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January 2011 Newsletter: Updates on Jacobs Mountain Preserve, Neversink, and more!

New Vice-Chair for Membership Services to Help You!

Last year, the SCCi board appointed Jeff Martin as the Vice-Chair for Member Services. Because the SCCi is an all-volunteer organization, sometimes it's hard for our chair to personally answer every inquiry that comes his way. The board also recognized that it's often hard for our members to figure out who to contact with a question or concern. Jeff's job is to help streamline communication between the membership and the board. If you have a question, a problem, a concern, or just want to get in touch with a board member, feel free to email or call Jeff! You can find his contact information on the SCCi webpage at http://scci.org/About/board.html. Also feel free to contact any board member at any time. We always like hearing from you!

The New Jacobs Mountain Preserve Re-Opens February 1

How to Visit the Preserve
To access the property, you’ll need to obtain a permit and specify the date(s) you plan to visit the property and which cave(s) you plan to visit. You may not access the property without a permit. Only one permit per day will be issued for the three, significant, multi-drop pit caves on the property:  Paint Rock River Cave, Norseman’s Wells, and Poplar Hollow Cave. Except for these three caves, your permit will grant you access to every other cave on the property. We will keep track of everyone’s planned itineraries on the Jacobs Mountain Calendar on the preserve’s webpage. For information on how to obtain a permit, please visit the Jacobs Mountain Preserve Permit Request Information page.

When you request a permit, we ask that you specify which caves you plan to visit. When we issue the permit, we will update the calendar and list which cave(s) you plan to visit. Except for the three, multi-drop pit caves listed above, if you want to visit a pit or pit cave that another group has already requested access to, we’ll put you in contact with the leader of that group and let the two of you determine whether that will work. Multiple groups accessing a horizontal cave shouldn’t be a problem. Once again, only one group per day will be given a permit to visit Paint Rock River Cave, Norseman’s Wells, and Poplar Hollow Cave. Multiple groups can visit the other caves and pits each day. Either way, we’ll keep the calendar up-to-date to help you plan your trip.

What about Ridge walking?
If you would like to ridge walk the property, you’ll need a permit. When you request a permit, please mention that you’d like to ridge walk, specify a general area, and list which caves you plan to visit when you request your permit.

Want to Camp?
Yes, you can camp on the new preserve as long as you request camping permission when you apply for a permit! The two designated campsites on the Jacobs Mountain Preserve are the Jacobs Mountain Campsite and the Williams Cove Campsite. You may only camp in the designated campsites. The Jacobs Mountain Campsite is located on top of the mountain. The Williams Cove Campsite is located on the west side of the mountain in Williams Cove. If you would like to camp, you will need to specify which night(s) and which campsite when you request a permit. You cannot camp without being granted permission to camp on your permit. In other words, a permit to cave on the property does not grant you access to camp.

Planning Your Trip
There are 18 significant (over 1,000 feet long or 300 feet deep) caves on the property. The table below lists the 18 significant caves and additional information.

Here are a few things you’ll want to consider when planning your trip. The horizontal entrance to Guess Cave has silted shut. The only access is through the 35-foot pit entrance and swimming a few hundred feet through low air space which will likely be sumped until dryer weather (probably late spring, early summer). The entrance to Paint Rock River Cave can be ragingly wet in the winter after heavy rains since the entrance is located in a stream bed. During high water you will probably want to rig some of the climb downs in Norseman’s Wells. Please plan accordingly.

Here are some helpful links to help you plan your trip:

Jacobs Mountain Preserve Property Managers: Brian Killingbeck and Alan Cressler. Jacobsmountain@scci.org

Information on how to request a permit

Download all forms related to getting a permit (click the link to download a .zip file)

Preserve Calendar: consult the calendar before requesting a permit to Paint Rock River Cave, Norseman’s Wells, and Poplar Hollow Cave to see currently scheduled trips.  

SCCi Visitation Policy to address WNS (PDF)

Jacobs Mountain Temporary Management Plan (PDF)

Help Protect Neversink! New Policies at the Neversink Preserve

The caving community really cares about the health of Neversink. To address some of the problems at Neversink, the SCCi board adopted a modified management plan in January 2011. There are some changes that will mildly affect the caving community but will hopefully aid in the rehabilitation of this beautiful feature.

