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# CAVE GATORS

Bat Gates, Cave Gates, Cave Management

## Sitemaps

- [XML Sitemap](https://cavegators.com/sitemap.xml): Contains all public & indexable URLs for this website.

## Pages

- [About the Cave Gators](https://cavegators.com/) - Cave Gators designs custom bat gates for caves and abandoned mines. Protect wildlife and ensure compliance with our high-quality solutions.
- [Bat Cave](https://cavegators.com/past-projects/bat-cave-lauderdale-county-al-september-2022/) - Bat Cave Lauderdale County, Alabama September 2022 Gate Type: FLYOVER Bat Cave was a difficult project, situated approximately 2/3 up a 200' bluff overlooking a lake. All equipment and materials had to be guided down an unclimbable slope by caver employees while on rappel. To complicate matters, the gate needed to have an opening at
- [Who are the Gators?](https://cavegators.com/who-are-the-gators/) - Crash, Head Gator Jim "Crash" Kennedy* is karst ecologist and avid cave conservationist. He is also an acknowledged expert in cave and mine gating, with more than 30 years’ experience, and worked closely with the MasterGater, Roy Powers. Now Jim is the lead instructor (and only remaining instructor of the original five) of the National
- ["Big Block" mine portal](https://cavegators.com/past-projects/big-block-mine-portal/) - "Big Block" mine portal, Luzerne County, Pennsylvania October 2024 Gate Type: CUPOLA For the third year of our five-year Pennsylvania Bat Gate Workshop series, we returned to another gaping opening near our 2023 gate. This one was messy, as we had to cut out a deadfall, and remove a lot of rocks, roots, and rotten
- [Additional Resources](https://cavegators.com/additional-resources/) - Welcome to our resource page for bat-friendly closures on caves and abandoned mines. Explore academic publications, schematics, safety resources, and a comprehensive agency guide with regulatory information and guidelines. But let’s start off with the “Agency Guide”, a brief but comprehensive overview of the gating process and philosophy. Agency Guide to Cave and Mine Gating
- [Bat Cave](https://cavegators.com/past-projects/bat-cave-2/) - Bat Cave, Oregon County, Missouri October 2012 Gate Type: CHUTE with BAY WINDOW, FLYOVER This remains one of my favorite projects of all times. Through a partnership with the Mark Twain National Forest and the Cave Research Foundation, we build two massive gates in two weeks on a very inaccessible cliffside location. This formerly remote
- [Richs Cave](https://cavegators.com/past-projects/richs-cave/) - Richs Cave, Union County, Illinois August 2018 Gate Type: FLAT Another cave on the Shawnee National Forest, the main entrance to Richs was previously gated by Roy Powers. At the time, however, no one realized that there was another entrance on the hillside above the main entrance. Roy and Kenny and I had to make
- [Ellis Cave](https://cavegators.com/past-projects/eller-cave/) - Ellis Cave, Pope County, Illinois September 2018 Gate Type: CUPOLA Shawnee National Forest was the client for this project back when I still worked for Bat Conservation International. Ellis is a fair-sized cave that was receiving a lot of vandalism. We contracted with our good friend Jerry Fant to build this gate. He and I
- [Carlsbad Cavern](https://cavegators.com/past-projects/carlsbad-cavern/) - Carlsbad Cavern, Eddy County, New Mexico May 2021 Gate Type: BASIC, with swinging door Carlsbad Cavern National Park personnel contacted us about replacing an increasingly-dangerous gate on the tour route. This gate was at the end of a tunnel blasted through the cave wall in order to bypass a precarious ledge where two previous visitors
- [Vaughns Gap Cave](https://cavegators.com/past-projects/vaughns-gap-cave/) - Vaughns Gap Cave, Davidson County, Tennessee March 2024 Gate Type: BASIC Caves out in the boonies don't get a lot of visitation pressure. But caves in city parks do. Metro Parks Nashville has one such cave. And they would rather use it to educate visitors about karst geology, cave fauna, and aquifers than see it
- [Key Cave](https://cavegators.com/past-projects/key-cave/) - Key Cave, Lauderdale County, Alabama March 2021 Gate Types: POWERS FENCE Key Cave National Wildlife Refuge was purchased to protect the cave, an important summer roost for the Endangered gray bay (Myotis grisescens). The cave also has fragile archeological deposits, and is the only known site for the critically Endangered Alabama Cavefish (Speoplatyrhinus poulsoni). However,
