Restoration/Conservation Practices of the Carroll Cave System, Camden Co., MO

Michael Hartley, Restoration/Conservation Committee Chairman

We, the members of the Carroll Cave Restoration/Conservation Committee, have, by our participation and our commitment to create this organization, have committed ourselves to the protection and the conservation of Carroll Cave. This will ensure that future generations will have, and be able to enjoy, what we have and enjoy today. By opening this new entrance we have created a multitude of opportunities in the areas of cave exploration, science, and research, which will continue for decades to come. With this comes a huge responsibility for the care and conservation of the cave.

The members of the Restoration / Conservation Committee can best accomplish this through cooperative management, good communications, and involvement and participation by all of its membership. By developing strategies and policies based on proven methods from other caving organizations and conservancies, we will have a Conservation program that protects and conserves the caves natural resources, and reflects a sound cave management program. Conservation balanced with access is the key to a successful Conservation and Management project. The Restoration / Conservation project working in conjunction with other projects will help to establish guidelines and protocols to serve the Conservation needs of the cave.

I have listened to many different points of view concerning Conservation policies and practices, and how it should be incorporated with the different projects that are being developed. It has been said that the word Conservation should be replaced with the word Preservation. The word Preservation I think would not be the appropriate defining word in this case, but rather, by following good Conservation practices we will establish a condition of acceptable preservation.

Some of the members have told me that I should remove the word Conservation all together because it implies (closing the cave) or (non use of the cave). This is a misconception on the part of most of the cavers I have listened too, and talked with, and it is the cause of many disagreements concerning the caves accessibility and management. Just for the record, the word means totally the opposite. I think this word needs to be put into its proper context, in the interest of defining the purpose and direction of this committee. The word Conservation as defined in Webster’s University Dictionary means, (the act or process of conserving, controlled use of, and systematic protection of natural resources). This definition says it all; it is what Conservation is all about.

Any natural resource that comes in contact with the human element will be impacted and or altered to a certain degree. This is unavoidable since any intrusion upon a natural environment will disrupt and create an imbalance of the ongoing natural sequence of events. Developing and creating guidelines that allow access with good Conservation in mind, is the most sensible course of action. The purpose and direction of this Committee is to utilize the cave and its natural resources with attention to creating the least amount of impact.

Many of us come from different backgrounds and have different opinions about Carroll Cave and how it should be managed. After consultation with many individuals having extensive backgrounds in Restoration and Conservation, it has become clear that the collective conscience concerning Carroll Cave is, conserving and protecting the cave and its natural resources, with an emphasis’s on, Science, Research, Exploration and limited recreational use. One point of fact should be mentioned here. Most of the damage to the cave until now has accrued over the last fifty years, with visitation through the natural entrance. This is not to say that any one person or group of people is to blame, or that any of it was intentional. The lack of Conservation awareness, and no access controls, with the exception of the gate at the natural entrance, and no Conservation policies over the last fifty years is the contributing factor here. With a new legal entrance in place, and a Conservancy set up, all these problems can now be corrected, and with hard work and dedication on the part of its members, most of the damage can be repaired and accessibility can be guaranteed for generations to come.

Scientific Research and Exploration entails many different areas of study, at different levels, and with different criteria’s. The need to be thorough and precise in these activities is of the greatest importance. These activities will determine the amount of impact within the cave for generations to come, and will show, within two to five years, just how well, we as caretakers of Carroll Cave have been able to manage this cave as a natural resource. The Restoration / Conservation Project will play a determining roll in these events along with Survey, Biology, Geology, and any other projects to be in cooperated later on.