Jerry, A great and comprehensive article. Well written and informative with great pictures. Thank you from lovers of caves, bats and all things related. Proud to call you a Texas friend. BAT LIVES MATTER!
Sent from my iPhone > On Feb 5, 2017, at 12:35 AM, Jerry via Texascavers > <[email protected]> wrote: > > Chuck Sutherland > > A Tennessee naturalist's photography, maps, and projects. > 2016/11/20 > > Why We Don't Share Cave Locations > > People often ask myself and other cavers to give them cave locations and cave > information. I always reply, "I don't give out cave locations". Not knowing > the history of reasons why I do this, I am often asked why. This is my > response. > > We love to hang out with, and take new people caving. Some see us as stingy > stodgy keepers of secrets (and some cavers are), but I see myself as a gate > keeper. I am not all powerful, and I am fallible, but my knowledge extends > far beyond what an inexperienced caver (or spelunker as they often call > themselves) does. > > That is important because the conservation ethic we practice on the surface > doesn't always work underground. Also the way we understand our environment > to keep ourselves safe doesn't work the same way underground. These two key > issues are the main reason why I won't give out cave locations. > > First, let's address the conservation issue. If you consider the combined > historical, archaeological, paleontological, biological, and mineralogical > resources of a cave to be finite (which they are), then they can be used up. > > We consume cave resources by destroying them. And history has shown us over > and over again that is what happens when the general public is aware of a > cave. Pictured below is a civil war ladder that was burned in a campfire > inside a cave no doubt by fools burning their own cultural history. That > ladder had been there from at least Civil War era, perhaps longer. > > https://www.flickr.com/photos/chucksutherland/6138611367 > > Geologic resources are vandalized. Folks spray paint on walls and formations. > They break formations accidentally and on purpose and remove them from the > cave. These resources do not renew on a timescale that humans can appreciate. > In other words, they will not return in our lifetime. > > Bats and other critters in caves can be adversely affected by human presence. > A recent cave I visited had an estimated 500 dead endangered gray bats laying > on the ground because someone went through the cave during the wrong time of > year. I think that if the person had been properly educated those bats lives > would have been saved, and bats lives are worth saving. > > I have seen caves that have been dug up where people were pot hunting > (looking for Native American artifacts). I have seen prehistoric Native > American art covered with modern day spray paint. And in case you're > wondering why the Native American's art is more important than modern spray > paint (yes, this is a stupid question that I am frequently asked) then please > bear with me while I use the rules of capitalism to assess the values of each. > > Spraypaint - common, easy to find and reproduce. The value of knowing who > Johnny was with at this undisclosed period of time is virtually worthless > because it is in such prolific quantity. It's less than worthless, because > it's potentially obstructing other information of more value. See below. > > Native American art - rare, difficult to find, impossible to reproduce. The > limited nature of this particular resource makes Native American art very > valuable by supply and demand. No one is selling this stuff, but for the > people who study it, it is highly valuable. > > Below is a photo of modern vandalism adjacent to bear claw marks. Bears > haven't lived in caves in Tennessee for some time. I can't speculate as to > the age of these claw marks, but they may be Pleistocene. I wonder if the > vandal would have felt it so important to leave their mark in the mud if they > knew what it was next to? > > https://www.flickr.com/photos/chucksutherland/30937515890 > > None of this even touches on the safety issues of caving. Briefly, we cave > with helmets, three sources of light, changes of batteries, gloves, boots, > elbow pads and knee pads, and a backpack with food, water, and a simple first > aid kit. That's the basic stuff. Developing an understanding of what clothing > to wear (hint: avoid cotton), and fine tuning your gear can be a long and > expensive process unless you have a more experienced group of people who are > willing to share their knowledge. > > We like to teach people the conservation ethic that we learned. And we like > folks to be safe underground. This is no different than teaching your kid how > to drive a car before giving them keys. You want your kid to be safe, and you > don't want your kid to drive into someone's home and destroy it. > > If you're interested in getting involved in caving, don't ask where caves > are, ask where cavers are. Many of us attend monthly meetings at local cave > clubs called grottos. I am a member of the Upper Cumberland and Spencer > Mountain Grottoes. This is where you want to cut your teeth in caving. You > want to meet people, network, and go on caving trips. We hope one day you'll > be the one finding new caves and leading caving trips. > > Here's where you can find you local grotto, and learn more about caving, > http://caves.org. > > http://chuck-sutherland.blogspot.com/2016/11/why-we-dont-share-cave-locations.html > > ***********************************************8 > > Jerry Atkinson > [email protected] > > _______________________________________________ > Texascavers mailing list | http://texascavers.com > [email protected] | Archives: > http://www.mail-archive.com/[email protected]/ > http://lists.texascavers.com/listinfo/texascavers
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