- [Eagle Cave](https://cavegators.com/past-projects/eagle-cave/) - Eagle Cave, Hamilton County, New York May 2021 Gate Types: BASIC, 2 modified "tank traps" This was definitely our most logistically-difficult project to date. It was a 1.2-mile hike from the parking area, with a 900-foot elevation gain. And the cave is in a wilderness area, meaning that we could not use motorized vehicles like
- [Helms Deep Cave](https://cavegators.com/past-projects/helms-deep-cave/) - Helms Deep Cave, Perry County, Tennessee March 2024 Gate Type: BASIC Three years ago, this was a small. little-visited cave. Then exploration of a previously-overlooked crawlway led to a big breakout. Now (January 2025) there are more than 70 miles of mapped passages, making it the 22nd longest cave in the world. The length alone
- [Piper Cave](https://cavegators.com/past-projects/piper-cave/) - Piper Cave, Smith County, Tennessee April 2024 Gate Type: WINDOW Imagine a large, critically important cave used by Federally endangered gray bats. Imagine that saltpeter miners labored for years to extract a crucial ingredient for gunpowder from the cave's sediments, abruptly abandoning everything in the cave when the Civil War ended. Now imagine a doomsday
- [Willoughby Saltpeter Cave](https://cavegators.com/past-projects/willoughby-saltpeter-cave/) - Willoughby Saltpeter Cave, Campbell County, Tennessee April 2024 Gate Type: FLYOVER We had hoped to build a Basic Gate the whole way up to the ceiling, but part way through this project we realized that it wasn't feasible. Always flexible, we shifted gears and turned it into a Flyover style. We had great help arranged
- [Askon Hollow Cave](https://cavegators.com/past-projects/askon-hollow-cave/) - Askon Hollow Cave, Fayette County, Pennsylvania June 2024 Gate Type: BASIC and SEMI-CUPOLA I first visited this cave about 40 years ago, wearing cotton long-johns and coveralls. You get soaked, and cold. The gates that were originally placed on this cave were poorly designed and aging poorly. We partnered with the Pennsylvania Game Commission to
- [T.H.E. Cave](https://cavegators.com/past-projects/t-h-e-cave/) - T.H.E. Cave, Hays County, Texas July 2024 Gate Type: CUPOLA We love landowners who recognize the uniqueness of their cave resources and want to protect then for the future. Such is the case with T.H.E. Cave. (Despite querying the original discoverers and mappers of the cave, we STILL don't know what T.H.E. stands for!) We
- [Elm Cave](https://cavegators.com/past-projects/elm-cave/) - Elm Cave, Marion County, Arkansas June 2024 Gate Type: BASIC Out of the blue, I was contacted by a landowner that wanted to gate his cave. The cave was in a remote rural area, not well known, and had no immediate threats. But he was being proactive, wanting to protect his treasure before it was
- [Breathless Cave](https://cavegators.com/past-projects/breathless-cave/) - Breathless Cave, Bexar County, Texas December 2024 Gate Type: Flat Breathless Cave is a small cave with a large importance: It is the home of Cicurina madla (Madla Cave Meshweaver), a Federally listed cave invertebrate. Due to its location near a planned hiking trail, and with the obvious hazard of having a pit entrance, the
- [Cave Mountain Cave](https://cavegators.com/past-projects/cave-mountain-cave/) - Cave Mountain Cave, Marshall County, Alabama September 2024 Gate Type: BASIC We love it when we get to help protect a cave that has so many cool resources. But it's not as much fun when the managing agency waits until those resources are severely compromised. This is the case with Cave Mountain Cave. At one
- [Past Projects](https://cavegators.com/past-projects/) - Here are all of the projects (so far!) completed by Jim Kennedy, either with CaveGators (2013-present) or with Bat Conservation International (prior to 2013). We are still uploading photos from some projects, so please check back periodically. [table id=1 /]
- [Get Involved](https://cavegators.com/get-involved/) - Welcome to our "Get Involved" page! We are excited to offer you the opportunity to make a positive impact on the environment by attending a gate-building workshop or having us design and construct a gate for your own cave or mine. Interest form: To sign up for our bat gate building workshops or to express
- [Sauerkraut Cave](https://cavegators.com/past-projects/sauerkraut-cave/) - Sauerkraut Cave, Jefferson County, Kentucky August 2024 Gate Types: 2 BASICS This is another sad story with a happy ending. Sauerkraut Cave is a very historic cave, first used as a water source in the late 1700s. It was later used for food storage, as a natural root cellar. The area eventually opened as a
