CALVIN CAVE is named for Jack Calvin one of the original founders of the Sitka Conservation Society who helped to protect West Chichagof as a Wilderness area. The following report and map were produced by Kevin Allred with the Tongass Cave Project. Kevin joined the SCS Wilderness crew on a trip to West Chichagof in the summer of 2011. See videos of the trip here.
DESCRIPTION: Calvin Cave was discovered on June 19, 2011 by Kevin Allred, and the Sitka Conservation Society Wilderness crew: Adam Andis, Tomas Ward, and Ben Hamilton, while searching for caves as part of the Sitka Community Wilderness Stewardship Project. The cave is located at the lower edge of a large muskeg which provides acidic waters where it flows onto the band of Whitestripe Marble of Triassic age. After a meandering stream slot, the small stream enters the cave, which is a winding narrow crack downcut into the marble. Down the slope are a series of sinkholes which indicate the downstream course of the underground stream. After about 60 feet the cave ends in too tight constrictions at the bottom of the first of these sinkholes, and daylight is seen in several places. There is an excellent example of the underside of a “sealed” sinkhole with its characteristic humus plug here. The cave was surveyed by Kevin Allred and Tom Ward. Its vertical surveyed depth is 10 feet and it has 63.8 feet of surveyed passage. The resurgence of this cave stream is not known, but is probably somewhere adjacent or under the nearby gorge of Marble Creek.
BIOLOGY: Fungus gnat webs were noted throughout the cave, but no insects were seen. No bones were seen.
MANAGEMENT RECOMMENDATIONS: Due to its remoteness, Calvin Cave is not likely to be negatively impacted by visitation. It is protected from logging under Wilderness Area regulation.
Saturday, June 9 and Sunday, June 10, 2012, 10am-5pm
ACA instructors Adam Andis and Darrin Kelly will teach all of the skills you need to be a safe and confident paddler, so that you can get out and enjoy our coastal wilderness areas and volunteer with the Sitka Community Wilderness Stewardship Project to collect needed baseline data. The class will include kayak skills for beginning to advanced paddlers, self and assisted rescue training, and Wilderness monitoring training, including an invasive plant ID lesson from Kitty LaBounty.
This two day course is open only to current SCS members so be sure to join or renew your membership when you sign up. Space is very limited, so sign up early!
To sign up or for more information, contact SCS at 747-7509.
Cost is $75 for the 2-day course (drysuits included). Kayak rental is $35 per day through Latitude Adventures. A 10% will be offered to participants who provide their own drysuit.
Interested in volunteering with the Community Wilderness Stewardship Project? Here are a couple of ways to get your hands dirty protecting you local Wilderness Areas:
Heading out into the Wilds on your own? If you are planning to get out hunting, hiking, fishing, paddling, etc. in a designated Tongass Wilderness Area (like West Chichagof-Yakobi or South Baranof) please consider downloading, printing, and filling out our 2012 Encounter Monitoring Form (PDF). Recording how, when and where folks are using our Wilderness Areas can give us a base-line to chart increases or decreases in human impact. Just follow the instructions on the form and record the boats, planes, people, and human impacts you find. Then, return the forms to us and we will enter your name in a drawing to win a free REI Backpack and 20% off all REI gear!
Want to join the SCS Wilderness Crew on a trip? Occasionally, we have extra room for volunteers to join the Wilderness Crew on research expeditions. If you would like to add your name to the list of volunteers we contact when such opportunities arise, fill out the Volunteer Form and Medical History Form below and return it to adam@sitkawild.org. Also, be sure to take the short (10-15 min) course which allows volunteers to ride in Forest Service aircraft (most of our trips involve small plane flights) and watch the Boat Safety Video. Please keep in mind that only current SCS members can join a Wilderness trip, so make sure you join or renew your membership!
Volunteer Form (MS Word)
Volunteer Form (PDF)
SCS Volunteer Waiver and Medical History Form (PDF)
USFS Flight Protocols: A-102: USFS Alaska Region Fixed Wing Safety Course
Volunteer Gear Checklist (MS Word) If you will be attending a trip, be sure to check out this gear checklist.
