Oregon High Desert Grotto

The Oregon High Desert Grotto (or OHDG) is an American caving club, known as a Grotto. It is affiliated with the National Speleological Society.

Oregon High Desert Grotto
Some members of the Grotto circa 2011
AbbreviationOHDG
Formation1989
PurposeCave exploration and protection
Location
Main organ
Oregon Underground
Parent organization
National Speleological Society
WebsiteOregon High Desert Grotto

OHDG is involved with caving and conservation efforts in central Oregon and beyond, including the Oregon Caves National Monument,[1] the Lava Beds National Monument in northern California,[2] and caves in western Idaho and southern Washington. Members of the Grotto have worked with the Department of State Lands and received a participation award from state leaders for their volunteer work.[3][4][5] In 2013, the Grotto was recognized by Region 6 of the United States Forest Service for various volunteer hours working with caves and bats. They received the R6 Volunteers and Service and Program Award.[6]

History

The Oregon High Desert Grotto was first created in 1989 by Dan Best.[7] It lasted only a year before complications terminated the Grotto.[8] In late 1995, the OHDG was reformed by the new founding member Ric Carlson, who was at the time an employee of the forest service.[9] By 1997, the Grotto had over 30 members, a newsletter publication, and a growing knowledge of caves in the Central Oregon area and beyond.[8] As of 2012, the OHDG continues to find new caves. Grotto member Matt Skeels has found over 100 new caves.[10][11] Today, the Grotto is actively involved with caving in most of Oregon and the adjacent states.[12][13][14][15][16]

Exploration

Members of the Oregon High Desert Grotto understand that caves are a fragile resource. They are dedicated to preserving these special underground spaces. Each year, the group organizes a number exploration trips, study efforts, and preservation projects. The group’s exploration work includes caving adventures, cave surveys, and photographic documentation of cave resources.[17]

While members of the Oregon High Desert Grotto have explored caves all over the western United States, the group’s focus is on Central Oregon. Most of the known caves in Central Oregon are in Deschutes County, the groups home area. The Oregon High Desert Grotto has identified 690 caves in Deschutes County, 577 of these are lava tubes. Of the remaining caves the majority are also lava related formations including vertical conduits, fissures, bubbles, and lava molds. Of the 690 caves, there are only 42 that were not created by lava flows. Many of these are rift or fissure caves, some up to 150 feet (46 m) deep. There are also a number of rock shelters, large rock overhangs created by water or wind erosion. These caves occur throughout Central Oregon, usually in rim rock areas. Finally, there are a few talus caves. Talus caves are found in cracks and open spaces between boulders along faults and in rock fall area.[17]

Some Central Oregon caves are easy to explore, especially the larger lava tubes. However, other caves require significant planning in order to be explored safely. Many require a strenuous hike just to get to the cave; and while underground, dark spaces and tight passages can be dangerous for anyone who is not prepared. As a result, members of the Oregon High Desert Grotto are careful to bring along the proper equipment for each caving trip. Explorers always wear helmets to protect our heads. Each person brings three sources of light, and members never go caving alone.[17][18]

Members of the Oregon High Desert Grotto are always careful to protect wildlife. During the winter, grotto members avoid caves with hibernating bats. Waking a bat from hibernation is extremely stressful, and may cause the bat to expend its fat reserves prematurely which can lead to death later that winter or early spring. The group also avoids caves with bat maternity colonies during the summer months.[18][19]

Over the last few years, the Grotto has been involved in the study and mapping of the Sandy Glacier Caves on Mount Hood in Oregon.[20][21] Their efforts were recorded by Oregon Field Guide in 2013, and aired on OPB in October of that year.[22]

Partnership Award 2008 given to the Oregon High Desert Grotto for their work at the Stevens Land Tract in Bend, Oregon. Art by Linda Pitt.

