Texas Cave Conservancy

Texas Cave Conservancy

Written by Katherine Kennedy Monday, 07 May 2007

Cavers aim to make Cedar Park Texas Cave capital

Cedar Park is home to more than 50 protected caves, many of which are near residents’ backyards. Texas Cave Conservancy is dedicated to the protection of these caves, cave life and cave management. TCC founder and caver Mike Walsh is passionate about saving Texas down under.

“Caving is the main drive in my life; not just going into caves, but the anthropology, geology and history aspect as well,” Walsh said. “Caving is a way of exploring places that have never been explored before. All caves are different.”

Even though some of the best caves have been destroyed, there are still more than 1,000 known caves in urban areas throughout Texas, Walsh said, and 750 of them are in Williamson County. TCC’s goal is to save as many of the remaining caves as possible through the establishment of parks and preserves.

“Preserving caves adds to the quality of life. We take the preserves and turn them into public parks,” Walsh said. “We support recreational use, not abuse, of the caves. We are involved with people who love caves and will safely move through, not destroy them.”

After caves are located and gated to keep the public out, the conservancy begins preservation. Acres of land are set aside for trails, nature preserves, picnic tables and educational signs.

TCC works with land developers, municipalities, other non-profit organizations and private landowners. If a cave is located on private property, the owner can contact TCC to receive a free consultation on cave maintenance and preservation.

“We try to remind them that they have a valuable treasure to take care of so that they can share it with their grandchildren,” Walsh said. “If caves are left unprotected, people can break out the interior formations. The formations then dry up and die, becoming useless.”

TCC has a Cave Day at the Westside Preserve in September and April to inform residents about the caves in their area. Walsh said the event grows each year.

“There is a lot of interest in the Leander and Cedar Park areas in the environment, and what is going on. We obtained a grant to develop the Avery Ranch Cave in hopes of providing public cave tours led by professional cavers with no charge to the public,” Walsh said. “Our goal is to turn Cedar Park into the Texas cave capital, making it a tourist attraction.”

Cedar Park Cave Day

• Held in September and April, the next Cave Day is Sept. 15.
• Cavers demonstrate climbing techniques and provide information on endangered species, cave life, plants and bats.
• Caves are not entered on the tours to protect the endangered species living there.

Endangered cave inhabitant

• Rhadine persephone is an extremely rare beetle found in about 50 caves near Cedar Park.
• It is the size of a red ant and never leaves the caves, feeding on cricket eggs and water.
• Cedar Park caves are protected to preserve these beetles, nicknamed Ricky by local cavers.

TCC Headquarters, Wilcox Nature Preserve, 1800 West Park, 249-2283 • http://texascaves.org