TAKE NOTHING BUT PICTURES......LEAVE NOTHING BUT FOOTPRINTS......KILL NOTHING BUT TIME
THE APPALACHIAN GROTTO IS DEDICATED TO THE
PRESERVATION
AND
CONSERVATION
OF CAVES AND CAVE LIFE.
PRESERVATION To maintain in safety from injury, peril, or harm; protect. To keep in perfect or unaltered condition; maintain unchanged.
CONSERVATION The act or process of conserving. Preservation or restoration from loss, damage, or neglect: The protection, preservation, management, or restoration of wildlife and of natural resources such as forests, soil, and water.
Conservation is about caring and about preservation.................
There are so many resources we get from our planet and the animals that inhabit it. The water we drink, the air we breathe, the sun that warms the day, etc. Many times damage to these resources gets over looked until they are gone. Lets face it, how many times have we thrown something out a car window? Most of us have and every day millions of people fail to realize the impact that a simple plastic cup thrown onto the roadside has on our enviroment. How many times have you heard of someone complaining about their drinking water being contaminated or talking about the garbage that lies along the bank of their favorite fishing hole only to watch in amazement as they toss that bag of garbage out the window? It happens, everyday!!!
Dumping of garbage and harmful
chemicals into sink holes and surface streams can have drastic effects ……
When garbage is carelessly thrown away and ends up at the side of the road or in a sinkhole, at some point it will end up in the mouth of a hungry animal or in a cave and hurt the life forms that dwell in them. How sad it is to know that even a cup thrown can hurt so much. Chemicals dumped onto the ground seep in and affects what lies beneath. Each year thousands of bags of trash are picked up from along our roadways, many times before the garbage can be removed from the roadway, animals lose their life because of the negligence of others.
Steps our grotto takes to help with
conservation.
Our grotto came together and wanted to
make a difference.
Members of the Appalachian Grotto are constantly looking at ways to better protect our enviroment, both big and small projects, both above and below ground. We do our best to educate individuals that we come in contact with, children and adults. You don’t have to be a caver to care. When we go out we take the steps to make sure we leave where we are at as we found it, and sometimes-even cleaner. In caves, and the area surrounding the caves, we organize clean-ups trying to help preserve the cave and the life forms that call these places their home. Recently the Appalachian Grotto took on the project of doing a cave clean-up in the longest cave in one of the counties we frequently cave in. Several trips were spent crawling around on the floor of the cave picking up broken glass, tin cans, burnt tires, empty spray cans, etc. Several cavers dedicated many hours to the scrubbing of grafitti from the cave walls. Almost 50 bags of garbage have been removed to date and the clean-up efforts are still underway to remove the remaining garbage and grafitti from the cave. This cave is also one of the most historical caves in the ares. Civil war soldier signatures were found scratched into the wall of the cave, some dating back as far as 150 years.
Not just caves but everywhere.
It isn’t just the caves that need our help, but it’s the highways, the woods, and the streams. Just think of what it would be like to take someone you love for a walk or take your child to fish for the first time, and standing at the edge of this stream you see dead fish, tires and oil dumped in this stream. Not a pretty sight. There are thousands of animals every year that die because the water supply is polluted, or their woods are filled with trash and harmful chemicals.
Highways.
One person can make
a difference, now look what a group can do. Our family of cavers adopted a stretch
of highway located in Sevier County, Tennessee. Four times a year we walk these two
miles of road, picking up trash. Almost every time we manage to collect over
50 bags of garbage. On our first clean up 57 bags of
trash was collected. With each clean-up the number of bags never seems
to decrease, and it won't until we get others to understand and get involved. We wanted to
make a difference, not just below ground, but above also. You don’t have
to belong to a large group to get involved, make it a family project. Too many
miles of our highways are trashed because others don’t care. Call your
local DOT they can help get you started.
Cave cleanups.
As cavers we take on the responsibilities of caring for our caves and the life that dwell in them. Cave vandalism comes in many forms. Spray paint, cans, bottles, and paper are just a few examples of the many different types of garbage that can be found in caves. Many fail to realize that the removeal of cave formations, even ones that are already broken, is against the Tennessee Cave Protection Law. It is also against the law to harm any type of cave life in any way, form, or fashion. Breaking of these laws carries steep penalities, including large fines and even imprisionment. It takes hundreds, even thousands of years for these formations to form. .
As cavers, each time we go into a cave we are prepared to remove garbage left by others. As a non-caver you can help too. Get in touch with a local grotto, get to know them, you don’t have to step into a cave to offer your help. Cavers come from all walks of life, we are blue-collar works, Doctors, lawyers, housewives, etc, and the list goes on. This is our world, the steps we take to care for it will help to ensure that it will be around for generations to come.
If you would like more information on cave conservation contact the Appalachian Grotto at
DANA BALL
NSS 55334
CONSERVATION CHAIR