- [Wurzbach Bat Cave](https://cavegators.com/past-projects/wurzbach-bat-cave/) - Wurzbach Bat Cave, Bexar County, Texas December 2023, January 2024 Gate Types: 2 BASICS, 2 CUPOLAS This former bat cave turned into a party cave before some cavers bought it to protect it. Unfortunately, they installed some gates that were very secure, but not very bat-friendly. The limited flight space and alteration to the cave's
- [Crowder Mountain Talc Mine](https://cavegators.com/past-projects/crowder-mountain-talc-mine/) - Crowder Mountain Talc Mine, Gaston County, North Carolina April 2021 Gate Type: BASIC We may have said it before, but North Carolina doesn't have a lot of caves, at least not the solutional type that most people think of. Underground habitats are rare, so even relatively short abandoned mines are important for bats. We were
- [Weaver Cave](https://cavegators.com/past-projects/weaver-cave/) - Weaver Cave, Calhoun County, Alabama September 2021 Gate Types: BASIC, SEMI-CUPOLA, CHUTE, and FLAT Wow, what a project! Two weeks to build five gates! Weaver Cave has a long and sordid history. Once it was partially-commercialized. It was also used as a speakeasy and dance hall, a place to rear chickens, and most recently, as
- [Hailes Cave](https://cavegators.com/past-projects/hailes-cave/) - Hailes Cave, Albany County, New York February 2013 Gate style: BASIC Hailes Cave was long-known as an important bat hibernaculum, including the Federally Endangered Indiana bat (Myotis sodalis). Unfortunately, like many sensitive caves, is was receiving too much human disturbance. This project involved many volunteer cavers and state agency representatives. Steel had to be lowered
- [Campbell Cave](https://cavegators.com/past-projects/campbell-cave/) - Campbell Cave, Menifee County, Kentucky March 2022 Gate style: BENT This was a very tricky project all around. First was the remote and rugged location of the cave. We even broke a UTV! Secondly, the cave entrance was extremely narrow, and we had to maximize flight space for the endangered Virginia Big-eared Bats that roost
- [Lady Bird Lounge Cave](https://cavegators.com/past-projects/lady-bird-lounge-cave/) - Lady Bird Lounge Cave, Travis County, Texas July 2022 Gate Type: FLAT This is a pretty "new" cave, discovered by accident after a prescribed burn. What was thought to be smoke from smouldering material turned out to be warm cave air blowing out from some rocks and turning to a vapor cloud upon hitting the
- [Ausable Mine](https://cavegators.com/past-projects/ausable-mine/) - Ausable Mine, Clinton County, New York August 2022 Gate Type: BASIC A remote site means a more difficult project, and this was no exception. We were unable to have an advance site visit, and so we estimated the project based on a couple of photos and some rough measurements. Unfortunately, the best location for the
- [Bat Cave](https://cavegators.com/past-projects/bat-cave/) - Bat Cave, Lauderdale County, Alabama September 2022 Gate Type: FLYOVER The first cave ever recorded in the Alabama Cave Survey, Bat Cave once had a colony of over 50,000 Endangered gray bats, but the population cratered in recent years. Excessive visitation by spelunkers and "pot hunters" illegally digging for native American artifacts was the likely
- [Hammett Mine](https://cavegators.com/past-projects/hammett-mine/) - Hammett Mine, Cherokee County, South Carolina April 2023 Gate style: BASIC A short mine dug by a gold prospector (who never hit it big) became an important bat roost in cave and mine poor South Carolina. Although not impressive by some state's standards, it nevertheless was a high priority for protection. The commute to the
- [Rumbling Bald Cave](https://cavegators.com/past-projects/rumbling-bald-cave/) - Rumbling Bald Cave, Rutherford County, North Carolina April 2023 Gate Type: BASIC Also located in Chimney Rock State Park, this particular entrance proved to be much more challenging than Sliding Rock. It was much, much higher up the cliff, requiring herculean efforts on the part of our state employees and volunteers to move equipment and
- [Sliding Rock Cave](https://cavegators.com/past-projects/sliding-rock-cave/) - Sliding Rock Cave, Rutherford County, North Carolina April 2023 Gate Type: BASIC This is one of many fascinating tectonic caves found at Chimney Rock State Park. Of course, it had bats. Both the Park and the state wildlife agency wanted to protect that habitat. So they called us! All photos © Jim Kennedy.