The Neversink management team is going to ask the caving community for help. Scheduled work days will begin in early 2011. We will plant native vegetation and trees in the bare ground areas and continue trail maintenance. Invasive plants need to be removed near the parking area.

The biggest change is regarding rigging. Trees will no longer be used for rigging. This activity is killing them. Instead, two permanent rig areas have been established. Each permanent rigging area consists of two bolts. This is where the caving community will have to adjust. If the two rig areas are in use, the next party must wait until one of the rig areas is not in use, or return at a later time. The rig areas are first come, first serve. If the rig areas are in use, you may NOT rig to a tree.

In the near future, we will install signs around sensitive areas or areas we’re trying to revegetate to indicate areas where you should not walk. Hopefully this will allow newly planted vegetation to re-establish. If you would like to review the new management plan, it’s posted here on the Neversink Preserve page.

If you have any questions or comments, you can contact the property management team, Alan Cressler and Jim Hall, at neversink@scci.org. Thank you all in advance for your help in preserving and protecting this beautiful pit!

Tennessee Cave and Karst Working Group Meeting: January 22

There’s a new group in Tennessee working to address issues related to caves and karst: the Tennessee Cave and Karst Working Group. Cory Holliday, the Cave and Karst Program Manager with the Nature Conservancy of Tennessee, wanted all of you to know about the first annual meeting for the group that will take place on January 22 at the Fall Creek Falls State Park Inn, starting at 9:00 am. The group’s mission is to increase awareness, understanding, and cooperation relating to cave and karst resources in Tennessee.  Although Tennessee has world class cave and karst resources, the experts, enthusiasts, and managers of those resources rarely have a forum to share their projects, experiences, or expertise with others.  Not only can that sometimes lead to poor stewardship, but it also excludes the sense of camaraderie that can be gained by working together.

This first public meeting will comprise of numerous presentations relating to Tennessee’s cave and karst resources.  While the topics are varied, the overall themes relate to conservation, archaeology, historical human use, biology, white nose syndrome, photography, and geology/hydrology.

If you have any interest in caves or karst resources in Tennessee, there will be something of interest for you at this meeting.  We encourage you to come and spend a day learning and sharing with us.  This is a newly formed group and we hope you will come and participate.  There will be time for questions and discussion after each presentation.

Preliminary Agenda

9:00-9:30 – Morning Social
9:30-9:35 – Cory Holliday - Welcome and Opening Remarks
9:35-9:45 – Gerald Moni – The Tennessee Cave Survey
9:45-10:05 – Maureen Handler – Sera Karst Task Force
10:05 – 10:30 – Jason and Chrissy Richards – Cave Diving Project Update
10:30-10:50 - Sidney Jones – The State of Karst Hydrology in the Volunteer State
10:50-11:00 – Break
11:00-11:25 –David Withers - Karst Dependent Organisms in TN
11:25-11:50 – Kirk Zigler – Cave Invertebrate Project Updates
11:50-12:50 – Lunch (The Inn at FCFSP has a full restaurant and worthwhile buffet)
12:50-12:55 – Stuart Carroll - Introduction to the Second Half
12:55-1:25 – Dr. Joseph Douglas – History in TN Caves: Themes, Resources, and Conservation
1:25-1:55 – Annie Blankenship – Archaeological Resources Within TN Caves
1:55-2:25 – Dr. Jan Simek and Alan Cressler - Caves, Karst, and the
Soul:  How Karst Features Reflected the Prehistoric Native American Cosmos
2:25-2:35 – Break
2:35-3:00 – John Hoffelt – Implementation of the USFWS National White Nose Syndrome Plan
3:00-3:25 – Richie Wyckoff – White Nose Syndrome in Tennessee
3:25-4:00 – Stephen Alvarez - Bat Genocide: Pictures from December's National Geographic WNS story

If you have questions about this meeting, contact Cory Holliday at cholliday@tnc.org.

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