Conservation Tape Best Practice

[tdobson]

Is there any BCA/DCA/CNCC guide on how to do responsible conservation tape.

I've seen @Jenny P mentioning best practice in other threads where its being suggested that X isn't best practice.

I'd prefer not to have a debate about what is and what isn't, and be pointed at some kind of guide (like a bolting policy, but for conservation tape) by some kind of council or someone-who-ought-to-know of some kind?

Does it exist, and if yes, can someone help connect me with it?

 

[Badlad]

I don't think there is. Digging Guidelines tend to focus on other aspects. CNCC do supply materials, stainless steel pins and orange tape. The striped barrier tape does seem to be frowned upon these days due to colours running etc. As would, I guess, anything that would rust.

 

[AR]

White electric fence tape has been suggested in the past as a better and more robust alternative to stripy tape which as Badlad says, degenerates over time and releases red dye dribbles which if you're trying to keep white flowstone pristine does somewhat defeat the object!

 

[Leclused]

You can take a look at our website : Cave conservation (but we are no council at all)

However some things are a bit dated on the site. We changed from the orange plastic ropes to white electric fence tape. The orange ropes were eaten by animals in several of our taping projects. The white elctric tape is not

I've placed several answers and threads in the conservation subforum with tips and tricks.

I think you should best see for yourself what suits the best.

One of the better threads taping

 

[Tritim230]

We use electric fence tape with SS wall ties to keep the tape off the floor. The bats like this arrangement. On a trip on Sunday we saw in two separate locations, a bat hanging off the tape as there was plenty of clearance!

 

[ChrisB]

It would be worth an email to Victoria at conservation@british-caving.org.uk - even if there is no published guidance, she may have some information, and it may prompt producing some guidance. Although I'm sure you know what happens to people who ask if there's any published guidance!

 

[cap n chris]

Methodology is probably very relevant. Best practice includes things like taping as soon as new passage is found. Best practice also includes replacing tape the moment it is compromised, e.g. becoming trodden into muddy floors and no longer visible. Having done "a bit" of taping I have some personal preferences. Although it's quick to deploy, flagging tape (usually red/white, or yellow/black, or plain orange or red etc.) is the least robust and doesn't stand the test of time. Thin diameter risers quickly fail to remain upright once any pressure is placed on the tape and it breaks at the slightest provocation.

Electric fence tape is much cheaper, far stronger but requires drilled posts/risers because of the tension required to keep it above the ground. Photographers don't like it but advances in editing software means that can be post processed. A longer term problem with electric fence tape is the metal corrodes and hundreds of oxidized filaments drop onto surfaces beneath.

Impressed by an innovative use of highly stretchy fishing line fixed between drilled risers in Gandara, I "stole" the idea when taping most recently and that's lasted almost a decade. Arguably fiddly to install but minimalistic, long lasting and unobtrusive.

Variety of examples here.

 

[Babyhagrid]

Having cleaned out old red and white tape it does make the calcite red after a while.

And bats love tape!