[Management Plan] [Fund Raising] [Surface Plot Map]
Rising Fawn, Georgia
September 26, 1997
The Southeastern Cave Conservancy has purchased 332 acres on Fox Mountain in Dade County, Georgia. The property contains some of Georgia's longest and deepest caves, including Cemetery Pit, Rustys Cave, and Hurricane Cave, as well as many smaller caves. The 332 acre preserve is the SCCI's largest cave preserve, and brings the Conservancy's holdings up to 583 acres and approximately 20 caves. The property is so extensive that we don't yet know exactly how many caves are on it, but we know of seven so far.
The Fox Mountain property is the SCCI's largest and richest cave and karst
preserve. The area has a long history with cavers, and contains several of the
finest caves in
Access to the property is open, and the SCCI is working on acquiring a dedicated parking area off the main highway. There are no roads onto the property, and access from the interstate highway is prohibited by the highway department, so visitors will have to make the traditional hike from the parking area.
This acquisition is one that the SCCI has been working towards since its beginnings in 1991. Coming on the heels of the recent Fricks Cave purchase, it will stretch the Conservancy's fund raising ability to the limit. Terms of the purchase are: purchase price of $89,640, with $5,100 down and the balance owner-financed over 5 years at 6% interest. These arrangements will leave the SCCI with a monthly mortgage payment of over $1,600 per month. In addition, the SCCI is already making payments on the Fricks Cave and Kennamer Cave purchases totaling over $25,000 per year.
We intend to make these payments out of our Sustaining Contribution income, which is presently generating about $800 per month. We must double this between now and August, when we expect to close the purchase and begin making payments. The SCCI desperately needs you to become a sustaining contributor and help pay for these outstanding caves.
The Sustaining Contribution program allows you to make a tax-deductible monthly donation to the SCCI using your Visa, MasterCard, or American Express card. You can join using the Membership Form or by contacting us by email at sustaining@scci.org. The minimum monthly contribution is $5, and covers your annual membership dues as a Sustaining Member. A monthly donation of $10 or more gets you a special edition SCCI logo T-shirt, and donors at the $250 per year and up level receive the new embroidered SCCI polo shirt as well as other premiums.
You can also make direct donations by cash or check for the Fox Mountain purchase or other SCCI acquisition projects. Send donations to:
Southeastern Cave Conservancy
PO Box 71857
Chattanooga TN 37407-0857
All donations are tax-deductible in accordance with
This is the SCCI's ninth and largest cave acquisition, and its fourth purchase. The SCCI owns many other cave properties in Tennessee, Alabama, and Georgia and leases four others. Its mission is the acquisition and management of caves and karst lands in the southeastern US. We also have four other cave acquisitions in progress involving an additional 131 acres and 10 caves. All SCCI caves except Fricks Cave are open to properly equipped and qualified cavers. Fricks Cave is closed by the US Fish and Wildlife Service due to the presence of a large colony of endangered Gray Bats and Georgia's only population of Tennessee Cave Salamanders.
