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 time is was an obscure, smallish cave mined for saltpeter during the Civil War, and housing a small number of Endangered gray bats (Myotis grisescens). However the Tennessee Valley Authority built a hiking trail right past the cave entrance, and sure enough, people went inside the cave and vandalized it. Spray paint now covers many of the historic Civil War signatures in the cave, and the bat population has declined. Hopefully, with our help, the bats have a fighting chance. All photos © Jim Kennedy.

This poor sign was the only protection for the cave. It obviously failed.
Standing outside the entrance, one can appreciate the amount of abuse suffered by this cave.
With the expanded metal skirting in place, we installed and anchored the sill, added two columns, and are now welding in the first bar.
More and more bars are placed, leaving the removable bar section for last.
Now that the gate is nearly done, welder Miguel allows one of our helpers, Alexis, to try her hand at welding a footer.
It was great working with Miguel, and we hope that he comes back on future projects.
Here’s our entire exhausted but fun-loving gate crew at the end of this difficult project. Thanks go out to the American Cave Conservation Association and the Tennessee Valley Authority for their support! Read more about this project here.