J
John S
Guest
Lack of conservation in Dreanen
I have always tried to lead by example but it has been a huge struggle to get a reasonable policy in place. Unfortunately the ideals have not been carried out in the cave.
It all started with CSS idea that route taping passages was the way to preserve them and the sediment. This was the most important thing to try and preserve. If this was saved so would other stal etc. The idea of route taping was opposed by the PDCMG as being intrusive and not needed, spot tapping was their way. Who wants to be told where to walk and it looks ugly.
CSS persisted and almost every metre on the round trip was laid or re-laid by CSS. The PDCMG had run out of tape , I gave a loan of cash for 1km of tape, hoping others would follow my example, no one did. Once they got a grant several months later, and I was asking to be repaid, they wanted my money for scaffolding ! hardly conservation. In the mean time CSS was still taping as we continued to buy tape ourselves.
I then wrote a long article on how to conserve a cave, published Chelsea Speleological Society Newsletter. Vol 38 No 6 June 1996 p78-81. This was given to PDCMG and was buried, but was picked up by the NCA and formed part of the Cave Conservation Handbook 11-1 to 11-7 (even has part of the dreanen survey as an example)published in 1997. It was much later that PDCMG adopted the NCA handbook in June 2003, only 7 years after first being given it! How much damage had been done in the mean time?
Still no real progress, so we started noting and publishing the areas we saw that needed conservation. A summary was then given to the PDCMG in June 1997. Little actual work was done.
Areas and passages that still require taping.
Area / Passage at Risk Action Explored by Explored Noted CSS NL's
Big Country main passage "sediments, crystal" 28/10/1995 16/12/1995 Jan-96
Bolder Passage near far end "stal, mud floor" 21/01/1996 02/03/1996 Apr-96
Strawberry Passage "sediments, stal" 1km of tape laid by CSS 18/12/1994 27/05/1996 Jun-96
Woodenspoon Passage "conites, fine bedded mud " 19/11/1994 27/07/1996 Aug-96
The Swim "sediment, stal" route taping needs completing 04/12/1994 17/08/1996 Sep-96
Life on Mars southern reaches sediment 03/11/1994 05/10/1996 Nov-96
Life on Mars northern reaches "sediment, stal" 03/11/1994 12/10/1996 Nov-96
Swallow Series cap mud 12/11/1994 04/01/1997 Feb-97
MS & D North "sediment, stal" 16/11/1996 11/01/1997 Feb-97
"Into the Black, (western end)" mud banks 23/11/1996 18/01/1997 Feb-97
Yellow Van "sediment, only 1 side taped ! " 23/11/1996 18/01/1997 Feb-97
Into the Black "mud banks, cross bedding" "double taping required, done 15/3 by CSS" 23/11/1996 08/03/1997 Apr-97
Dogleg Series Circus Maximus "sediments, crystal" "30/3/97 +300m laid by CSS, more required" 19/01/1997 15/03/1997 Apr-97
Out of the Blue "straws, mud banks" "500m laid by CCC shortly afterwards, more required" 24/11/1996 15/03/1997 Apr-97
Luck of the Draw beyond grotto "crystals, stal, sediments" 07/12/1996 19/04/1997 May-97
Gone in the Years crystal and sediments last visit 2 years ago when we first mentioned this! 23/04/1995 24/05/1997 Jun-97
Other areas noted but not published
Gone in the years to 3 Amigos "sediments, crystals" Oct-95
Crystal Mole (fab side pas) "crystals, sediments" "~250m laid by CSS, route taping needs completing." 19/11/1994
Garage Passage (Wyvern) 100m required at start Oct-95
Date Explored is taken as the date it was first surveyed.
The conservation policy of NCA states that the onus is on the explorers to conserve their finds.
The table only includes areas noted by the G5 surveyors in the course of their survey. There are probably many other areas requiring conservation.
It was decided to publish areas requiring work in the CSS newsletter to enable others to do the work as the surveyors may not be returning to that area for some time(some areas only have 1 survey trip to complete it). Informing others would help avoid damage and speed the conservation up.
The high grade survey is also a very useful conservation tool and lack of manpower means that frequently the physical conservation must be
"left to those that should have done it in the first place, the explorers."
JS - 06/97
A bit of a mess but it was an old document. Can someone sort it out please. But you can have a good guess at the guilty clubs and I bet most of the work is still required!!!
Next I gave various clubs a detailed survey of their finds to ask them to mark on the taping they had done. One replied. This was an attempt to get a comprehensive conservation survey done of the cave. It failed.
The present policy may sound good but has to be implemented. The group seems to think that management starts and stops with the gate. This is where the caver management should start.
