Little River closing?

[shellmoundal]

I think this approach by the County bodes very well for cave divers as a group. It demonstrates that they have a level of trust that we will not screw things up during their work. That level of trust sets us apart from the general users of the park. Even though the focus of our activity is underwater, we still spend time on the surface and our cars take up space. They could have very easily simply said that during the time they need to do the work the park will be completely closed to ALL people. Public spaces are closed for maintenance all the time. I have been to National Parks where certain wilderness areas are closed for controlled burns. Highways are closed for lots of forms of construction projects. The list of perfectly valid reasons to temporarily close public spaces is endless. Sure, some of the closings are inconvenient, but that is just l

Now it up to us as a group to not screw up a good thing. There will almost certainly be times when there is work being done that will inconvenience us, perhaps even cause us to cancel our diving for that day. We just need to behave like responsible adults.

Mark Vlahos

Well said Mark.

[curtschu]

Now we just need to negotiate this for night diving under usual circumstances!

That is a great Idea. If we as a group can make a show of how we are good stewards and get a bad rap for nothing this will be great.

[curtschu]

I think this approach by the County bodes very well for cave divers as a group. It demonstrates that they have a level of trust that we will not screw things up during their work. That level of trust sets us apart from the general users of the park. Even though the focus of our activity is underwater, we still spend time on the surface and our cars take up space. They could have very easily simply said that during the time they need to do the work the park will be completely closed to ALL people. Public spaces are closed for maintenance all the time. I have been to National Parks where certain wilderness areas are closed for controlled burns. Highways are closed for lots of forms of construction projects. The list of perfectly valid reasons to temporarily close public spaces is endless. Sure, some of the closings are inconvenient, but that is just life.

Now it up to us as a group to not screw up a good thing. There will almost certainly be times when there is work being done that will inconvenience us, perhaps even cause us to cancel our diving for that day. We just need to behave like responsible adults.

Mark Vlahos

Mark, This is a great point Temporary closure to make the resource better, Safer, etc. Unfortunately some bureaucrats take advantage of a closure to show how much "Better" it is if it stay s closed.

I live in the City of Casselberry, 5 or so years ago during the prolonged drought they closed a State funded, Public Boat ramp. when water level returned to normal the Residents Two of which are counsel members voted to keep it closed. there position is basically file suit if you want it open. Since no one want to spend their own money it stays closed. So what ultimately has happened is people launch canoes from an unimproved gap in the bank and it is eroding the shoreline, then park in the City Park instead the boat ramp parking. People find a way.

[Me]

Sorry, but there are some real A**holes in cave diving that I wouldn't want opening their mouth because of the explosive diarrhea of negative rhetoric that spews forth.

NO! Say it ain't so! You must be mistaken.

[Peter Buzzacott]

My apologies if the answer is somewhere in the last five pages... I'm heading out for dinner and am thinking of diving Little River tomorrow morning before heading north again.
What is the current status? If I need it then what is the combination?
Peter

[Kelly Jessop]

That is a great Idea. If we as a group can make a show of how we are good stewards and get a bad rap for nothing this will be great.

You are absolutely right,if we show responsibility as a group then we may get more access/privilege. But, there is a great opportunity with a combination lock to screw this up, and it is important to self police. There is a number of "entitled" individuals in cave country that have been accessing state property without proper dive approval afterhours from a boosted combination lock number, and this has caused a lot of problems-which guess what, has caused mistrust of cave divers. Repeated theme, the few screwing it up for the many.

[mag3]

My apologies if the answer is somewhere in the last five pages... I'm heading out for dinner and am thinking of diving Little River tomorrow morning before heading north again.
What is the current status? If I need it then what is the combination?
Peter

It should be open per original SOP today (assuming it's not closed for the holiday, which I doubt). This general closing isn't for another 1-2 months.

[Peter Buzzacott]

Thank you, I'm on my way.
Peter

[shellmoundal]

I will post on the forum when the LR is closing. At that time I will have the combination to the lock. A PM will get you the combination number. The lock number will change often without notice. Make sure before you drive to LR that you have the current combination number. The responsibility is up to you. Screw it up and we as cave divers will lose the privilege of diving LR while it is closed. You must be a certified Full Cave Diver to enter while it is closed. We are to police the system ourselves.
Pass this along to your buddies that don't read the forum.

[FW]

I will post on the forum when the LR is closing. At that time I will have the combination to the lock. A PM will get you the combination number. The lock number will change often without notice. Make sure before you drive to LR that you have the current combination number. The responsibility is up to you. Screw it up and we as cave divers will lose the privilege of diving LR while it is closed. You must be a certified Full Cave Diver to enter while it is closed. We are to police the system ourselves.
Pass this along to your buddies that don't read the forum.

Thanks Al for handling this!