Cavers scrambling after closures

Rachael Dimond learned the hard way.

After recruiting friends, gearing up and driving an hour to Gee Cave in Polk County, Tenn., Dimond was shocked to see an iron cage blocking the entrance.

Many amateur spelunkers in Southeast Tennessee have been asked to curtail their hobby temporarily in well-known public caves because of white nose syndrome, a mysterious disease killing off bats rapidly in northern states.

Caves in 13 states have been closed from May 21, 2009, to May 21 this year, a sign near the Gee Cave trail explained. It was only after an online search that Dimond discovered the closures have been extended for another year.

Terry McDonald, spokesman for the Cherokee National Forest, which includes the Gee Creek Wilderness Area, said the nine documented caves and 20 mine portals in the forest have been closed as a precaution to prevent any local cases of the syndrome.

Mary Miller, a wildlife biologist for the Southern district of the Cherokee National Forest, said that while the syndrome hasn't been spotted in any of Tennessee's national forests, it has been found in adjacent caves, sometimes in the same county.

The Forest Service is working to place notices on every closed cave, Miller added.

Dimond said that, while she's glad action is being taken, she believes the closures are just an effort to stall for more research time.

"They're not solving the problem," she said. "It seems like they're putting a lot more effort into blocking off the caves rather than trying to help the bats that are dying."

Researchers still don't know where white nose syndrome came from or how bats transmit it, Miller said. No one's positive that humans are transmitting the syndrome, she said, but the theory is that spores found in soil tests are spread by spelunkers visiting multiple caves.

Where to go spelunking in Tennessee* Privately owned caves (usually free) often can be found by contacting a local caving organization such as the Chattanooga Grotto, which meets in the Chattanooga Nature Center on the second Monday of the month at 7 p.m. Most caves are kept secret to deter vandalism, Grotto Secretary Sara Kreps said.* Cumberland Caverns ($18) in McMinnville, Tenn., offers multiple spelunking tours and special events, www.cumberlandcaverns.com.* Raccoon Mountain Caverns ($20 and up) in Chattanooga offers up to six-hour expeditions for experienced cavers and shorter walking tours, www.wildcave.com.* The Lost Sea ($24 and up) in Sweetwater, Tenn., offers wild tours and overnight tours, www.thelostsea.com.Where you can't cave* TVA-managed land* Cherokee National Forest* Great Smoky Mountains National ParkWhat is White Nose Syndrome?* White nose syndrome is a fungus that's responsible for killing more than 1 million bats in North America since it first was observed in 2006.* The first documented case in Tennessee was in March.* Caves and mines in national forests in 13 states from Oklahoma to Virginia to Florida have been closed to prevent the spread.* No reported human illnesses have been attributed to the fungus.Source: Forest Service

"It's on their clothes, it's on their shoes, it's even in the air," she said. "It can cling to their hair, their hats, whatever."

Action premature?

Fifty-year caving veteran Bruce Smith said a lot of caves never had bats.

"I think many caves got closed prematurely without even taking an inventory of what wildlife may or may not be in there," he said.

He said he thinks bats, not humans, are the only ones responsible for spreading the disease.

"Ninety-nine percent of all species on Earth are no longer in existence and, unfortunately, this may be the little brown bat's time to meet its maker," he said.

Sara Kreps, secretary of the Chattanooga Grotto caving organization, said about half the group's expeditions used to be on public land. Now the group must tour privately owned caves if it wants to stay in the state, she said.

But that can be difficult, especially in the fall, because private caves are sometimes closed during hunting season, she said.

Kreps said she doesn't expect Tennessee's public caves to reopen for several more years at the earliest.

"I think the cave closures were initially a knee-jerk reaction," she said. "It was really upsetting because once the caves are closed, it's going to be hard to get them reopened."

Butch Feldhaus, a caver for 25 years, said he, too, believes Tennessee was overly aggressive in closing caves.

"If the deer population had white nose and you told people they could no longer go deer hunting, there would have been huge federal funding to get it taken care of," he said.

Taking precautions

Yet spelunkers are taking extra precautions to combat the fungus.

Some cavers have limited their expeditions to one cave system during the scare, Feldhaus said. Others have bought entirely different equipment for each cave they visit, he added.

"We need to make sure people clean their gear and disinfect it," he said. "Over the years, it's been kind of a badge of honor when you roll up to a cave and you pull your crusty clothes out of the bag and put them on. Those days need to go away."

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