The Mojave Cave Project: Cave Survey and Inventory
in the Mojave National Preserve
 Bernie Szukalski - Project Coordinator 

The Mojave Desert is vast, encompassing roughly 25,000 square miles and including much of southeastern California and portions of Nevada, Utah, and Arizona. California's Mojave National Preserve, established by the Desert Protection Act in 1994, created a 1.6 million acre preserve in the heart of the Mojave Desert. The desert within the preserve varies in elevation from under 1,000 feet to over 8,000 feet, and includes unique biological, archaeological, geological, and historical resources.

In 2001 the Mojave Cave Survey (MCS), an informal project of the Southern California Grotto and National Speleological Society, was established to assist in the inventory and survey of caves within the preserve and surrounding areas. Project activities include the compilation and field-checking of historical data and regularly scheduled ridgewalking activities that have led to the discovery, inventory, and subsequent mapping of numerous caves and shelters. Standard procedures have been established to collect, document, and report cave inventory data in cooperation with state and federal land managers, and the Project enjoys a cooperative relationship with the Mojave National Preserve and Mitchell Caverns State Recreation Area.

An active NSS caver and Board of Governors member, Bernie Szukalski is professionally employed as a product manager at ESRI in Southern California. ESRI is the recognized industry leader in geographic information systems software.

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