By some accounts Sequoia and Kings Canyon National
Parks could have been set aside solely to protect the
amazing caves found in this area of the Southern
Sierra Nevada. The two parks protect half of the
caves more than a mile long in California, the
longest cave in the state, numerous karst streams and
some of the best alpine karst topography in the
United States. The caves contain Pleistocene era
fossils, rare minerals and unique animals. They are
the sites of numerous scientific research projects
and provide recreational opportunities to thousands
of park visitors each year.
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A
shield formation with many stalactites
growing from its underside in the upper
levels of Hurricane Crawl Cave.
Photo by Dick LaForge.
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Efforts to protect and manage this resource are
nearly as old as the parks themselves. The parks'
first Superintendent, Walter Fry, gave detailed
descriptions of 5 of the caves in his 1918 annual
report. Crystal Cave has been one of the parks'
primary visitor attractions since 1941. In the 1970s
the Cave Research Foundation documented more than 80
caves in Sequoia and Kings Canyon. However, it was
the discovery of Hurricane Crawl Cave in 1986 that
encouraged to the parks to begin an active cave
management program. This effort resulted in the
employment of a "cave specialist" in 1992
and the completion of a Cave Management Plan in 1994.
A revision of the first overall Cave Management Plan
was also completed in 1999. Specific management plans
have also been created for Soldiers, Crystal and
Hurricane Crawl caves. These plans combine management
strategies in a single cave. Some passages are open
to visitation, some sections have visit restrictions
and other passages are completely closed to protect
delicate cave features.
In recent years detailed maps of many park caves have
also been created. Maps are a key requirement for
proper management and research in caves because they
document the caves, their features and their extent.
Crystal Cave was mapped between 1995 and 1998. From
the field work, a series of maps was produced that
document the cave's mineralogical features, its
exploration history, passage elevations (and thus the
history of the cave's development), Crystal's streams
and lakes, management restrictions, the cave lighting
system, and much more. Other maps of Hurricane Crawl
and Soldiers caves have also been completed. Peter
Bosted, chief cartographer for the Cave Research
Foundation, has coordinated a project to produce more
than 80 quadrangle maps of Lilburn Cave. These maps
show this very complex cave in detail. This project
should be completed in 2001.
Another important area of work in park caves is
restoration. While restoration in a national park
seems surprising, past visitors and employees in the
parks have made reversible mistakes that damaged and
altered caves. In some cases, caves can restore
themselves through natural processes that remove or
cover dirt, graffiti, paint and soot. This process is
happening right now in Clough and Crystal caves.
Crystal Cave has also seen restoration projects that
removed tons of blast rubble dumped into the cave
during trail construction in the 1930s. Work in the
cave has removed damaging lint and dirt from formerly
pristine walls. In 1998 a workroom built into the
cave was partially restored in the hope that this
would provide more habitat for Pimoa spiders that
live only near the cave's four entrances. Cave
enthusiasts first explored Soldiers Cave in 1949 and
1950. Since then it has remained a popular cave with
recreational cavers. Unfortunately the cave combines
muddy areas with passages that have beautiful white
walls and delicate formations. Through the 50 years
that the cave has been open for caving trips,
hundreds of square feet of the cave's walls were
muddied and damaged. In 1994 and 1995 water from a
nearby surface stream was diverted for a few days
through hoses that led into the cave's damaged
passages. This water was used to clean these surfaces
and restore the cave to its original appearance and
character.
In general, caves in the two parks are managed by
category. Some caves can be visited by anyone at any
time. Other caves, with rare and sensitive animals or
mineralogical features may be closed to entry. A few
caves are set aside for research and study. Some
others that are delicate or dangerous require the
presence of an experienced trip leader known as a
"Trustee" before access is allowed. Six
park caves are gated, meaning that the entrances
contain locked gates of metal bars that protect the
cave from uninformed trespassers or which protect any
trespassers from dangers in the cave. Most of the 200
caves are small and found in isolated sections of the
parks, far from any roads.
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