Members of the SFBC are involved in many projects throughout the US and the world. The grotto also sponsors its own projects. Some of these projects have descriptions, some don't. Anyway, search the list below, and see if you'd like to get involved!

Empire Cave Cleanup
Every year after Halloween (and occasionally at other times) the SFBC cleans up Empire Cave. Up to 80 pounds of trash can be hauled out in one trip, and this is only a 300-foot long foot cave! Help us save Empire Cave, and its unique and endangered residents.

Cave Research Foundation Lava Beds Operations Area
Lava Beds National Monument at the California-Oregon border has over 750 known lava tube caves. Located at an elevation of about 5,000 feet, these caves have formed during the last 36,000 years on the north flank of Medicine Lake Volcano. Although not an official SFBC project, the Chapter members regularly participate in the Cave Research Foundation expeditions to the Monument to locate, map, and inventory these caves.

Cave Research Foundation Sequoia-Kings Canyon Operations Area
Sequoia-Kings Canyon National Parks have many known caves. In addition to the lower elevation caves in the Parks, significant numbers of marble caves are known from the higher elevation parts of the Parks. Although not an official San Francisco Bay Chapter project, many SFBC members participate in the Cave Research Foundation expeditions during the year to explore, survey, and inventory these caves.

Crystal Cave Restoration
In 1991, the Crystal Cave Restoration Project was started.in Sequoia National Park. Managed by the National Park Service, it meets once a year and is attended by volunteers from all over California and, on occasion, other states. Tasks include cleanup, restoration, and other activities in the usually week-long event. Many SFBC members participate in these activities.

Klamath Mountains Conservation Task Force
This NSS group cooperates with the National Forest Service to pack into the Klamath Mountains to locate, survey, and inventory caves in this alpine karst. Several expeditions are held each summer and fall and are about a week long. Often SFBC members participate on these expeditions. To contact this group, email ssknutson@aol.com.

Self Rescue Group
The Self Rescue Group is an informal team of cavers in the Western Region that are dedicated to developing and teaching self rescue techniques to other cavers. This is self rescue at its most basic - dealing with the situation with what you have on hand.

Western Cave Conservancy
Founded in 2002, the Western Cave Conservancy is a non-profit institution dedicated to securing permanent protection for threatened caves in the Western United States. The WCC owns one cave preserve and manages another for the US Forest Service in the Sierra Nevada foothills. On-going projects include supporting cave conservation and restoration activities throughout the Western US.

Hawai`i Speleological Survey
The Hawai`i Speleological Survey provides mapping and resource inventories of lava tubes and other caves in the state of Hawaii. HSS members survey several of lava tubes per year, publish two issues of a Newsletter, and one report to the State Office of Historic Preservation. They maintain paper files at the US Geological Survey in Hawai`i. They also maintain electronic backups of survey data and an electronic bibliography on Hawaii caves. They are working with state and federal agencies and large landowners to provide data on resources owned by those entities and hope to work with Hawaiian family groups in protecting their cultural histories found in lava tubes. They intend to seek closer contact with other researchers working in Hawaii through exchange of data and subscriptions to their Newsletter. Some of the photographs of this project can be found at http://www.slac.stanford.edu/~bosted/hawaii2.html.

Bat Conservation International
What would the world be like without bats? We don't want to find out! If you're interested in bats and bat conservation, the BCI Home Page is a must see! You'll find everything from bat information, pictures, conservation links, cute bat merchandise, and other links to help continue your bat research.

©2010. These pages and their contents are property of the San Francisco Bay Chapter Incorporated, part of the National Speleological Society, except where otherwise noted. Opinions expressed within are not necessarily those of the SFBC, its board members, or the NSS.

Lost Soldier's Cave Gating, Restoration and Management Project
Soldier's Cave is another one of those cases where a lot of people, some less conservation minded then others, trampled through the cave for years largely unchecked. In 1994 and 1995, a massive restoration effort took place and was largely successful. Located in Sequoia National Park, Lost Soldiers Cave was cleaned and partly restored between 1994 and 1995. The National Park Service continues this work.

IXL Cave Management Plans
Partiers, ill-equiped and reckless cavers, and vandals are destroying the caves and the endangered species they contain. With a solid management plan, hard cleanup work, and education we can try to save what is left of these precious caves.

Sequoia National Forest Conservation Task Force
The Sequoia National Forest Project is dedicated to locating, mapping, and inventorying caves found in Sequoia National Forest and Sequoia National Monument. Participation by NSS cavers now concentrates on mapping in caves near commercialized Boyden Cave and other areas in the adjacent National Forest.

Gunung Buda Project 2000
Founded in 1996, the Gunung Buda Project seeks to protect and preserve the Gunung Buda (White Mountain) Massif on the island of Borneo in Sarawak, Malaysia as a Malaysian National Park. Additional photographs from this project can be viewed Gunung Buda 2000 Expedition Photos and Chris Andrews' Snail Shell Map for the project. Members of the SFBC have participated in this project in 2001 that has explored and mapped Chiquibul Cave, the longest cave in Central America.

Lechuguilla Exploration and Research Network (LEARN)
LEARN is an organization dedicated to the pursuit of speleology in Lechuguilla Cave, New Mexico.