JACKSON, Wyo. — June 2 to June 8 is Cave Week, bringing awareness to the cave resources on the Bridger-Teton National Forest (BTNF).
Trevor Bloom, BTNF forest botanist, says at the national U.S. Forest Service (USFS)-level there are initiatives to identify caves across the country. According to Bloom, the BTNF has high potential for a large number of caves due to the karst, or limestone, present locally on the landscape; the calcium carbonate of limestone that formed hundreds of thousands of years ago from shells, fossilized coral and mollusks is easily dissolved by water, which formed, or continues to actively form, the caves.
Samantha Marks, BTNF Cave and Glacier Program manager, says the Federal Cave Resource Protection Act of 1988 guides the BTNF’s cave management. The Act ensures that “Significant Caves” on Federal lands remain “an invaluable and irreplaceable part” of the landscape, and aims to protect those areas from improper use, increased activities and human development.
The Act also promotes cooperation and exchange of information between the government and those who use caves for science, education and recreation.
To become a Significant Cave, Marks tells Buckrail that at least one of a number of resource criteria must be met, although a cave could have any combination of them. The criteria include biota, meaning a cave provides habitat for organisms or animals and contains sensitive, threatened or endangered species native to caves, and cultural resources, meaning historic or archaeological features.
The criteria also designates geologic/mineralogic/paleontologic resources, hydrologic resources, recreational or scenic values and educational use. All caves within areas specially designated by the U.S. government like Special Geologic Areas, Research Natural Areas or National Monuments are also considered Significant.
“Caves are these amazing resources.”
Samantha Marks, BTNF Cave and Glacier Program manager
“Caves are these amazing resources,” Marks says. “There are all of these different aspects to them that should be appreciated.”
Bloom notes all caves must be nominated or designated in order to be listed as Significant, but says any cave on Forest Service land will likely meet one of the criteria. The public is able to nominate caves by filling out a form on the USFS website.
“As of now, there are 19 caves of significance on the Bridger-Teton, but there is a lot of opportunity for many more than that,” Bloom tells Buckrail. “There’s a lot more potential for the new discovery of caves across the Forest.”
While Marks says there hasn’t been a lot of cave studies on the BTNF, she’s hoping to change that. One of her goals is to monitor water quality and sensitivity within local caves to understand how water quality degradation can impact different biota and individual caves. Although sometimes seen as hazards, Marks emphasizes that most caves are very fragile environments that can be significantly threatened by human behavior.
But there are still ways to get into spelunking in what Marks calls “the right way.” Marks recommends those interested in caving join organizations that can help teach where people can and cannot step and how to identify what’s fragile or not.
People can join the National Speleological Society (NSS) or local grottos, which are chapters of the NSS. Local grottos include the Northern Rocky Mountain Grotto out of Montana, the Timpanogos Grotto out of Utah and the Gem State Grotto out of Idaho.
Blooms says the USFS has been working with grottos to train volunteers to map the insides of existing caves, which are being discovered every single year on the BTNF.
