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SERA Karst Task Force
The Beginning Years By Rob Robbins
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The dreams behind a conservation group had been discussed numerous times behind the scenes before it was decided to make a formal motion at the 2001 Southeastern Regional Association Winter Business Meeting. We found that several cavers, Jim Wilbanks, Debby Johnson, Rob Robbins, Brian and Lynn Roebuck had the same dreams and were all taking measures to make their vision a reality - but in two separate groups.
Rob Robbins, Brian and Lynn Roebuck were past the discussion phase and already actively taking steps toward their dream to form a cave conservation and research group by assembling educational materials, purchased a Karst Groundwater Model, I.D. badges, and purchasing other supplies and equipment that their group would need. While unknown to them Debby Johnson and Jim Wilbanks also had a dream and had both met several times and emailed to discuss coming up with some type of a conservation group. At the July 2001 convention Debby and Jim sat under a tent and discussed such a conservation group.
Along this point in time Jim and Lynn had phone conversations and also talked about the need for a conservation group. Lynn expressed to Jim details about the group her, Brian and Rob were in the process of developing while Jim told Lynn that he and Debby had discussed coming up with some type of conservation group. At this point in time it was unknown to everyone that we were all coming together. Before the 2001 SERA Winter Business Meeting we talked back and forth to each other about our individual ideas to form a conservation group and it wasn’t long until everyone united their visions and support toward just one group. The eve of the 2001 Winter Business Meeting Rob Robbins and Jim Wilbanks were invited to spend the night at the home of Brian and Lynn Roebuck in Tennessee. This evening was to work out details of us all joining as one and forming a conservation group. It was a stimulating evening bursting with idea’s and conversation as the four of us sat around the table. We also examined Jim's cave conservation video’s and conservation brochures, Rob and the Roebuck’s newly acquired Karst Groundwater Model was demonstrated, and their conservation books were shared and we shared vision’s and discussed plans for the motions that would be made and who would make them at the meeting the next day of the Southeastern Regional Association Winter Business Meeting Governing Board.
The SERA Karst Task Force, a committee of the Southeastern Regional Association was formed during the 2001 SERA Winter Business Meeting by a motion made by Jim Wilbanks to study the ways SERA could become more involved with the support of Debby Johnson, Rob Robbins, Lynn and Brian Roebuck The idea behind this was to channel some energy towards cave conservation in the Southeastern United States, based on what Cavestock has been doing in recent years. The SERA Governing Board supported the motion. First to Chair the Committee in 2001 was Jim Wilbanks, 2002 Rob Robbins and Debby Johnson in 2003.
In 2001, the formative first year of the SERA Karst Task Force (SKTF) our direction other than cleaning up caves was not entirely clear. The committee had meetings, phone calls and emails to discuss what the mission of the task force should be and what we would present to the SERA Governing Body at the 2002 Meeting. Along the way the we had decided a discussion board would probably be beneficial for fostering cave conservation, posting clean up projects to the calendar, an interacting with volunteers. Appointed to the SKTF and the task by Jim Wilbanks was LynnRoebuck who on the eleventh of August 2001 founded and moderates the SKTF discussion group on Yahoo http://groups.yahoo.com/group/sktf. Jim attended the 2001 Cavestock as well as their clean up project in an effort to see how Cavestock managed the conservation projects they had been conducting in recent years. Formed in 1998 each year Cavestock hosts a clean up during their Annual Spring Festival Event.
February 23, 2002 at the SERA Winter Business Meeting the committee moved, The SERA Karst Task Force is a committee which the chairman and vice chairman of SERA are members and at least three others are appointed each year. The SKTF is to sponsor and foster conservation activities in the SERA region and generate articles about itself and the record for use by SERA newsletters. The Yahoo group or its' equivalent is to be continued and its' use encouraged by the membership. The motion passed.
Now the SERA Karst Task Force was official and it was time to start work. But what should we do? Dan Twilley had suggested that we cleanup Lost Creek Cave in White County which had been vandalized for years. During the SERA Cave Carnival, which was hosted by the Smokey Mountain Grotto on July 13, 2002, was the “first” SKTF clean up at Lost Creek Cave in Tennessee as the newly formed conservation group. Dr. Jan Simek (UT/K), Jim Rylander Jr., Arleen Scheller, Debby Johnson, Dan Twilley, Gail and Jim Wilbanks, Lynn and Brian Roebuck. Dr. Simek conducted an assessment to look for any significant resources that may have been present on the cave walls before any graffiti removal began. Volunteer help that day was in short supply with only us nine but the project was still deemed a success since we removed graffiti near the entrance of the cave!
On August 4, 2002 a site visit was made to the cave by Lynn and Brian Roebuck along with Tim Curtis and family to further assess Lost Creek Cave and to report to the rest of the committee what equipment and supplies might be needed for a return trip.
August 24th, 2002, thirty-three cavers representing twelve different organizations attended the second clean up Lost Creek Cave. All converged on Lost Creek Cave equipped with everything from garbage bags to an air compressor to a sand blaster (furnished by Maureen Handler). In a matter of a day, much graffiti was removed from rocks around the cave as well as on the cave walls themselves along with a large pile of trash removed from the cave and surrounding area. Many people for Cavestock attended and lent SKTF a hand on the project as well as donated much needed materials.
Dialog was initiated between SERA Karst Task Force and the Cavestock organization wherein assisting each other for specific cleanups would increase the manpower at each cleanup. OnOctober 12th, 2003 during the TAG Fall Cave-In, seventy-four cavers representing twenty-one caving organizations and eleven states converged on Stephens Gap to clean the shingles from the parking area. This was the first joint effort between that of SERA Karst Task Force and the Cavestock organization. The Dogwood City Grotto, the host of the TAG Fall Cave-In, funded a huge thirty yard dumpster that we filled in a little over two hours. We could have filled at least one or two more dumpsters if they had been on site. Also Dave Robison of Cavestock donated one hundred t-shirts adorned with a logo about the cleanup.
On December 14th, 2002 the day of the Cumberland Caverns Christmas Party, cavers met at LostCreek Cave for the third time to continue the clean up effort and more graffiti was removed. A couple of weeks after the clean up Carl Bishop of Dickson, Tennessee traveled back to Lost Creek Cave and carried off all the trash that had been collected at the previous clean up but not yet removed.
Through 2002 emails began coming in from everywhere informing SKTF of a cave that needed a clean up. Several meetings were held with the 2003 committee members; Jim Wilbanks, Debby Johnson, Brian and Lynn Roebuck, Maureen Handler and myself in attendance wherein the direction, vision and mission of the SERA Karst Task Force was developed. The details of the SERA Karst Task Force mission was written at a meeting of the committee on January 19, 2003 and simply states “THE SERA Karst Task Force is a resource committee dedicated to karst conservation and the clean up of karst features and caves through the education of both public and caving communities.”
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