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Wolf River Cave
page two
The following article appeared in the October 2000 NSS News, Volume 58, Number 10. It was written by myself and Kristen Bobo. It is reprinted here with minor editing:
Wolf River Cave is a privately owned cave located in Pall Mall, Tennessee near the estate of the legendary Alvin C. York. The cave is known locally as "Blowing Cave" due to the large volume of air that blows from the entrance of the cave in summer. The nearly eight surveyed miles in Wolf River Cave consist primarily of two roughly parallel passages that are intersected at various points by the cave stream. The cave stream issues from the mouth of the cave. There is a large gallery known as the "Enchanted Forest" that contains numerous undamaged formations. This area is still quite pristine. The cave is well known locally and has traditionally been heavily visited. An agreement was signed in 1999 between the landowners of the cave, the Tennessee Chapter of the Nature Conservancy (TNC) and the Upper Cumberland Grotto (UCG), in Cookeville, Tennessee, that named the UCG as the managers of the cave in conjunction with the TNC. The goals of the agreement are to protect endangered Indiana and Gray Bats that inhabit the cave, conserve all wildlife associated with the cave, and control all activities that are adverse to the well being of Gray and Indiana Bats.
Wolf River Cave also contains archeologically significant sites that include ancient footprints from both humans and panthers. The cave is also important as a bat hibernacula. Tennessee Technological Institute (TTU) conducted a survey of bats in the cave in the winter of 1999. The results of the survey indicated a winter population of over 2,250 endangered Indiana bats making the count the highest in recent history. This makes Wolf River Cave the second largest winter hibernacula in Tennessee. Endangered Gray Bats have also been positively identified using the cave for a summer roost. The apparent increase in Indiana Bat activity in the cave combined with it's status as the second largest hibernacula in the state has elevated the status of this cave from a good recreational cave to a very important ecological site.
The problems at Wolf River Cave have been similar to those found in other popular, well visited caves. Vandalism has been an increasing concern at the site. Spray paint is evident at various places near the entrance and names are engraved in soft sandstone at several locations well into the cave. Garbage has been a consistent problem along the access road. Recent visits to the cave have revealed damage to the archeological sites. Some of the footprints have been stepped in and are barely discernable despite being flagged. A recent trip revealed that a careless visitor had stepped into and destroyed many gypsum needles in the register room. The cave is largely still in good condition but the gradual degradation of the environment has begun to be a real concern. We felt that it was only a matter of time until vandals discovered and damaged the enchanted forest. Then came more bad news.
Kristen and David Bobo were visiting the cave with Andrew and Nora Dickens in late March 2000 to check the status of the cave. As the group approached the site of a major bat roost in the cave the bodies of approximately 40 Indiana bats were discovered lying on the floor. The evidence suggested that a previous visitor or visitors had stood in the chamber and thrown mud balls at hibernating bats, deliberately knocking them to their deaths. There was also the remains of a campfire and beer cans in the room. It was bad enough that the culprits had killed individual bats, but their campfire could have killed the whole cluster. This was a situation that needed immediate attention. The group exited the cave and contacted Gabby Call of the TNC to report the findings. Gabby notified the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Bat researchers at TTU were also contacted. The dead bats were collected and frozen for preservation.
Saturday, April 15th, 2000, Roy Powers, Jr. of the American Cave Conservation Association and gate building fame, Bob Currie from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Gabby Call of the TNC, Jay Greene, Greg and Jackie King, and Kristen and David Bobo, all of the UCG met at Wolf River Cave to assess the situation and discuss options. The landowners had expressed their desire to have the cave gated in the past. Funding and a lack of manpower had kept the cave gate free to this point. In light of the landowner's wishes and in consideration of the important status of the cave as a bat roost and hibernacula, it was decided that a gate would be built. A joint effort between the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the American Cave Conservation Association, Bat Conservation International, and the TNC provided the funding for the gate and the TNC provided the logistics for supplies and volunteer manpower.
The gating was planned for July 6th through 12th, 2000. Lynn Roebuck of the TNC handled the logistics of the operation. Local arrangements were made by Kristen Bobo. Roy Powers and his crew came in to oversee the actual gating. Jason Perry of McMinnville, Tennessee did the majority of the welding. The first of the volunteers showed up Wednesday, July 12th, and work began in earnest on the next day. Volunteer manpower was plentiful and the work progressed far ahead of schedule with the gating actually completed on Saturday, July 8th, a full 4 days early. The following organizations were represented at the gating: American Cave Conservation Association, Bat Conservation International, Blue Grass Grotto, Cleveland Grotto, Huntsville Grotto, Nashville Grotto, Pine Mountain Grotto, Spencer Mountain Grotto, Southport Chronic Cavers, Upper Cumberland Grotto, and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. The TNC hosted a fine bar-b-que dinner for all of the volunteers on Saturday evening. The event took place at the historic Alvin C. York grist mill park in Pall Mall, Tennessee. Everyone feasted and had a nice time and the park was a nice change of scenery from the campsites and the cave gate.