I see another long article forming of how to manage the caver and the cave.
I have always tried to lead by example but it has been a huge struggle to get a reasonable policy in place. Unfortunately the ideals have not been carried out in the cave.
It all started with CSS idea that route taping passages was the way to preserve them and the sediment. This was the most important thing to try and preserve. If this was saved so would other stal etc. The idea of route taping was opposed by the PDCMG as being intrusive and not needed, spot tapping was their way. Who wants to be told where to walk and it looks ugly.
CSS persisted and almost every metre on the round trip was laid or re-laid by CSS. The PDCMG had run out of tape , I gave a loan of cash for 1km of tape, hoping others would follow my example, no one did. Once they got a grant several months later, and I was asking to be repaid, they wanted my money for scaffolding ! hardly conservation. In the mean time CSS was still taping as we continued to buy tape ourselves.
I then wrote a long article on how to conserve a cave, published Chelsea Speleological Society Newsletter. Vol 38 No 6 June 1996 p78-81. This was given to PDCMG and was buried, but was picked up by the NCA and formed part of the Cave Conservation Handbook 11-1 to 11-7 (even has part of the dreanen survey as an example)published in 1997. It was much later that PDCMG adopted the NCA handbook in June 2003, only 7 years after first being given it! How much damage had been done in the mean time?
Still no real progress, so we started noting and publishing the areas we saw that needed conservation. A summary was then given to the PDCMG in June 1997. Little actual work was done.
Areas and passages that still require taping.
Area / Passage at Risk Action Explored by Explored Noted CSS NL's
Big Country main passage "sediments, crystal" 28/10/1995 16/12/1995 Jan-96
Bolder Passage near far end "stal, mud floor" 21/01/1996 02/03/1996 Apr-96
Strawberry Passage "sediments, stal" 1km of tape laid by CSS 18/12/1994 27/05/1996 Jun-96
Woodenspoon Passage "conites, fine bedded mud " 19/11/1994 27/07/1996 Aug-96
The Swim "sediment, stal" route taping needs completing 04/12/1994 17/08/1996 Sep-96
Life on Mars southern reaches sediment 03/11/1994 05/10/1996 Nov-96
Life on Mars northern reaches "sediment, stal" 03/11/1994 12/10/1996 Nov-96
Swallow Series cap mud 12/11/1994 04/01/1997 Feb-97
MS & D North "sediment, stal" 16/11/1996 11/01/1997 Feb-97
"Into the Black, (western end)" mud banks 23/11/1996 18/01/1997 Feb-97
Yellow Van "sediment, only 1 side taped ! " 23/11/1996 18/01/1997 Feb-97
Into the Black "mud banks, cross bedding" "double taping required, done 15/3 by CSS" 23/11/1996 08/03/1997 Apr-97
Dogleg Series Circus Maximus "sediments, crystal" "30/3/97 +300m laid by CSS, more required" 19/01/1997 15/03/1997 Apr-97
Out of the Blue "straws, mud banks" "500m laid by CCC shortly afterwards, more required" 24/11/1996 15/03/1997 Apr-97
Luck of the Draw beyond grotto "crystals, stal, sediments" 07/12/1996 19/04/1997 May-97
Gone in the Years crystal and sediments last visit 2 years ago when we first mentioned this! 23/04/1995 24/05/1997 Jun-97
Other areas noted but not published
Gone in the years to 3 Amigos "sediments, crystals" Oct-95
Crystal Mole (fab side pas) "crystals, sediments" "~250m laid by CSS, route taping needs completing." 19/11/1994
Garage Passage (Wyvern) 100m required at start Oct-95
Date Explored is taken as the date it was first surveyed.
The conservation policy of NCA states that the onus is on the explorers to conserve their finds.
The table only includes areas noted by the G5 surveyors in the course of their survey. There are probably many other areas requiring conservation.
It was decided to publish areas requiring work in the CSS newsletter to enable others to do the work as the surveyors may not be returning to that area for some time(some areas only have 1 survey trip to complete it). Informing others would help avoid damage and speed the conservation up.
The high grade survey is also a very useful conservation tool and lack of manpower means that frequently the physical conservation must be
"left to those that should have done it in the first place, the explorers."
JS - 06/97
A bit of a mess but it was an old document. Can someone sort it out please. But you can have a good guess at the guilty clubs and I bet most of the work is still required!!!
Next I gave various clubs a detailed survey of their finds to ask them to mark on the taping they had done. One replied. This was an attempt to get a comprehensive conservation survey done of the cave. It failed.
The present policy may sound good but has to be implemented. The group seems to think that management starts and stops with the gate. This is where the caver management should start.
I see another long article forming of how to manage the caver and the cave.