- [Madison Saltpeter Cave](https://cavegators.com/past-projects/madison-saltpeter-cave/) - Madison Saltpeter Cave, Augusta County, Virginia April 2023 Gate Types: BASIC Once a show cave, the main entrance was blocked by a cemented rock wall. Immediately after the Commonwealth of Virginia acquired it, they wanted to restore the cave's ecosystem which was home to its namesake isopod, a federally Endangered species. A highline was used
- [Stegers Fissure](https://cavegators.com/past-projects/stegers-fissure/) - Stegers Fissure, Augusta County, Virginia April 2023 Gate Type: BASIC What do you do when you have a cave with an Endangered isopod that is adjacent to a planned hike-bike trail? And that cave is a steep fissure leading almost immediately to extremely deep water? You gate it, of course! But that same steep slope
- [Classen 7-7a Cave](https://cavegators.com/past-projects/classen-7-7a-cave/) - Classen 7-7a Cave, Bexar County, Texas July 2023 Gate Types: FLAT and BASIC This cave was originally two karst features discovered during a survey for a new city park. Due to concerns about endangered species habitat, the features needed to be excavated to see if they led to cave passage. They did, and connected the
- [Sawbrier Cave](https://cavegators.com/past-projects/sawbrier-cave/) - Sawbrier Cave, Edmondson County, Kentucky August 2023 Gate Type: SEMI_CUPOLA This is a wild cave on private property that the landowners wanted to protect. We always appreciate landowners with such a strong conservation ethic. We completed this gate in one and a half very hot and humid days. We could not have done it without
- [Game Room Cave](https://cavegators.com/past-projects/game-room-cave/) - Game Room Cave, Edmondson County, Kentucky August 2023 Gate Type: BASIC A wild cave on the property of a show cave equals an additional management concern. Especially when trespassers are sneaking in! We helped our good friends at Onyx Cave take care of that problem by installing a gate to control access. All photos except
- ["Air Shaft" mine portal](https://cavegators.com/past-projects/air-shaft-mine-portal/) - "Air Shaft" mine portal, Luzerne County, Pennsylvania September 2023 Gate Type: CUPOLA This hole was the main focus of our Bat Gate Workshop in 2023. This opening, like all the nearby openings gated during these workshops, leads into a vast, collapsing series of complex abandoned anthracite mines. Bats use them for the wide range of
- [Johnson Cave](https://cavegators.com/past-projects/johnson-cave/) - Johnson Cave, Jackson County, Kentucky August 2023 Gate Types: SEMI-CUPOLAS Big-eared bats are rare in the eastern U.S., so it is very important to protect the known roosts. Both entrances to this site (a fact that aids in chimney-effect air flow and gives the cave the appropriate range of temperatures) now have nice semi-cupolas protecting
- ["Deep Crack" mine portal](https://cavegators.com/past-projects/deep-crack-mine-portal/) - "Deep Crack" mine portal, Luzerne County, Pennsylvania September 2023 Gate Type: FLAT This project was completed as part of a Bat Gating Workshop we taught in Pennsylvania. We found this dangerous opening last year, and thought it would be a quick, small project. However, excavations failed to find accessible bedrock on one side of the
- [Silo Cave](https://cavegators.com/past-projects/silo-cave/) - Silo Cave, Bexar County, Texas October 2020 Gate Type: FLAT We were contacted by the City of San Antonio to gate this cave which was situated by a planned hiking trail. Back when it was ranchland, a concrete wall was constructed to keep out flood debris, so that water from the cave could be used
- [Barton Hill Mine](https://cavegators.com/past-projects/barton-hill-mine/) - Barton Hill Mine, Essex County, New York July 2020 Gate Type: BASIC One of the most important hibernacula in the northeastern United States, this huge abandoned iron mine had many of its entrances previously secured by bat gates. However, the lowest and coldest, which opened immediately to a steep slope dropping more than 100 feet
- [Tobaccoport Saltpeter Cave](https://cavegators.com/past-projects/tobaccoport-saltpeter-cave/) - Tobaccoport Saltpeter Cave, Stewart County, Tennessee August 2019 Gate Type: POWERS FENCE This is an important site for gray bats, a federally Endangered species. It was gated many years ago, but the bats did not take to it. The gate was later modified with a chute, but it still wasn't the best, and vandals were