Conservation

The OHDG is an avid participant in conserving and restoring caves since many of the caves have been damaged from increased recreational activities, including rock climbing.[23][24][25] The Grotto often partners with the United States Forest Service (USFS) to help manage the caves of the Deschutes National Forest.[12][26][27] Cooperation with private owners of caves has also been done.[28] On National Public Lands Day in September 2000, the Grotto participated in the gating of Stookey Ranch Cave.[29] Cleanup trips to caves in the area are common and are synonymous with the caving motto: "Take nothing but pictures, leave nothing but footprints, kill nothing but time."[30][31][32] In late 2010, Missing lavacicles from Lavacicle Cave were reacquired by Grotto member Eddy Cartaya while working for the USFS.[33][34] The lavacicles will be used as educational tools at Lava Lands Visitor Center.[35] The Grotto is involved with caving and conservation efforts beyond its local area of central Oregon. Grotto member Brent McGregor produced a video for the Oregon Caves National Monument promoting safe caving to conserve the off-trail parts of the cave.[1] Other efforts have been done with Lava Beds National Monument in northern California,[36] western Idaho, and Nevada.[13][14][15][16] Ken Siegrist, of the Grotto and former employee of the Bureau of Land Management, has worked to protect many caves, including those of eastern and southern Oregon.[12] Members of the Grotto have also worked in conjunction with the Department of State Lands and received a participation award from State leaders for their volunteer work with the state.[3][37] Additionally, the Grotto along with land management agencies, has helped collect and discover millipedes, campodeans, arachnid, and harvestman invertebrates, including some new to science. Neil Marchington has helped discover the Trogloraptor marchingtoni of southwest Oregon.[10][38][39][40]

gollark: Finally I can implement redstone-based code marginally more efficiently!
gollark: A redstone event? Cool!
gollark: ↑
gollark: You need to put it on a hopper to capture the output however.
gollark: probably.

