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October 2011 Newsletter: Cavers Own Tumbling Rock, We're Reopening Caves, and more!

Tumbling Rock is Ours!

Great news! The SCCi is pleased
to announce that cavers now own Tumbling Rock Cave! The SCCi signed the paperwork on June 29, 2011 transferring ownership of the property to us, and to all cavers. Purchasing the property ensures it will never be closed, which was a real concern a few years ago.

Tumbling Rock is a true TAG classic. The popular cave is a frequent weekend destination for many of you. We're thrilled that cavers now own this fabulous underground wilderness so it will be preserved and protected for future generations!

For more information about Tumbling Rock Cave and the Tumbling Rock Cave and the Tumbling Rock Preserve, visit our web page at http://scci.org/Preserves/tumblingrock/tumblingrock.html

Tumbling Rock Cave, photo by Nathan Williams

If you've never visited Tumbling Rock and are wondering what the cave is like, you can check out Nathan Williams' Flickr Tumbling Rock collection.

Thanks to all of the cavers who support our mission to buy and protect caves across the southeast. We couldn't have done it without you!

The Southeastern Cave Conservancy is 20 Years Old!

Twenty years ago a group of cavers got together and decided to start buying caves for cavers. Many people were skeptical that a conservancy dedicated entirely to buying caves would ever work. Now, 20 years later, SCCi members own 27 preserves containing 185 caves in six southeastern states! We own 19 of the preserves and a total of 1,453 acres. Over 800 people are members of the SCCi and support our work. We want to thank all of our members and supporters. You're the reason the SCCi is so successful!

We're Reopening Caves!

The SCCi Board of Directors recently voted to re-open nearly all of our caves with seasonal bat populations in May 2012. We had closed these caves in 2009, when the cause of White-Nose Syndrome (WNS), and mechanism by which it spread, were poorly understood. At the time, WNS was over 1,000 miles away from our caves, and the board wanted to reduce the potential that a visitor to one of these caves could inadvertently cause a long-distance jump of WNS. The SCCi acted before most state and federal agencies, demonstrating our leadership in cave conservation and management.

Since 2009, we have continued to monitor WNS developments, and we have also continued to analyze the best ways to protect both bats and caves in general. Scientists now understand that bat-to-bat transmission is the primary mode by which WNS is migrating. We also now know that the risk of inadvertent WNS transmission by humans can be dramatically reduced by following established protocols to clean and decontaminate caving gear and clothing.

WNS has now been found in central Tennessee, making it well within individual bat-flight range of all of our caves with seasonal bat populations, and eliminating our original concern about inadvertently facilitating a long-distance jump of WNS. Also, over the past year, some our closed caves have been found to have been vandalized during the closure period, demonstrating the negative impact to caves and cave ecosystems that can occur when cavers stop having an active presence on our preserves.

When the caves re-open, visitors will be required to follow the current SCCi cave visitation policy, and will need to obtain permits and decontaminate their gear and clothing prior to visiting the caves. The SCCi takes WNS and bat conservation very seriously, and will communicate additional information about access to specific caves in the coming months.

New Parking Lot/Access for Fox Mountain Preserve

The SCCi has a new parking area and access for the Fox Mountain Preserve. To get there, go 200 feet past Rising Fawn Market (formerly Sue's Market) on Highway 11 South. Turn right into a clearing and go straight to a new gravel road. Please don't go towards the trailer. Follow the gravel road to the parking area. The new trail is up the cleared hill and accesses the old trail from the Market about 20 feet from the fence ladder.

GPS coordinates:

The turn-off from Hwy 11 is N 34 44' 56.2"/W 085 32' 11.2"
The actual parking area is N 34 44' 58.9"/W 085 32' 14.5"

Also, anyone planning to visit the preserve should be advised that the south end of the preserve was drastically impacted by the April 2011 tornadoes. The main road up the mountain was partially obliterated and finding Rusty's and Byers is difficult, even if you know the way. We have begun the arduous task of clearing the trails, but it will be a while (maybe years) before they are totally clear all the way to Byers. We will be organizing a trail-clearing day in November and will be asking for volunteers.



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The Southeastern Cave Conservancy is a publicly supported, non-profit,tax exempt 501(c)(3) corporation, chartered in the state of Georgia. All material on this web site is proprietary and protected, Copyright © 1997-2009 Southeastern Cave Conservancy, Inc., unless otherwise noted.
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