Participation in the Fort Stanton Cave Study Project

Fort Stanton Cave

2012 Expeditions
Winter trips (FS Cave closed for bats)
Surface or Dig Trip TBD (Tentative)
Spring Expedition
April 21 - April 29, 2012
Summer Expedition
July 7 - July 15, 2012
Fall Expedition
October 6 - October 14, 2012

Expectations for FSCSP participants:

The mission of the Fort Stanton Cave Study Project (FSCSP) is to conduct a variety of activities to document and understand Fort Stanton Cave and the larger karst and hydrological system surrounding it. While there is a pleasurable and entertaining aspect to many of our activities, we have a serious purpose, and we expect participants to keep this in mind. It is important for all participants to read and understand the specific expectations discussed below. Should you have any questions or concerns regarding these expectations, feel free to discuss them with any of the directors.

Participants:

a) Must have a demonstrated caving ability. If a prospective participant has not previously been recognized as having the requisite skills, verification of ability and experience must be completed prior to joining the project. Personal references familiar to project directors normally would suffice, and other means may also be used.

b) Must be willing to work as part of a team and accept direction regarding work tasks and expected accomplishments.

c) Must adhere to accepted safe-caving practices and FSCSP policies, including WNS De-con Process.

d) MUST possess all required caving equipment, including--
1) Proper helmet.
2) Minimum of 3 reliable sources of light.
3) Clothing and footwear appropriate to the conditions expected to be encountered.
4) Adequate other equipment commonly accepted as suitable for caving.
5) Equipment necessary to comply with personal hygiene requirements while in-cave.

e) Uncooperative or unsafe actions may result in expulsion from the project.

The FSCSP is unable to accommodate persons not possessing all of the above skills, attitudes and equipment during project events.

Fort Stanton Cave is a publicly-owned resource and sections of the cave have been available for recreational trips under a permit system from April 15 through October 31. Interested persons may contact the BLM for information concerning application for a public entrance permit, or directly at the Roswell BLM office. The BLM also can provide contact information for caving clubs where appropriate experience may be gained to enable future participation in FSCSP projects.

All visitors that enter the cave must follow the BLM decontamination processes that are associated with the White Nose Syndrome that is killing bats in the eastern part of the United States. We are concerned with visitors from outside of New Mexico possibly bringing the virus into Fort Stanton Cave, and also do not want to take any chances of cross-contamination between caves in the area that could affect the local bat population. The cave is closed between November 1st and April 15th because of the hibernating bats.

 

Requirements for FSCSP teams:

While Fort Stanton Cave is not a technically demanding cave, conditions frequently encountered include wet or flooded passages, low passages, slippery surfaces, unstable footing and potential for rockfall or other natural hazards. The FSCSP is focused on a variety of tasks ranging from easy surface work to strenuous digging and construction activities in various places underground. All activities are related to managing, understanding and improving knowledge of the associated resources.

The FSCSP activities DO NOT have a recreational component and thus are not suitable events for anyone not already experienced in cave exploring skills. The FSCSP does not lead tours nor provide training events for novice cavers. Therefore, in order to participate in the project, the minimal requirements mentioned above have been established to insure safe, effective and efficient operation.

Most of our team members are already members of other caving groups (which include NSS, CRF, TSS, TCMA, TSA , SWR and others) and many have participated in "project caving" for many years. We welcome these cavers because they bring ideas and experience from other areas. We especially welcome cave scientists because we can offer some unique projects and project assistance. We offer a variety of team assignments depending on the participants attending. Many can be quite challenging due to the nature of the cave and some additional guidelines are mentioned below for those "old hands" wishing to plan for some of the special trips.

General team ethics follow our attempt to "leave no trace". Trash found in the cave will be removed. All human waste is to be removed from the cave and appropriately disposed of. Due to the possibility of WNS bat infection, we have been following decontamination guidelines (which are often updated). We expect all the gear from our team members arriving from other cave areas to be 100% clean to reduce the possibility of infection our own bat population. Areas such as the Snowy River passage have special requirements which involve being able to change into a clean set of gear (clothing, packs and gear) and at the same time being able to contain all your dirty gear inside your clean gear pack. In fact, this last requirement is placing us at almost the maximum extent of exploration in Snowy River South (SRS) because we do not currently camp in the cave. Since we do not travel on Snowy River while it is flowing and have not found a water source in SRS, push trips are limited to ~ 30-34 hours which may require 3 quarts of water (and the empty bottles are used as pee bottles). If you accidently drop a bit of mud on Snowy River your team is expected to immediately do the remediation (bring your toothbrush and plastic bag). Teams are expected to "survey as you go" and make every attempt to tie to known survey points instead of leaving hanging surveys. Fore-sights and back-sights are checked for precision and teams are expected to record other observations as they progress. Photographs are encouraged and are expected to be shared with the expedition leader before leaving the area. A Privacy Policy explains our obligations to the BLM and other team members.

 

| About Us | Contact Us | Participation | Privacy Policy | ©2011 Ft. Stanton Cave Study Project

Rev. 10-28-2011
Comments to the webmaster
Contact the FSCSP President
Contact the Project Director