Steven Johnson

Exciting News!
The Western Cave Conservancy is acquiring 150 acres of property near Volcano, CA, containing over 10 named caves (including Santa Claus, also known as Pearl, Mushroom, Lulu Bell, and Connie’s), plus acres of karst with sinks, holes and flowstone fragments which whisper of caves yet to be found. This rare opportunity to purchase a large chunk of karst land was made possible thanks to several large pledges from generous donors and money willed to the WCC from the estate of Bill Papke. This purchase will guarantee the preservation and conservation of these wonderful caves for years to come and continue to ensure that cavers can enjoy responsible access to them.
We anticipate that the deal will be closed by Thanksgiving. In the short term, access to these caves will be made available on a basis very similar to Rippled Cave, with no-hassle availability for established caving groups. (Visitation and management plans will be refined over the next 6-12 months; the WCC eagerly welcomes input to these plans.)
The WCC needs to raise $200,000 to cover the loan for this purchase. Please help support the WCC in this endeavor through a tax deductible donation. Just $100 a year for the next 3 years will help the WCC retire the $200k loan with minimal interest.
You can donate in one of two ways:
– The easiest way is just to visit our website at “westerncaves.org”; right there on the home page we have made it simple to make your donation.
– Or, you can write a personal check, made out to the Western Cave Conservancy and send it to P.O. Box 230, Newcastle, CA 95658
Please consider helping us preserve this area permanently for the enjoyment of cavers and the preservation of the unique cave resources that are present on this property. All contributions, in any amount, large or small, will help immensely.
If you’d like to receive future updates and stay informed with our work, please visit our website (www.westerncaves.org) periodically or sign up for our email list ( www.westerncaves.org/western-cave-conservancy-announce-group/).

Cavers in California recently got the unwelcome news that Pseudogymnoascus destructans (the fungus that causes WNS) has been detected in California bats. Sadly, it’s a day that we all knew was likely to come sooner or later, but that doesn’t make it less difficult to accept.

The jury is still out as to how WNS will affect the bat population on the West Coast — as we now know, the presence of the fungus alone isn’t enough to cause WNS; it also requires the right combination of cave environment and bat behavior to blossom into the epidemic seen in other parts of North America. There’s reason to hope that it may not flourish here as much as it has elsewhere, but as the saying goes, hope is not a strategy.

So what strategy should we use to minimize the long-term risk to our beloved avocation of underground exploration? The most obvious answer is one that few will be enthusiastic about: increased vigilance about decontamination of our cave gear.

I know, I know — it’s tempting to dismiss WNS decon protocols as a waste of time. Epidemiological studies have made clear that bat-to-bat transmission appears to be the only significant vector by which the fungus spreads, and there isn’t any evidence of even a single case of human-caused transmission. Even if this is the case, I want to persuade you that following an approved decon protocol is a good idea. For one thing, no one wants to end up as the caver who “wins” the lottery of being the first documented case of human-caused WNS transmission. (At least I certainly don’t!) And, of course, it can also help prevent the unwanted spread of other cave biota to unrelated cave ecosystems. But there’s another compelling reason: the caving community needs to set the standard of behavior here. We should see this as an opportunity to demonstrate that conservation of cave environments is something that is deeply important to all cavers. If that means we have to go above-and-beyond our previous cleaning standards, we should view it not as a burden to bear, but as a challenge to uphold — and as a way for the general public (and land owners and managers, of course) to see the dedication we have to preserving these resources for everyone.

(Besides, I happen to like my gear clean.)

Those are my thoughts. We’d love to hear yours. Please share them with me at steven@westerncaves.org.

P.S. Need a refresher on the right decon procedure? Download our flyer at WCC WNS Guide, or visit https://caves.org/white-nose-syndrome/ or https://www.whitenosesyndrome.org for even more information.