Caveists keeping eye on Langford Lake Cave

[L Roebuck]

Langford working to protect cave in path of highway interchange

Cave experts keeping close eye on project

Cave experts and enthusiasts from around the world hope Langford can change the routing of a proposed interchange to protect a nearby cave.

In a May 8 response to an April 25 letter from Vancouver Island Exploration Group president Adrian Duncan, Langford clerk administrator Rob Buchan said the City has determined that Langford Lake cave is located within the proposed alignment of the Spencer Road interchange access ramp, and thanked Duncan for drawing attention to that.

Victoria is one of the few, if not only, provincial capitals that has karst, or limestone caves — a type that forms from the flow of water through fissures and cracks — within its boundaries.

“At one time, there were more than 20 known caves in the Victoria area and now we’re down to nine,” Duncan said in a telephone interview from Coquitlam. “We’ve lost over half the ones that existed through development.”

Vancouver Island’s unique landscape has a reputation that draws attention from cave enthusiasts from all over the world, Duncan said.

He pointed out that the recent destruction of Spaet Cave to make room for the Bear Mountain development drew international attention and resulted in several websites being set up in Europe that chronicled the cave’s demise.

“The spectacle of caves being lost in our provincial capital is not one we want to be presenting to international caveists,” Duncan noted. “We’re not trying to save all the caves, we’re trying to save the ones that are left.”

Full Article

[Azurerana]

CAVEISTS? That's a new one?

[Brian Roebuck]

Well there once was a movie about a gun slinger called "the Shootist" if that is any help?

[Sharon Faulkner]

Maybe "caveists" are what you get when you cross pollinate a caver and a conservationist. ;D

[L Roebuck]

nssmembersforum said:

Maybe "caveists" are what you get when you cross pollinate a caver and a conservationist. ;D

ROFLMAO ;D Your reply cracked me up Sharon!

[Brian Roebuck]

Or would that be a "conservationer"?

[L Roebuck]

Langford mayor says protesters won't stop cave-gating project

Langford Mayor Stew Young is vowing protesters won't stop him from gating off a cave near the proposed Spencer Road interchange, but protesters are questioning his motives.

"They will not impede the RCMP or the municipality. I'm responsible, basically for the safety of the citizens and I don't want people going in there thinking it's OK," Young said.

A work crew contracted by Langford to gate off the cave was turned away by protesters at the foot of Leigh Road Thursday. The workers wanted to drive a backhoe into the woods to do the job.

Full Article

[kalanu]

Hi, I'm one of the treesitters who stopped the city-contracted crew from gating the cave that day. We are still here, still causing trouble for the city of Langford who are still trying to destroy this area.
Our biggest victory to date has been thanks to the caving community, who spoke up about the importance of the caves. The city promises that if they build the interchange it will go around the cave. I wanted to thank all those people who spread the word on this issue, but I also want to point out that the Langford Lake cave, or that is, the entrance to the cave, is but one part of a huge karst system that extends for hundreds of metres in either direction from the entrance. Bottom line is that saving the cave is impossible if they put this interchange in. If the city gets it's way you will have a small cave segment in the middle of a highway cloverleaf.
We want to save this entire ecosystem, not just the cave. The cave is surrounded by threatened, rare healthy, productive Garry Oak ecosystem, and is home to a wide variety of indigenous plant and animal life.
Please visit treesit.blogspot.com to learn more about our continueing campaign, and thanks again.

Kalanu