California Cave Survey

Cave Conservation and Protection

Protecting the Caves of the Golden State

Everyone that visits caves in California is responsible for protecting these natural wonders.

Fragility

Caves vary in California. Tour caves have paved trails and handrails. Some alpine caves in the high country are mostly rock and sand and are very tolerant of human travel. Other caves are completely different and are very fragile. Fragility can come from many things. There might be delicate minerals that are impossible to avoid, a roost of rare bats that should not be disturbed or ancient bones that would turn to dust if stepped on.

Vandalism

Sadly, in many locations, caves and their contents have been purposely damaged by vandals. Spray paint, breaking and removing formations, leaving trash, fires, harassing bats and other awful and unlawful acts have been too common in some California caves. Cavers, caving clubs, local students and civic organizations have all mounted clean-up efforts across the state to undo as much damage as possible in many of these caves. But it is can be a never ending battle.

This limestone cave has many delicate crystals that cannot be touched to avoid damage. The white spots in this photo are sparkling crystals faces in the slope of red flowstone. Due to its fragility, this cave is rarely visited and cavers were clean clothes, stick to narrow trails and never touch certain features. Dave Bunnell

Management Actions

Many actions are taken to protect cave interiors. This can include closing some parts of some caves to any travel, seasonal closures when bats are roosting, marking trails that cave visitors must follow, changing clothes and shoes to avoid moving dirt and mud, wearing certain fabrics or suits in delicate locations and many more actions.

Calaveras Natural Bridges is a recreation area with a fun, beautiful natural bridge that is a small cave. The cave features a small river and waterfalls in the spring and deep pools year around. Vandals have repeatedly damaged this cave and volunteers have repeatedly worked very hard to undo the damage and clean up the Natural Bridge. Dave Bunnell
Soda straws and helictites can be seen in this photo from a Tulare County cave. Soda straws are a type of stalactite, the variety of cave formation that hangs down from the ceiling. They are very crystalline and fragile. If they are touched, they break. The helictites bend, curl and grow sideways in between the straws. This much rarer type of cave speleothem is also very delicate and can be easily broken.

Cave owners

Although some are privately owned, most of the caves in California are on federal public land. In particular, Forest Service, National Park Service and Bureau of Land Management lands are home to thousands of caves in the state. Specific state and federal laws protect caves, cave locations and a cave’s contents and are important tools in protecting and managing caves in California.

What You Can Do

While it is best to get training in advance, if you ever enter a cave, take steps to protect what your find. Watch where you walk. Tiny cave animals or delicate cave formations can be on the floors. In sea caves, the walls are often literally covered in animals that could be crushed. Never touch or handle cave formations or any mineral deposits, carefully avoid anything that might resemble a bone. If a cave has bats, it is often best to just leave.

Caving Clubs

Caving club chapters of the National Speleological Society (often called grottos) teach new cavers what to watch out for and how to take care of caves. They also teach safe caving practices including rope work for entering pits. They know where the caves are and the right vendors for buying caving gear. You can find a list of caving clubs here: https://nsswest.org/grottos/ or check on this web page at https://californiacaves.org/index/go-caving/california-caving-clubs/

Staying Safe

Staying safe is one of the best tools to protect the cave and to make sure that you and friends and family have a good experience. Wear appropriate clothes and shoes and have and use the appropriate gear and equipment including several lights for each person. Let someone know where you are and when you will return. See the caving safely section of this web page for more information.