Cow Springs Access Restrictions for Conservation, Safety, Accessibility

[fno]

As noted in another thread, Abe Davis or an equivalent has been required for some time at upstream Cow Springs but apparantly for a number of reasons not enforced. At the time of this policy change there were several incidents that resulted in a sentiment amongst the CDS for an increase effort at conservation of the caves and the Property Management Plan Commitee responded with this requirement to dive at upstream Cow Spring. An important part of managing the properties is taking comment from the membership as much as possible. I am at fault for not doing this enough in my tenure as the Director responsible for NSS-CDS properties. So having said that, what would be your choice for restricting access to upstream Cow Spring for the purposes of conservation and or safety???

1. Abe Davis or equivalent (100 safe cave dives) for access by all divers.

2. Abe Davis or equivalent (100 safe cave dives) by at least one member of the dive team.

3. At least one member of the dive team having prior experience in upstream Cow Spring.

4. No experience requirement for access.

5. Another option that I didn't think of.... (happens a lot!!!)

[billb]

I allways thought it was (and should be) #1 abe davis for all

[Mark Vlahos]

I don't necessarily think that 100 cave dives should be required. I do however think that there should be some sort of experience requirement for at least one member of the team. I personally have only 97 cave dives post instruction and my first dive in Cow was number 73. The restriction right at the entrance would have given me pause if I had done this cave right after completion of my full cave, so waiting was a good thing. The section where the gold line and the pull rope run on opposite sides of the large rock can be confusing. My teammate briefed me on this before we started, and I closely examined that section both on entrance and egress.

As far as deliberate vandalism, an irresponsible diver can have hundreds of dives, so any limit is likely not to make a difference. Accidental damage due to poor buoyancy control should be something that falls under the responsibility of the instructor that issued the certification in the first place. Accidental damage due to using pull and glide in sections of the cave where it is not a good idea should be pointed out in the release form. A simple mention that the pull rope should be used, and not pulling on rocks should be enough to limit damage in the sections where the pull rope is installed.

In the interest of full disclosure I should point out that I have only been in Cow a few times, and in every case the flow was down. I do however have experience in other high flow caves when the flow was noted by others as being particularly strong.

I am a member of the NSS-CDS.

Mark Vlahos

[SuPrBuGmAn]

#1

Cow is known for being pristine(which is sad, but besides the point), opening it to everybody will ensure it will be in similar condition as the rest of the park caves.





None of this matters if the property manager doesn't know/care about the certification limitations placed by the property holder, and just lets anyone in.


FWIW, I'm a current NSS/CDS member, for atleast a little longer.

[Greenwood_60]

I voted for "Prior Cow experience by at least one diver in a team"... assuming it still includes Full Cave.

It would be nice if Dive Outpost had a written or video briefing for new Cow divers. Things to expect, watch out for, places not to carve your name, etc.. I know it would be asking more of them, and they are volunteers anyways.

Jason Greenwood
NSS-CDS #63634

[mpoucher]

I was involved in writing the access requirements for Cow Springs and, as pointed out above, 100 dives doesn't necessarily make a good diver and that is why we put in the part about evaluating your skills, etc, before making the dive to at least try to make people think about what they are doing before they go. Hopefully it has slowed the impact some, but the reality is that as long as there is traffic, there will be some level of impact to the cave. I think 100 dives is a good starting point and if there was a way to pre-brief divers to honestly evaluate their skills, that would be even better, but it's not really practical in all cases. If the standards are lowered, it will increase traffic and will increase the impact dramatically.

[Bob Cree]

The choices were somewhat limited by nature of a poll, however I voted that at least one diver on the team should be Abe Davis or equivalent but further feel that all additional divers on the team should have significant "non-training" experience at the "Full" Cave level before being allowed to dive Upstream Cow. The question is, how much experience is enough?

For the other (non - 100 post full cave) divers, definitely "Full" Cave...however I do not feel that all "Full" Cave divers have the required experience to protect the cave and/or themselves at Cow. An example of such a non-qualified diver would be one who recently completed a direct certification from no cavern/cave training all the way to "Full" Cave without aquiring significant experience along the way.

What experience is enough, certainly the 100 post "Full" Cave dive rule as it currently stands covers it and is clear cut, so I am fine with that. I also feel that there are many "Full" Cave divers out there that may not have 100 post full cave dives, but that do have the necessary experience and the skills.

How do you define this? It is tough, but to throw out some ideas: Perhaps "Full" Cave + proof of 100 non-training cave dives at any level (meaning - non-training Intro dives could count)? At least that way, there is real world experience. Maybe it only needs to be 50? Bring your log book along and get entered on an approved list maintained at Dive Outpost, or if you have your Abe Davis sticker on your card, that is all you need (along with your current NSS-CDS membership of course).

I am a current and active NSS-CDS member and plan to be long into the future. I served on the Combined Management Plan Committee and volunteered to man last years Beneath the Sea, NSS-CDS booth. Full Cave and Abe Davis.

[Greenwood_60]

Perhaps "Full" Cave + proof of 100 non-training cave dives at any level (meaning - non-training Intro dives could count)?

I like this idea. How about Full Cave, 100+ non-training cave dives, and someone in your team with previous Cow experience. I think that will do a better job protecting the cave than the option I voted for.

[w ripley]

OK, I'll bite. How does Cathy, or the current tank monkey at DO, determine you've got 100 cave dives? Do they sit down with your cave book and add up your dives?

I remember what I went thru getting that 100-dive added up and certified for NACD (Wakulla Award) but not everybody is going to go that route. Also, the 100-dive requirement is in place at Bonnet, too, and enforced by the Park Service, but the area between the Z-Bend & the Debtor's Payment has been trashed, so what's the answer?

IMO, the 100-dive requirement is a good standard, but impractical to regulate or enforce.

[DA Aquamaster]

I support the Abe Davis/equivalent requirement as well as having at least one person on the team who has been in upstream cow before. The first makes sense from an experience standpoint and the latter makes sense due to the entry and the two restrictions that follow.

The Abe Davis requirement is easy to enforce provided the diver has a sticker on the full cave card, and while the "been there before" requirement is a little more difficult, the dive outpost staff have a pretty good idea who has been in upstream cow before. I also tend to feel most cave divers are honest enough to admit whether they are new to cow or.

I agree however that the real issue is one of attitude rather than skill. Cow can be done cleanly if the diver chooses to do so, but things go bad in terms of conservation when the diver starts thinking in terms of making maximum distance, being less than careful carrying a stage, generally hurrying, etc.