Windeler Cave

WCC has gated Windeler Cave and instituted a trustee program so that a limited number of visitors can appreciate this spectacular cave each year. This was after 12 years of closure! In this article you'll find a brief overview of the cave and WCC's involvement with it, then the story of our recent gating and reopening activities, the people that got it done and how they work together, and finally details of the new trustee program.

Background
Windeler cave was discovered by gold miners in about 1946. They were blasting a shaft in hopes of reaching the "mother lode", the famous gold-bearing vein in the Sierra Nevada that is, unfortunately for these miners, very far away. However, their shaft intersected an exceedingly beautiful and untouched cave. We now call it "Windeler Cave" after Charlie Windeler, the main miner and also its chief protector in those early years.

Charlie Windeler recognized the value of keeping this cave in its pristine condition. Many similarly beautiful caves in the Mother Lode area have been ruthlessly vandalized and gutted by careless visitors. For example Crystal Palace cave once had numerous gorgeous formations; nearly all are now broken and muddied. Other caves in the area have become show caves with concrete paths and walking tours; they"re no longer "wild." Windeler kept his cave from suffering either fate; some say he blasted it shut with dynamite to keep it safe. We do know it was buried under tons of rubble for years. The exact location faded from memory and the cave passed into myth.

Members of Diablo Grotto led by Ernie Coffman (who is still involved with managing the cave) heard about Windeler's cave and set out to find it. By dint of research, careful investigation, good luck and a great deal of hard labor they located and reopened the cave in 1972,subsequently forming a committee to manage the cave. They installed a gate and began trips to enjoy, map, and study the cave. However it was plagued by a series of break-ins, and the committee had to fix and replace the gate several times. The final break-in was in 1997 and the committee just wasn't up to doing yet another gate. So they sealed the cave with concrete and there it sat, buried again for years.

Gating and Reopening
Recognizing the need for someone to take over active management of the cave, the Diablo committee contacted the WCC and asked if we'd be interested in managing the cave. In 2007 we completed negotiations with the U.S. Forest Service (they own the land) and signed an agreement taking responsibility for the cave.

From 2007 to 2009 WCC worked on a new gate, first at a slow pace and then picking up speed. Jim Hildebrand put numerous hours and a lot of his personal resources into the project and for that we are grateful. At the same time we needed to build up a committee of dedicated, conservation-minded people that could sustainably manage the cave. This culminated with a new committee in 2009 followed by installation of the shiny new gate. While so far nobody has attempted another break-in, history tells us to expect it at any time. We are working to build a second gate to keep "in our back pocket."

Finally having secured the entrance, the committee then engaged in two reconnaissance trips to learn what we'd actually gotten into, and develop ideas of how best to protect the resource while providing for balanced access to careful explorers. We are very happy to report that the cave is in great shape! Charlie Windeler, and the Diablo Grotto after him, did a truly exemplary job of protecting this cave. While there are a few restoration projects we'd like to undertake, it is by and large in the same "underground wilderness" state as it was at the time of its discovery, and WCC means to keep it that way.

WCC has established an excellent working relationship with the Stanislaus National Forest (Mi-Wuk District) and has their full support of our mission to provide access to and protect this very special resource.

The Windeler Committee
When we signed the management agreement, we weren't really sure how to proceed. What should the new committee look like? How big should it be, who should be on it, and how should decisions be made? These were tricky questions as many people had opinions and a strong desire to see the cave after its long closure.

Stewardship Director Martin Haye formally created the committee at the beginning of 2009, drawing from a list of people who volunteered. The goal has been to achieve a balance of different groups of interested people, make decisions efficiently, and get the work done. The current committee members represent the nearby National Speleological Society chapters (called "grottoes") as well as cavers unaffiliated with any grotto. They were chosen based on enthusiasm they expressed and their complementary abilities. Membership is not fixed; there is a healthy interchange as new people enter and others step out over time. The current members are:

• Daniel Hewitt (Stanislaus)
• Dave Bunnell (Mother Lode and Columbia)
• Charley Nelson (San Joaquin Valley)
• Chuck Chavdarian (Diablo)
• Chuck Lee (Diablo)
• Dale and Sherry Hartwig (Mother Lode)
• Dan Snyder (Mother Lode)
• Ernie Coffman (Diablo)
• Jef Levin (Diablo)
• John Tinsley (San Francisco)
• Kelley Prebil (San Francisco)
• Martin Haye (WCC director)
• Mike White (unaffiliated)
• Ron Davis (Stanislaus)
• Tony Williams (unaffiliated)

We devised an innovative system for quickly coming to decisions on all manner of issues from simple to thorny. The committee operates entirely by email, and everyone has a voice in the process and plenty of time to "say their piece." Here's how it works: Martin introduces one or two new issues at a time. After a week of email discussion he summarizes the developing consensus; a further week of discussion can be used to hammer out finer points or for people to elaborate or change their minds. At the end of two weeks Martin records the final decision and the process begins anew. In very rare instances consensus isn"t reached and in those situations Martin makes the best decision he can given all the input. Of course all decisions made by the committee are subject to review by the WCC Board of Directors.

Trustee Program
A very important but complex area of discussion was how to allow reasonable visitation to the cave. The committee has decided on a trustee system inspired by those used by the National Park Service. Six trustees are selected by the committee, serving for about two years. Each trustee is allowed to lead one trip to the cave per year, starting this year. Here are the current trustees and who they are expected to represent:

• Jef Levin (Diablo)
• Kelley Prebil (San Francisco)
• Dave Bunnell (Mother Lode)
• Dale Hartwig (out-of-area NSS grottoes)
• Mike White (unaffiliated cavers)
• Martin Haye (Stanislaus and San Joaquin)

Each trip consists of between 4 and 6 cavers (including the trustee). Typically the trustee will lead at the front of the group, and designate an especially experienced  caboose from the participants to bring up the rear. Between them the trustee and caboose can monitor everyone in the group, though all participants should of course be looking out for one another. The cave often requires very careful movement so having everyone watch each others' heads and feet avoids damage to delicate cave formations.

Many trustee trips will include some restoration work. For instance some places have mud left by former explorers that should be cleaned off. Larger maintenance projects, along with a baseline inventory, will be conducted by the committee separately from the trustee trips.

The Future
We're very excited! WCC has made great progress by opening and securing Windeler cave, establishing a sustainable process for making decisions, and putting a trustee system in place. Those who want to visit the cave are encouraged to contact a trustee. Due to the small trip size it may take a while to get in, but the wait is worth it. We must all follow (literally and figuratively) in the careful footsteps of those who came before us, and stay true to their legacy of keeping and enjoying Windeler's underground wilderness.