The following photos were taken on a Kodak DC 215 digital camera or an Olympus D360-L digital camera and the resolution was greatly reduced to facilitate loading time over the Internet. All photos are copyrighted 2001 by Jay Greene and Kristen Bobo unless otherwise noted.
Go to Wolf River Cave page one.
Go to Wolf River Cave page three featuring a trip report from 1999.
SCCi's Wolf River Cave Preserve Page
A nice panorama of the Enchanted Forest. This area is near a part called the "macho crawl" if you have a map.
White formations. Enchanted Forest. Photo by Jay Greene, 2001.
A scenic little pool in the Enchanted Forest. Photo by Jay Greene, 2001.
Calcite in water. Enchanted Forest. Photo by Jay Greene, 2001.
Multi-colored draperies and bacon rinds. Kristen Bobo is in the background.
Stalactites, soda straws, and bacon strips. Notice the broken stalactites laying askew witht the newer drip formations flowing off of the end. Enchanted Forest, Wolf River Cave.
Looking up at white and beige draperies. Enchanted Forest, Wolf River Cave. Photo by Jay Greene, 2001.
Stalactites and soda straws, Enchanted Forest, Wolf River Cave, 2001.
White and grey multi-layered flowstone in the Enchanted Forest. Photo by Kristen Bobo, 2001.
The same area as the previous photo. Kristen Bobo, 2001.
A wall in the Enchanted Forest. The colors range from white to black. Photo by Kristen Bobo, 2001.
A close-up of the same area as in the previous photo. Kristen Bobo, 2001.
White stalactites that grow into black stalagmites and flowstone. A wonder. Photo by Kristen Bobo, 2001.
A field of broken stalactites strewn about a white flowstone area of the Enchanted Forest. Photo by Kristen Bobo, 2001.
A sea of stalactites. Photo by Kristen Bobo, 2001.
Cave pearl pool and delicate rimstone dams. Kristen Bobo, 2001.
A beautiful multi-tiered flowstone area. Notice the pool in the lower, center of the photo. Kristen Bobo, 2001.
A majestic view that makes the trip to the Enchanted Forest well worth it. Kristen Bobo, 2001.
Glistening, white stalactites, stalagmites, and columns. Photo by Kristen Bobo, 2001.
A beautiful contrast of white and beige at a seam in the Enchanted Forest. Photo by Kristen Bobo, 2001.
A very nice column in the Enchanted Forest. Andrew Dickins stands in the background. Photo by Kristen Bobo, 2001.
An impressive collection of draperies and soda straws. Notice the helectites growing on the the smaller stalactites. Photo by Kristen Bobo, 2001.
Notice the interesting fault lines in these formations. The Enchanted Forest has several large formations that are broken in such a fashion. There was some type of geologic activity to cause this type of faulting and breaking. And it probably was not too long ago because the new calcite growth is not that heavy. Of course "recent" is a relative term in geologic time...Photo by Kristen Bobo, 2001.
Soda Straws on the ceiling in the Enchanted Forest. Photo by Kristen Bobo, 2001.
An interesting shelf that probably indicates a previous water level. The popcorn underside leads me to believe that it may have been under water. Just a theory. Photo by Jay Greene, 2001.
Nice color contrasts in this large cluster of stalactites. Photo by Jay Greene, 2001.
The group having a break in the entrance passage to the Enchanted Forest.
Greg King in the "BOB" crawl, or the 808 crawl. Whatever you call it, it is a nice passage with a soft floor and pretty gypsum popcorn in the ceiling. Photo by Jay Greene, 2001.
Mike passes through the same place in the 808 passage, Wolf River Cave. Photo by Jay Greene 2001.
Jim lights up a rather large selenite crystal. Impressive, huh?
An interesting stalactite in the Enchanted Forest. Photo by Jay Greene, 2001.
Beautiful shelfs. These look like they were formed as flowstone over a softer material that later washed away and left the flowstone suspended in the air. Enchanted Forest, Wolf River Cave. Photo by Jay Greene, 2001.
An interesting combination of white and grey calcite formations. The white crystals are located inside a dry micro-gour pool. Photo by Jay Greene, 2001.
Go to this website's home page and site map.
Go to Wolf River Cave page one.
Go to Wolf River Cave page three featuring a trip report from 1999.
SCCi's Wolf River Cave Preserve Page