Ask Cavers: What are your Thoughts on Gating Caves?
May 1, 2013
Bat Gate at Mine Entrance. Photo by U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service
Caves can be gated done for any number of reasons, but it generally is meant to restrict certain people from disturbing or destroying things inside them.
Despite these good intentions, cave gates can also have the unfortunate side effect of restricting the wrong people.
For this week’s Ask Cavers question we want to hear your thoughts on cave gates? Are they truly a necessary evil?
Share your thoughts and comments in the discussion below.
Comments (8)
While successful in protecting caves, gating has been overdone in Arkansas. The 10 longest caves are either gated (controlled access) or gated and closed to caving. There are other fine Arkansas caves which are also gated. In my opinion, the most troubling cases are the privately owned caves which were subsequently purchased by the Arkansas Natural Heritage Commission to “protect natural communities”. Foushee cave, at just over one mile long, was purchased by the Commission, closed with a threat of a $100,000 fine if entered and later gated mainly because of the presence of a cave snail that may be endemic to this cave. Look at the following links to see the “before” and “after-gating” photos of the entrance.
http://www.naturalheritage.com/gallery/foushee-cave/#1967
http://www.naturalheritage.com/gallery/foushee-cave/#1973
Hell Creek natural area and cave were also purchased by the commission. The cave was closed/gated mainly because of the presence of Cambarus zophonastes crayfish, which is falsely claimed on the website as being present only in this cave. It has been documented from at least one other cave and found flushed out from a spring located about 60 miles away. The increased range of this crayfish has surprised biologists. Despite this, there is little hope that cavers will ever be allowed to enter these two caves. Others are at risk, too.
Agreed. There are way too many cave gates being built. And frankly there
are way too many caves that have been closed.
It is sad, but gating is often the only way to protect caves. I think we have far too few gated caves.
Gates…………………gerrrrr…………….bring forth the gasaxes and implements of destruction!!!
Cave protection should start with education, not gating. I am amazed at how many caves are known by locals, and NOT shared with the caving community, because of the fear of gating.
Most cave gates have little if anything to do with protection and everything to do with control for controls sake. Generally, I consider compulsive cave gating types to be authoritarian cultists.
One has only to wander through abandoned sites such as factories, buildings, basements, etc to see what the ‘homo sapiens cretin’ who lives among us will do to these little-frequented places. Cave gates arose from our collective need to protect the perceived beauty of nature from the deprivations of conscious alteration by the whim driven primitives and social misfits of the world. Perhaps these addled vandals think seemingly abandoned places are left for them to express their fantasy upon by the creator of the universe; perhaps not. But the cave gate may delay, or deflect the onset of otherwise impromptu, or inebriated mini-mobs. Cave gates are nevertheless attractive nuisanses, but still possess some merit.
I think there may be some caves that should be gated. In general I think that too many caves are gated for convenience and/or control.
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