- [Stay High Cave](https://cavegators.com/past-projects/stay-high-cave/) - Stay High Cave, Giles County, Virginia August 2019 Gate Type: SEMI-CUPOLA A recent, difficult rescue of an injured spelunker made controlling access to this privately-owned cave a high priority. Because the entrance was so narrow, we had to box it out with a semi-cupola to provide more flight space for the bats roosting inside. All
- [O-9 Well Cave](https://cavegators.com/past-projects/o-9-well-cave/) - O-9 Well Cave, Crockett County, Texas July 2019 Gate Type: FLAT With an unusual entrance that drops into a 1500m cave, O-9 has been exploited by generations of ranchers needing to access its waters in parched west Texas. The primary concerns here are safety and maintaining access. All photos © Jim Kennedy.
- [Cave with Ladder in It](https://cavegators.com/past-projects/cave-with-ladder-in-it/) - Cave with Ladder in It, Bexar County, Texas May 2019 Gate Type: FOLDED This is another fairly small San Antonio cave that the city grew around. It sits on the grounds of a private school, so you can imagine the problems that the administrators predicted. Fortunately, they also realized the value of protecting this unique
- [Georgetown Cave](https://cavegators.com/past-projects/georgetown-cave/) - Georgetown Cave, Colbert County, Alabama February 2022 Gate Types: CHUTE and BASIC Georgetown Cave was another historic roost for federally Endangered gray bats (Myotis grisescens), historically housing approximately 100,000. However, a series of poorly-designed and poorly-placed gates and fences had severe negative effects on the bats, and worse yet, did not stop human visitation. The
- [Zircon Mine](https://cavegators.com/past-projects/zircon-mine/) - Zircon Mine, Oxford County, Maine August 2018 Gate Type: BASIC A standard gate on a standard mine opening. What could go wrong? Apparently, lots. First was the nearly week-long delay while one last document was signed. We ended up having to change our lodgings, and move the steel twice. Then there was the mile-long approach
- [Dunbar Sandstone Mine #3](https://cavegators.com/past-projects/dunbar-sandstone-mine-3/) - Dunbar Sandstone Mine #3, Fayette County, Pennsylvania July 2018 Gate Types: BASIC and SEMI-CUPOLA In a bold experiment by the Pennsylvania Game Commission, the lower entrance of this abandoned mine on state-owned lands was sealed in an effort to trap more cold air and improve it as a bat hibernaculum. The upper entrances, however, were
- [Bering Sink](https://cavegators.com/past-projects/bering-sink/) - Bering Sink, Bexar County, Texas June 2018 Gate Type: FLAT The cave consists of a single 6m pit into a couple of small rooms with no bats or endangered invertebrates. But the area around it was undergoing commercial development, and the owners wanted to protect it. Since we agree that all caves have value and
- [Ruth Cave](https://cavegators.com/past-projects/ruth-cave/) - Ruth Cave, Huntingdon County, Pennsylvania September 2017 Gate Type: BASIC Ruth is one of my favorite caves ever, and the first big project cave on which I ever led the survey (with more than 75 total trips!) and drafted the map. Caver efforts turned this small, 500-foot-long cave in a roadcut into one more than
- [](https://cavegators.com/past-projects/collier-cave/) - Collier Cave, Lauderdale County, Alabama Gate Types: CHUTE and BASIC The gates at Collier Cave were some of the most challenging that the Cave Gators ever built. Located in a remote area of northern Alabama, there was no overland access due to the surrounding private property and the large cliff above the entrances. All personnel
- ["Blows and Goes" mine portal](https://cavegators.com/past-projects/blows-and-goes-mine-portal/) - "Blows and Goes" Mine Portal, Luzerne County, Pennsylvania September 2022 Gate Type: SEMI-CUPOLA In 2022 we revived our long-standing Bat Gate Workshop series, first started in 1995 at Boulder Cave, Washington. This time, both the Pennsylvania Game Commission and the Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources were sponsors. Only Jim Kennedy was still around
