information, visit the association’s website at tcmacaves.org.
Jerry Atkinson
[email protected]
The gated entrance to A.J. & B.L. Wilcox Cave on the newly acquired Wilcox Cave
Preserve.
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