References
  1. "Off-Trail Caving Tours". National Park Service. August 31, 2009. Retrieved 2009-11-16.
  2. Brook, Edward, A Preliminary Investigation of Cave Ice at Lava Beds National Monument, northern California (PDF), retrieved 2013-07-11
  3. Ramsayer, Kate (2009-04-18), "State Leaders Recognize Spelunkers for Exploring, Mapping Local Caves", The Bulletin, p. C1, C8, archived from the original on 2016-03-04, retrieved 2009-11-16
  4. State Land Board (2009). "Land Board Awards 2008". Oregon Department of State Lands. Archived from the original on 2009-08-13. Retrieved 2009-11-16.
  5. "State Land Board Meeting" (PDF). Oregon Department of State Lands. April 14, 2009. p. 8. Archived from the original (PDF) on July 6, 2010. Retrieved 2009-11-16. 'It's my ... pleasure to present the 2008 partnership to the Oregon High Desert Grotto for their exceptional work at the Stevens Road property event.'
  6. USFS (2013). "R6 Winning Volunteers Honored at RLT" (PDF). Pacific Northwest Forest Service Association (PNWFSA). Retrieved 2013-07-11.
  7. Best, Dan, "Introduction to High Desert Grotto", Oregon Underground, 1989 November/December Introductory Edition pp. 2-8
  8. Carlson, Ric, "Chairman's Corner", Oregon Underground, 1998 Issue 5 Spring pp. 2-3
  9. Carlson, Ric, "We're Back!", Oregon Underground, 1996 Issue 1 January pp. 1
  10. Hansen, Joe (2012-10-20), "A dedicated group of central Oregon cavers have found hundreds of new caves", OregonLive.com, retrieved October 21, 2012
  11. Harris, Hannah (2012-02-13). "Into the Dark". Issuu. Retrieved 2013-10-06.
  12. "Lava Caves". Oregon Field Guide. 2009-02-13. Archived from the original on 2011-06-08. Retrieved 2009-11-16.
  13. Skeels, Matt, "Oregon Caves National Monument Cleanup Trip", Oregon Underground, 2007 Issue 21 Summer pp. 4-6
  14. Skeels, Matt, "Lava Beds National Monument Speleo-Ed", Oregon Underground, 2007 Issue 21 Summer pp. 7-8
  15. Skeels, Matt, "Oregon Caves Cleanup Trip 2008", Oregon Underground, 2008 Issue 23 Fall pp. 9-10
  16. Skeels, Matt, "Saddle Butte Trip Report", Oregon Underground, 2008 Issue 23 Fall pp. 11-12
  17. Matt Skeels, Matt, "The Caves of Central Oregon", Oregon High Desert Grotto, Bend, Oregon, 5 October 2013.
  18. "Cave Access", Oregon High Desert Grotto, Bend, Oregon, 5 October 2013.
  19. "Bats", Living with Wildlife, Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife, Salem, Oregon, December 2000.
  20. Guth, Eric (September 4, 2015). "Discovering a Giant". BBC. Retrieved 2015-09-04.
  21. "Sandy Glacier Cave Project: Mt. Hood, Oregon" (PDF). Mocavesandkarst.org. Retrieved 5 November 2017.
  22. Gallivan, Joseph (October 2, 2013). "Shooting video inside ice cave on Mount Hood". Pamplin Media Group. Retrieved 2013-10-06.
  23. Skeels, Matt (2007-07-25), "Grow North, Save the Caves", The Source Weekly, archived from the original on 2011-07-17, retrieved 2009-11-17
  24. Maben, Scott (1994-03-11), "Guidelines set to save C.O. caves", The Bulletin, retrieved 2013-07-11
  25. King, Larry (March 1998), "Rock Climbing in Central Oregon Lava Tubes - Events of 1997", NSS News, retrieved 2013-07-11
  26. Moscoso, Les, "Discover the Natural World" (PDF), Volcanic Vistas, 2008 Summer pp. 12, archived from the original (PDF) on 2009-05-11, retrieved 2009-11-17
  27. "White-Nose Syndrome". OPB. 2011-02-10. Archived from the original on 2012-03-19. Retrieved 2011-05-13.
  28. Nichols, Sarah, "Horse Cave Community Restoration Project", The Oregon Underground, 1997 Issue 3 June pp. 5-6
  29. King, Larry, "Stookey Ranch Cave Gate Project, September 23–24, 2000", The Underground Express, 2001 Vol. 21 no. 1 Spring pp. 6
  30. NSS (1995–2009). "Safety & Techniques". NSS. Retrieved 2009-11-15.
  31. Sistum, Arnold "Buck", "Tales From The Triangle - Skeleton Cave Number Two And The Brad Austin Case", The Underground Express, 1996 Vol. 16 No. 1 pp. 5, 9
  32. U.S. Forest Service (October 12, 2006). "Ochoco and Deschutes National Forests and Prineville District, Bureau of Land Management Office of Communications" (PDF). USFS. Archived from the original (PDF) on March 4, 2016. Retrieved 2012-11-25.
  33. Cliff, Patrick (June 5, 2012), "Deschutes Forest's Top Cop", The Bulletin
  34. "Thin Ice: Exploring Mount Hood's Glacier Caves". OPB.org. Retrieved 5 November 2017.
  35. Anderson, Jim (February 2, 2011). "Cave Robber Case Closed: Intrepid forest investigator hunts down missing lava cave formations". Source Weekly. Retrieved 2018-03-06.
  36. Skeels, Matt, "Lava Beds Trip", Oregon Underground, 2004 Issue 11 Fall pp. 6-7
  37. Deto, Ryan (2010-11-18), "Protected by Darkness", Proma magazine, archived from the original on July 20, 2011, retrieved 2012-11-25
  38. York, Julie, "Into the Dark, A Journey into the Caves of Central Oregon", Cascades East, Fall 2008 pp. 30-34
  39. Griswold, C.; Audisio, T.; Ledford, J. (2012). "An extraordinary new family of spiders from caves in the Pacific Northwest (Araneae, Trogloraptoridae, new family)". ZooKeys. 215: 77–102. doi:10.3897/zookeys.215.3547. PMC 3428790. PMID 22936872.
  40. Scott, Aaron (December 30, 2019). "A Father-Daughter Journey To The Center Of The Earth". Oregon Field Guide. Retrieved 2020-01-01.
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