Re-gating Hubbards Cave

[L Roebuck]

The Nature Conservancy will be placing a new gate on Hubbards Cave, Warren County, TN. In winter months seven species of bats call Hubbards Cave home. According to TNC the number of gray bats hibernating in Hubbards Cave is estimated to be more than 500,000.

Engineer Roy Powers, American Cave Conservation Association will be on site May 18th to begin construction on the new Hubbards south passage gate. The steel is being delivered and the old gate is being removed this week. The Nature Conservancy expects the re-gating project to take approximately 10 days but it may last longer and TNC says volunteer's are needed to help haul steel. For more information contact Heather Garland at TNC or visit The Nature Conservancy or DNH Natural Areas Program

Old Hubbards Cave Gate

[madratdan]

Now THAT"SSS a gate!!

[itabot]

That's not a gate..... That's a wall

[L Roebuck]

The old Hubbards Cave Gate was built in 1995, it was 39 feet long and 31 feet tall. The cave gate contained over 70,000 pounds of materials and 2,400 linear feet of steel. Cavers say it is a BFCG.

As I understand the plan for the new cave gate is to place it inside the cave another 20 +/- feet. That might mean it will be smaller than the old gate, but I'm not sure. I think I have just developed a steel allergy. ;D

[L Roebuck]

I received word today the old Hubbards Gate is now down and has even been hauled away. Jason Perry and Perrys Paving contracted this work. Also I understand the steel is now at the cave.
Unfortunately, it appears locals are taking a few liberties and visiting the Class ll-State Natural Area, TNC reports a bit of trash and evidence of some horse back riders.

Just remember The National Speleological Society (NSS) offers a REWARD to anyone providing information leading to the legal conviction of vandalism directly related to caves anywhere in the U.S.

[L Roebuck]

More from the Nature Conservancy concerning the Hubbards Cave Gating Project.
 
If it is your first time volunteering for a project like this, you will need to bring the following:

* Long pants / jeans and sturdy boots
* Work gloves, if you have them
* Caving Helmet, if you have one
* Headlamp or a flashlight
* Camping gear if you intend to stick around
 
TNC will be providing lunch, snacks, and water/drinks, so no need to worry about that unless you have particular dietary needs. 

[L Roebuck]

Mid-Week Caving

Tim Curtis PBase, Janice Curtis, Brian and I went for a mid-week caving trip to Hubbards Cave before TNC's gating activities began. But The Nature Conservancy and others were already on site making preparations to start their project tomorrow. Thanks TNC for letting us take a few photo's. ( The entrance was really beautiful without the gate.)

Hubbards Cave sink facing the South Cave Entrance

Looking out of the South Cave Entrance

[guanonoggin]

Totally awesome photos Lynn! The cave looks a lot better without the BFCG! I hope they replace it with a LFCG though. Dude - they moved mega tons of steel! That's a gnarly gig man.

[Sharon Faulkner]

Wow...those are great photos Lynn! Yes, they have definitely moved (or removed) a lot of steel. Ya gotta admit, as far as gates go, that was a pretty impressive gate.

[Brian Roebuck]

Apparently they sliced it in sections from top to bottom with a torch and used a crane to lift out the pieces. It was fixed to the cave walls, ceiling, and the sill plate on the floor to keep it steady but the old design allowed water to fill up some vertical columns and rust them from the inside out. It is good that the old monster is gone and a newer, smaller, better gate will take it's place further inside the huge entrance passage. For now it is a wide open hole just like it used to be. But later today they start the new one.

[L Roebuck]

Here's the link to the photo's by Tim Curtis!

Hubbards Cave Pictures

[L Roebuck]

May 21st, Brian and I volunteered to help on TNC's Hubbards Cave Gate Project. We arrived at the camp mid-morning to thunderstorms in the area and waited with the crew until the storm subsided before heading to the cave.

[Brian Roebuck]

I know I am predjudiced.. but those are some fine photos Lynn! I especially like the lower one.

Great Job!

[Sharon Faulkner]

I like it too! When I saw that photo I thought how cool those sparks look in the cave.

[guanonoggin]

Woa.
Totally cool pics Lynn! Is that new gate going all the way to the ceiling? I can't tell from your pics. Keep up the awesome photos dudette.

L8r dudes.

[L Roebuck]

No the gate will not go to the ceiling it will just be a half gate.

[Sharon Faulkner]

Couple working to save endangered bats
June 02, 2006
By Kelli Gauthier

MCMINNVILLE, Tenn. — Tina and Bruce Ventura can think of no better way to spend their vacation than slogging through the mud, dragging steel beams down steep inclines and helping to build a 30-foot steel gate inside the mouth of a giant cave.

The Venturas are helping the Nature Conservancy in Tennessee to preserve one of the largest populations of endangered gray bats in the world by rebuilding a gate at the opening of Hubbard's Cave in Warren County.

The couple, from Marquette, Mich., said this isn't the first bat cave gate they've built, but it is the largest. "This isn't just any old gate-building," Ms. Ventura said. "It's famous because it's so big."

The Venturas joined a team that includes other volunteers, Nature Conservancy employees, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the National Speleological Society, the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency, the Tennessee Division of State Natural Areas, the American Cave Conservation Association, and Bat Conservation International Inc.

The gate keeps humans from entering the cave and disturbing the bats while they hibernate between September and May, said Gabrielle Call, associate state director of the Tennessee Nature Conservancy.

E-mail Kelli Gauthier at [e-mail]

www.tfponline.com/absolutenm/templates/breaking.aspx?articleid=1654&zoneid=41
See tomorrow’s Chattanooga Times Free Press for full coverage.