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Tumbling Rock Cave Preserve

Management Plan | Release Form | Make a Donation

The SCCi is pleased to announce the acquisition of Tumbling Rock Cave, Alabama, by means of a lease/purchase agreement. Management of the preserve is handled by Tumbling Rock Inc., an Alabama non-profit corporation, and began on January 1, 2008. This very special acquisition is the culmination of more than two years of extensive efforts by SCCi member Jay Clark and others.

NOTICE: To help prevent the spread of the deadly White Nose Syndrome (WNS) affecting bat populations, please read the SCCi Cave Visitation Policy and follow these guidelines before visiting Tumbling Rock Cave:

• Before and after visiting the Preserve, thoroughly clean and decontaminate all clothing, footwear or gear that has been previously used in a cave in Rhode Island, Maine, Maryland, Delaware, Ohio, Tennessee, North Carolina, and Kentucky (or in a WNS-Affected State prior to 2006), following the procedures outlined in the latest USFWS guidelines (see Attachment 2)..
  
• Do not use any clothing, footwear or gear that you cannot adequately decontaminate.
  
• Do not use any clothing, footwear or gear that has been used since January 1, 2006 in any cave in New York, Vermont, Connecticut, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Virginia, and/or West Virginia, regardless of decontamination protocols followed.

We hope you can appreciate that this particular acquisition involves some very substantial expenses for the Conservancy. Expenses for the first year are expected to be more than $20,000. The present owners have charged a small fee for many years. Our lease and purchase is not free, and we have other expenses of operation in addition to the monthly lease/purchase payment. We will therefore need to request a small donation from each visitor in order to offset some of the expense required to obtain and manage the cave.

Tumbling Rock Cave. Photo by Nathan Williams.

Visitors entering the cave will be expected to have appropriate caving equipment (helmet, boots, and headlamp) and to follow standard cave safety and conservation practices as promoted by the National Speleological Society.

The overall preserve manager is Jay Clark, who reports directly to the Board of Directors of the non-profit corporation running the preserve. Jay is actively soliciting cavers to serve with him as volunteer weekend preserve managers. If you are interested, please contact Jay by email at tumblingrock@scci.org. Any suggestions that you have concerning management of the preserve will also be appreciated and considered.

It is important that we project a very favorable impression to the landowners and local community. Too many caving areas have been closed to the all of us because of abuse by cavers or other visitors. We do not want that to occur here. In order to ensure that things go well and our lease progresses into the purchase phase, so that we may obtain full ownership of the property, it is important that visitors continue to observe a few common sense rules, such as:

• When visiting the preserve, please do not change clothes in public. Changing area are available and must be used.

• No using the bathroom in the cave, or at any place other than the facilities we have provided outside.

• Please do not consume any alcoholic beverage or drugs of any type in the cave or on the preserve.

• Please respect and be considerate of our neighbors, other visitors, and the cave environment by refraining from littering, touching artifacts, damaging formations, molesting wildlife, or otherwise disturbing the peace and serenity of the cave and the preserve.

We hope that all of you are as excited about this acquisition as we have been. Please help us with developing the preserve by continuing to support the Conservancy, by volunteering to help on the preserve and by helping us work toward full ownership of the property.

Acreage: 5.0 acres (lease/purchase) in Jackson County, Alabama
Property Manager: Jay Clark (tumblingrock@scci.org)
Access: Open on Saturdays and Sundays. For details or special arrangements contact the property manager. See the management plan for details.

Commercial Use Statement
The Board of the Southeastern Cave Conservancy, Inc. (SCCi) reaffirms its standing policy that bans the commercial use of our properties, and specifically, prohibits any activity where a charge of any type is made. Should you have any questions, contact the SCCi Chair at chair@scci.org .