Cave conservation

[Fsworld]

Im a new cave diver, however what I don't understand about these marks is how they get there. I understand if there is a real emergency/accident in the cave, but aside from that are peoples buoyancy that bad? Again, Im new at this and am just shy of 200 total dives, yet I don't feel that Ive ever came close to marking up the caves like this and kind of am under the impression that if my buoyancy is that bad I shouldn't be in a cave. Or is it people with scooters and multiple stage bottles not ready for that much stuff yet?

[tbone1004]

no scooters allowed back there. Recently you can see a pair of lines in a lot of the caves that are from people that "sidemount" but have their gauges dangling down with the first stages and it drags nice ruts in the clay, like below. Yes this is one of the official images of PADI's sidemount course and the person on the right is a cave instructor. That has caused a lot of the problems in the caves. The handprints are from people that think they know buoyancy control going back there and then realizing they don't actually have their buoyancy control down and then put hand prints in the cave floor. If this was caused by one of the deaths then that would explain this specific bit of damage, but you can see the ones that are described above all over the caves

[Draker]

are peoples buoyancy that bad?

Yes

[Sh0use]

I mean I understand mistakes, they happen. But this was like a battle ground for a solid 100' or so. What is really upsetting is finding beer cans and glass bottles etc a few hundred feet back

I'm surprised that someone was getting drunk while diving a few hundred feet back in a cave. Extremely careless...

[TaylorP]

I'm surprised that someone was getting drunk while diving a few hundred feet back in a cave. Extremely careless...

When the party calls....

[PsychDiver]

I was talking to Michael Angelo at Ginnie a while back about the possibility of troweling the clay flat again, then either finding silt somewhere to dump on it or waiting for the next reversal. He thought it was possible. I do NOT think this is something a well meaning amateur should attempt, but the thought that someone with expertise in cave restoration might be able to repair some of this damage is nice. I was motivated by the floor scarring in Ginnie on Double Lines just past the double arrows where there's a huge wallow on the floor; looks like there must have been some major emergency there.

[Kelly Jessop]

I was talking to Michael Angelo at Ginnie a while back about the possibility of troweling the clay flat again, then either finding silt somewhere to dump on it or waiting for the next reversal. He thought it was possible. I do NOT think this is something a well meaning amateur should attempt, but the thought that someone with expertise in cave restoration might be able to repair some of this damage is nice. I was motivated by the floor scarring in Ginnie on Double Lines just past the double arrows where there's a huge wallow on the floor; looks like there must have been some major emergency there.

You are right, there is and has been the possibility of causing more damage. Something worth noting, repair when not done with owners permission falls under the vandalism statute. I have been in contact with the park for this problem and it is being taken care of

[Benderr]

There's a perfect handprint in the clay, I think between pothole and Nicholson on the right-hand side of the gold line as you're heading in from Peacock. My first thought when seeing it was, "I NEVER want to be the guy that does something like that".

I assume it's acceptable to remove trash (bottles, cans, plastic) if it's encountered in a cave?

[FW]

There's a perfect handprint in the clay, I think between pothole and Nicholson on the right-hand side of the gold line as you're heading in from Peacock. My first thought when seeing it was, "I NEVER want to be the guy that does something like that".

I assume it's acceptable to remove trash (bottles, cans, plastic) if it's encountered in a cave?

Depends on which cave, and if the "trash" is on the map

[Kelly Jessop]

I assume it's acceptable to remove trash (bottles, cans, plastic) if it's encountered in a cave?

If it was washed in with a recent flood, then yes. If it has been there for a long time, then quite possibly it could be habitat for isopods and amphipods.