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.