- [Bradley Butt Mine](https://cavegators.com/past-projects/bradley-butt-mine/) - Bradley Butt Mine, Macon County, North Carolina April 2022 Gate style: BASIC This abandoned mica mine is in the beautiful western mountains of North Carolina. Unfortunately, we didn't enjoy the scenery much because it rained most of the day scheduled for the project, including a torrential downpour as we were unloading the trucks. It was
- [Church Mountain Cave](https://cavegators.com/past-projects/classen/) - Church Mountain Cave, Rockingham County, Virginia August 2019 Gate style: BASIC This cave is on the George Washington-Jefferson National Forests and is a critical hibernaculum for Virginia bats that have been hard hit by WNS. The steep slope to the entrance necessitated a highline to haul all the gear and materials. And then there was
- [Live Oak Cave](https://cavegators.com/past-projects/live-oak-cave/) - Live Oak Cave, Travis County, Texas February 2017 Gate Type: FLAT We worked with the City of Austin, who owned the cave, to close a place where local "kids" were trying to break in by digging out fill at the edge of a sinkhole. The cave was previously gated by others, but this new access
- [Zipper Pit](https://cavegators.com/past-projects/zipper-pit/) - Zipper Pit, Montgomery County, Virginia October 2016 Gate Type: SEMI-CUPOLA This was another privately-owned pit cave with just a few bats. The landowner had liability concerns, so had us construct a gate over the entrance. Completed in a single day. All photos © Jim Kennedy.
- [Thundercave](https://cavegators.com/past-projects/thundercave/) - Thundercave, Montgomery County, Virginia October 2016 Gate Type: SEMI-CUPOLA This privately-owned pit leads to a decent amount of passage with just a few bats. The landowner had liability concerns, so had us construct a gate over the entrance. We think it turned out quite well! All photos © Jim Kennedy.
- [Peery Saltpeter Cave](https://cavegators.com/past-projects/peery-saltpeter-cave/) - Peery Saltpeter Cave, Boutetourt County, Virginia October 2016 Gate Type: BASIC At the time we were asked to gate this cave, it was the largest remaining hibernaculum in Virginia, the rest decimated by White Nose Syndrome. This ranks among our most challenging projects, from the sheer distance from the road (steel delivery point) to the
- [Roadside Sink D](https://cavegators.com/past-projects/roadside-sink-d/) - Roadside Sink D, Hays County, Texas August 2016 Gate Type: FLAT You could quibble about whether or not this solution feature actually qualifies as a cave. But it has potential if the fill was removed, and it DOES provide habitat for karst invertebrates within its (currently) sub-human voids. As it was an obvious attraction near
- [Black Chert Cave](https://cavegators.com/past-projects/black-chert-cave/) - Black Chert Cave, Hays County, Texas August 2016 Gate Type: BASIC This cave is on property that was to become a public park, with hiking trails near the cave. To protect it, planners decided to have it gated before the park opened. This is a great example of how even small entrances can be gated
- [Powells Cave](https://cavegators.com/past-projects/powells-cave/) - Powells Cave, Menard County, Texas June 2016 Gate Type: CUPOLA On a couple of grim 107°F days we gathered at the second-longest cave in Texas to gate this private cave at the owner's request. Shortly before our visit, neighbor "kids" hopped a fence, trespassed into the cave, ans spray painted walls and left copious litter
- [Whirlpool Cave](https://cavegators.com/past-projects/whirlpool-cave/) - Whirlpool Cave, Travis County, Texas May 2016 Gate Type: CUPOLA This popular recreational cave is owned and managed by the Texas Cave Management Association. It gets approximately 1000 visitors per year. The entrance was originally just a small suckhole in the gravel of a normally dry streambed that formed a small whirlpool when flooded. Excavations
- [Hobbit Hole](https://cavegators.com/past-projects/hobbit-hole/) - Hobbit Hole, Hays County, Texas August 2016 Gate Type: BASIC This small cave is in a new public park, and so was gated. Although small, the cave moves a tremendous amount of air, indicating additional passage to anyone gaining permission to dig. The gate went up so quickly that we didn't get any in-progress photos.
