The John Guilday Cave Preserve: Twenty Years Later

Frederick Grady, David R. West, and Robert B. Hoke

ABSTRACT

The John Guilday Cave Preserve was formed in the Spring of 1983 following the purchase of a property in Pendleton County, West Virginia containing the entrances of Trout, New Trout, and Hamilton caves. The purchase was made possible by donations and loans from individuals and organizations. All loans were paid off some thirteen months later. The preserve was named for the late John E. Guilday who had done paleontological studies on material from Trout Cave and who had been an inspiration to the senior author.

Initial work at the John Guilday Preserve included surface stabilization, trail building, and the construction of a visitor booth. Controversy over the presence of a small number of endangered Indiana Bats in Trout Cave ultimately led to a six-year experimental seasonal closure of Trout Cave. Cave surveys eventually produced some ten miles of mapped passage. Significant paleontological work was accomplished in all three major caves. The caves continue to be used by recreational cavers both organized and otherwise.

Introduction

During the Winter of 1981, the owner of the property which included the entrances to Trout, New Trout, and Hamilton Caves posted the property as closed to all. The caves had been heavily used recreationally, surveys had been started in all three caves, and significant paleontological finds had been made in each of the three caves. One of us (Fred Grady), together with Ray Garton and others, formed the NSS Trout Rock Conservation Task Force with the goal of purchasing the property. For the next two years, an active program of raising funds and pledges was undertaken. Negotiations with the owner were also initiated. In January of 1983, a deal was struck and the National Speleological Society agreed to accept the property which was slightly over 40 acres in size and also agreed to name the property the John Guilday Cave Preserve. The property was named for the late John E. Guilday of the Carnegie Museum of Natural History who had undertaken the first studies of paleontological material from Trout Cave and who had been an inspiration to one of us (Fred Grady). One other caver who was particularly helpful with the negotiations was Ed Rickets. Ed later became the second chairman of the management committee, and designed the successful visitor booth.

The first priority of the management committee was to raise additional funds to pay off bridge loans. Ads were placed in the NSS News, raffles were done at major caving events, and part of the proceeds of the first NSS Convention auction all went to pay off these loans. Finally, in May of 1984, the Richmond area Speleological Society (RASS) paid off the remaining loans.

During this time, a trial was created to the caves to try to prevent additional erosion of the steeply-sloping property. Fencing and signs directed cavers to the trail. Also during this time, the previous owner exercised his option to selectively log the southern portion of the property where there were no cave entrances. This operation did leave roads cut into the hillside that were subject to erosion. During a Virginia Region meeting at nearby Thorn Spring Park, cavers were recruited to spread grass seed fertilizer on the eroded areas as recommended by a local soil specialist.

Since in the past there had been endangered Indiana Bats in Trout Cave, a survey was undertaken that indicated a small number of Indiana Bats in Trout Cave along with several hundred other bats. Following a somewhat acrimonious debate, the NSS overruled the John Guilday Cave Preserve Management Committee and ordered Trout Cave closed for six years as recommended by Merlin Tuttle. Signs were placed and a chain-link fence was erected in front of the entrance to Trout Cave. The fence was broken and repaired several times before being removed. The actual number of people who entered Trout Cave during the closure periods is uncertain. In 1991, the NSS Board of Governors decided to open Trout Cave year-round as the Indiana Bat population had not shown a significant increase in numbers during the closure period. Surprisingly, while overall bat counts in Trout and New Trout caves have shown modest fluctuations, the count in Hamilton Cave went from less than 100 in 1984 to over 500 in the late 1990s (mostly Eastern Pipistrelles).

From 1983 on, significant paleontological discoveries were made in Hamilton Cave and to a lesser degree, in Trout Cave. Much of the skeleton of a North American Cheetah, along with more of a Jaguar skeleton and parts of three saber-tooth cat skeletons were found in Hamilton Cave. Many bags of bone-rich cave sediments from Hamilton and Trout were screened for small vertebrate remains. Two new species for fissile rodents were discovered in Hamilton, which helped estimate the age of the main bone sites in that cave at about 850,000 years. Some of the paleontological work was supported by a National Geographic Society grant, and this work is continuing.

Cave Surveys have been completed in all three caves. Hamilton Cave, with over 4.5 miles of passage, is the second longest cave in the county, while Trout and New Trout have over two miles each. Another cave was found following a flood in 1985 and named NSS Flood Cave. Over 1000 feet of passage was subsequently mapped in this cave. There are several other small caves and digs on the property and each of the major caves has digs that could lead to more passage.

Conservation work on the John Guilday Cave Preserve includes regular trash pick-ups along the road, and graffiti-removal trips in the caves. Trout Cave seems to be most subject to graffiti. Trail maintenance, fence repair, and register monitoring continue as well. It is apparent that several thousand people visit the caves each year. There was a major rescue in New Trout Cave in June of 1990. NSS member Gary Lutes and his two sons became lost in the maze area and their carbide lights went out. They had left a pack with spare lights, carbide, and water outside of the maze area. After nearly five days underground, Lutes and his two sons were rescued.

Acknowledgments

Many people and organizations donated funds to help purchase the John Guilday Cave Preserve. Many others have participated in cave surveys, clean-ups, bat surveys, and paleontological work.