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, Refuge management focused solely on food plots for waterfowl, completely ignoring the cave. Locals figured this out quickly, and breached the chain link fence surrounding the cave in several places in order to gain access. Meanwhile, organized cavers followed the rules and avoided the site. We spent three weeks working on this project, losing almost a week because our steel delivery didn’t show up when promised. And then there was the hurricane. But we persevered, and built the largest Powers Fence to date, over 290 feet (89m). All photos © Jim Kennedy.

Key Cave has two entrances, about 100 feet (30m) apart.
A structurally weak, damaged chain link fence surrounded both entrances.
Our first order of business was to remove the old fence. Here, Danny is cutting off one of the posts with a battery-powered sawzall.
The old fencing was rolled and stacked for later removal.
When the steel finally arrived, we had to unload it by hand, All 31.7 tons of it!
We had quite the stockpile of metal, but would use every bit of it before we were done.
There was some preliminary site work to level some spots, but soon we were off and running.
Braces were placed between columns for support, and to the footers for stability.
We placed the fence as close as possible to the two entrances, but far enough back so as not to interfere with the bats’ flightpath.
The Tennessee River in the background was the preferred route for unauthorized visitors to the cave. Some even came while we were working!
At one point we even had to build a bridge across a small arroyo in order to support our fence.
Day after day, the edges of the fence got closer and closer to each other.
The final section incorporated a removable bar, for researcher access.
We were there so long, that we saw the Eastern Redbuds (Cercis canadensis) bloom!
A big shout-out goes to Shane Stacy, who handled all the cutting and always had fresh jalapeño cornbread.
Amber Smith handled the majority of the welding, but partway through Galen Falgout assisted.
This panorama gives you some idea of the scale of this project.
Shortly after we completed the project, Shane got one of his buddies to fly his drone over the entrances. I love how it shows the entire fence.