- [Grassy Cove Cave](https://cavegators.com/past-projects/grassy-cove-cave/) - Grassy Cove Cave, Travis County, Texas September 2015 Gate Type: SEMI-CUPOLA Grassy Cove had a long and sordid history. First discovered and excavated by legendary caver Bill Russell, the cave was subsequently buried with construction rubble by a developer. Decades later it started to reopen, revealing its location at long last. The City of Austin
- [Hideout Cave](https://cavegators.com/past-projects/hideout-cave/) - Hideout Cave, Travis County, Texas September 2015 Gate Type: BENT Hideout cave is a small cave in a karst preserve owned by the City of Austin. The entrance was originally blocked by breakdown, but cavers were hired to excavate it. The cave has airflow and has been extended somewhat, but digging has stalled. To protect
- [Beans Cave](https://cavegators.com/past-projects/beans-cave/) - Beans Cave, Frederick County, Virginia December 2015 Gate Type: BASIC Privately-owned Beans Cave was gated because the owners were experiencing trespassing issues, an all-too-common problem these days. To maximize the flight space for bats, we did not install the gate at the restricted sinkhole entrance, but rather just inside, where the passage widened significantly. We
- [Haynes Cave](https://cavegators.com/past-projects/haynes-cave/) - Haynes Cave, Monroe County, West Virginia December 2015 Gate Type: FOLDED Haynes Cave is owned by the West Virginia Cave Conservancy and is an important historic saltpeter cave with many intact mining remains. It was also an former bat roost, and is significant for it's length. Recent overuse led to degradation, so a better way
- [Junction Cave](https://cavegators.com/past-projects/junction-cave/) - Junction Cave, Cibola County, New Mexico September 2015 Gate Type: BASIC Our first lava tube project was this gate on an easily-accessible cave open to visitors during parts of the year. However, during other parts of the year it was home to the largest colony of western big-eared bats in all of El Malpais National
- [Irelands Cave](https://cavegators.com/past-projects/irelands-cave/) - Irelands Cave, Travis County, Texas February 2013 Gate style: BASIC This is a notorious bad air (high CO2) cave in the Austin area. So bad, in fact, that the end has never been reached. To protect the speleothems and cave fauna from the encroaching subdivisions, as well as protecting the curious youth from the cave
- [About Bat Gates](https://cavegators.com/about-bat-gates/) - How is a bat gate different from other types of cave or mine closures? As experts in cave and mine closures, we often receive questions about "cave gates," "mine gates," or "bat gates." These terms can often be used interchangeably, depending on the situation. Our extensive experience in constructing hundreds of gates across the United
- [Roy Powers](https://cavegators.com/roy-d-powers-jr-the-mastergater/) - Roy D. Powers, Jr., the MasterGater 4 May 1939 to 29 March 2015 You can see many more photos and stories on his Facebook memory page here.

## Document Embedder

- [Chute Design (Side 1/4)](https://cavegators.com/ppt_viewer/chute-design-side-1-4/)
- [Trip Reports from Past Expeditions](https://cavegators.com/ppt_viewer/trip-reports-from-past-expeditions/)

## File Type

- [pdf](https://cavegators.com/ppv_document_tags/pdf/)