The Sitka Community Wilderness Stewardship Project seeks to connect communities with their local Wilderness areas by facilitating volunteer stewardship and monitoring. Over the past three years, the project has been an overwhelming success and will be continuing in to 2012 and 2013.
This is the Final Report for the 2011 Community Wilderness Stewardship Project. Components of the Data Report for the 2011 project can be found below.
Can’t see the report? Down load the pdf here: Wilderness Project 2011 Final Report
2011 Data Report
2011 Plant Survey Map – West Chichagof-Yakobi
2011 Plant Survey Map – South Baranof
* Data is primarily for Sitka Ranger District. Data for other ranger districts can be found in the in reports specific to each Wilderness Area in thefull project file below.
Wilderness Stewardship Project 2011 – Full Project File- The full project file contains all photos, reports, data, radio interviews, videos, and products from the 2011 project. (This is a large file–3.5 Gb)
All of us here at SCS hope that you will join us in riding our bikes to work during the month of May in honor of National Bike Month! Our friends at SEARHC, Yellow Jersey Cycles, UAS, Rotary, and Sitka Community Hospital have a load of events that will knock your sprockets off! Be sure to check out the event schedule and don’t miss out!
Learn more at the Sitka Bicycle Friendly Community Coalition website.
Happy riding!
During a panel outage, every electric user should turn off the breaker panels to ensure that the electric department can get power up and running again across the whole community. This video shows how to use your breaker panel to turn off the highest energy uses in your home.
Weatherization 101 is a six part series produced by the Sitka Conservation Society and the City and Borough of Sitka Electric Department to help Sitkans increase their energy awareness, conserve electricity, and save money.
Speaker, Deborah Rudis is a Wildlife
Biologist and the Environmental Contaminants Specialist
for the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, Ecological Services
Offi ce in Juneau, where she has worked since January
1989. She is the FWS Alaska Region – Pollinator
Coordinator and is encouraging the National Wildlife
Refuges in Alaska to initiate bee surveys. She is
particularly interested in the promotion of fl owering plants,
especially in their importance to native pollinator species.
Tuesday, April 17
7:30pm
UAS Room 106
Girl Scout Troop 4140 has been learning all about energy during their Get Moving Energy Journey project as they work towards completing the requirements for their badge. Part of their project was to share what they learn with the community. In this video, join Girl Scouts from troop 4140 as they demonstrate the proper techniques for chalking your home.
Weatherization 101: Caulking from Sitka Conservation Society on Vimeo.
Weatherization 101 is a six part series produced by the Sitka Conservation Society and the City and Borough of Sitka Electric Department to help Sitkans increase their energy awareness, conserve electricity, and save money.
The 11th Annual Parade of Species, hosted by the Sitka Conservation Society will be held on Earth Day, April 22nd.
Parade participants are invited to dress as their favorite animal or plant and join us at Totem Square at 2pm. The parade will begin at 2:15pm when we will gallop, slither, swim, or fly down Lincoln Street to the Rasmusen Center on Sheldon Jackson Campus where a number of community organization will be hosting games and activities for the whole family!
Prizes will be awarded for: Best Use of Recycled Material, Most Creative, Most Realistic, and Best Local Animal.
Also, be sure to check out the SCS online event calendar to see all of the earth-related events going on around town in April.
Thanks everyone for making the 2012 Parade of Species so much FUN! Check out the photos from the event on Facebook HERE.
Earth Day Timeline:
2:00pm – Gather at Totem Square
2:15pm – Announcements and line-up for the Parade
2:30pm – March down Lincoln Street to SJ Campus
3:00pm – Activities and games at Rasmusen Center, awards will be given for best costumes
4:30pm – Wrap up, head home for dinner, and start planning next year’s costume!
Organizations Hosting Activities After the Parade:
US Forest Service
Big Brothers/Big Sisters
Sitka Global Warming Group
Sitka Tribe of Alaska
National Park Service
Raptor Center
RECYCLESitka!
Alaska Department of Fish and Game
Alaska-Way-of-Life 4H
Girl Scouts of Sitka
Sitka Conservation Society
