Beyond Conservation- Reconstruction!

[bahamaben]

On the island of Grand Bahama lies the little known Old Freetown system connecting 'Owl Hole' with 'Mermaid's Lair' via 2740 ft of highly decorated tunnel, with many offshoots, circuits, and a guideline with approaching 60 T's. The principal attractions of this system include that you are almost guaranteed to have it to yourself and that the unregulated nature of the entrances mean that you can dive for free anytime of the day or night; the drawbacks include the fact that anyone can dive the systen for free anytime of the day or night. By this I mean that over the years many unqualified divers have entered the system, sometimes guided by people who should know better, and that a large area of stalagmites just beyond the cavern zone of the more easily accesible 'Mermaid's Lair' entrance have been devastated.
Now, no matter how careful a diver you try to be, it is almost inevitable that if enough time is spent in close proximity to underwater formations of this delicate nature, damage will be done. Bearing this in mind, and armed with a powerful 2 part underwater epoxy(which I was assured by a chemist friend of mine would not damage the cave ecosystem), I have embarked on the underwater jigsaw puzzle of reconstructing some of these stalagmites. So far, Steve Robinson, E. Don Nelson, Kevin Jones, and Cristina Zenato have all helped with this project, and I am pleased with the results. Stalagmites look much better upright than lying on the ground.
The point of this post, if it has one, is to ask if anyone has any reason why we should not be rebuilding the formations, any advice stemming from similar projects, or any caves in need of a similar bit of tender loving care.
All the best,
Ben Cook.

[Kelly Jessop]

This is great,thanks for the info

[Cindy]

If it would help Joe Prosser donated a video to the Cave Diving Museum that shows this system during the initial exploration. I might help to know how the system looked before it was damaged. It might just make you cry though. I would like a copy of a video of the damage. Shown side by side the two videos would make a powerfull statement. My email is cindyb3007@yahoo.com Send me your address and we can exchange videos. Cindy Butler

[crawford]

Ben,
Great idea and I don't know of any good reason not to do what you're doing. Epoxy is very chemical resistant so should be inert to the cave environment as far as I know (not a chemist or hydrogeologist, but I did stay at a Holiday Inn Express......)

I bet if you set up some free accomodations donated or sponsored by an organization concerned with conservation, you could get waves of volunteers to come over and lend a hand.

[skip]

I guess I'll be the one to protest, albeit mildly and with questions. I can not imagine any epoxy that is not at risk in a marine or freshwater environment. I'd like more than a "chemist friend" assuring me that it would not kill some bacteria or near-microscopic life that may be present, that may be critical to the food-web of other little creatures. The history of sailing pretty much shows that no matter what you put in the water, something is going to get killed by it.

I'm also unconvinced, although not so rationally, that two intrusions by humans is better than one. First break it off, then glue it back on? I can see this backfiring when the glue (in a year or so) eats through the rock and spreads like a disease so that now there is a really big mess.

But then, I'm always a bit skeptical whenever humans claim they can undo the damage they've done with a little hard work and tube of glue!

Sounds like a good plan.....but?

-skip

[Brian Kakuk]

Great job Ben! A very worthy project. Hopefully your redirection of the main line in that area will help as well. Please let me(us) know if you have any dates set up for a group effort to further work in there. I would be glad to come over and help. It would also just be great to catch up with everyone on GB.

As for the effects of epoxy in the water, I suggest you contact the NSS concerning formation repair of dry caves. I know they have taken into consideration the effects of the epoxy on wet/dripping formations on other projects and may be of some assistance. If you can find epoxy that is rated for use in the food industry (food grade), you may be one step ahead.

Best of luck and safe diving,
Brian

[tomhauburn]

I read somewhere on a glue that folks have been using to attach uprooted corals back in place with long term success. I figure it it works there it should work in a cave.
Tom

[Brian Kakuk]

On another note, you may not be able to access this system as easliy (or cheaply) in the very near future. It is my understanding that the Port Authority who owns the land has been in negotiations with the GINN Corp. for turning that entire area into a megaresort whith a huge golf course.

When I was working in GB last year, this proposal was the talk of the town and as you know they have already drilled test wells for water. Has the plans for the GINN project changed?

I'm currently working with the new Director of the Bahamas National Trust on a new cave system I found just outside the the Lucayan Caverns National Park. The cave system is most certainly connected to Lucayan and we are hoping to meet with the Port Authority and see how we can include this new system (8 entrances) into the park including a "buffer zone". I will see if the Director might be interested in including Mermaid's/Owl's Hole into the picture in some way.

Safe diving,
Brian

[bahamaben]

Thank you all for your feedback, and for all of you who offered to help, I will be off the island for a couple of months, but I left my 'pots of glue' with Cristina Zenato at Unexso. I'm sure she'll do her best to accomodate you.
Skip, I also shared a few of your general misgivings, hence the post, and I'll be sure to follow up with the suggested experts at the NSS. I do believe that projects such as this can serve to highlight the difficulty of even partially and imperfectly repairing damage, hopefully helping to bring these issues to mind, and minimise future impact.
Cindy, I'm not sure how useful the original video would be for the project, as the stalagmites tend to lie right next to their stumps, but I'd love to view it. I don't have any video of the system, but if I could view the original I could organise a videoing of similar areas as a comparrison.
Crawford, the nature of the system makes it very easy for 2 formations to be knocked down for every one resurrected, so I prefer to work with one or two people I know have great control; or who, more importantly, understand their limitations(myself included).
Brian, you continue to work harder than any of us to protect the Bahamian caves in general, and I am very grateful for your support.
There's a lot of great cave diving in the area, and if any of you would like to come out to discover the island's caves and maybe do a little 'reconstruction' in the process, I hope we'll get the chance to dive together.

[bahamaben]

By the way, as far as I understand it, the planned GINN development of the area has been shelved. Of course, the land is still available for development.