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The following is an article put out by the Department of Environmental
Protection in newspapers in North Florida to call attention to the WKPP's
efrorts and to get more cooperation from private landowners, which has alrady
been excellent. It was written by Ecosystem Management.
It may help to explain who we are and what we do to those who do not know
already - at least this is who we are to the State of Florida.
------------------
" Exploration of an Unknown Frontier in Wakulla County "
Cave divers are exploring the pristine caverns in the Floridan Aquifer
below the surface of Wakulla County. This team of adventurers comprises the
Woodville Karst Plain Project which is conducting exploration of the cave
system
from the Leon Sinks Geological Area in the Apalachicola National Forest in
Leon
County to Wakulla Springs State Park. Pratically ever weekend, they are
exploring , surveying and mapping caves never before seen by humans.
Permission to enter springs and sinkholes has been granted by the U.S.
Forest Service , the Florida Park Service and private landowners who are
cooperating in this important research program. Landowners wishing to have
their
sinkholes investigated may contact George Irvine at (800) 775-1050.
The divers of the Woodville Karst Plain Project are providing maps of
the cave system to state, regional and local planning agencies so that zoning
and other land use decisions can be made in a manner that will protect the
ground water. The maps of these caves can be used to site development,
stormwater facilities, and municipal well fields in locations that will not
impact the County's drinking water or the water flowing into Wakulla Springs.
The maps were used by the Wakulla County Commission as the basis for an
ordinace
passed in 1995 to protect the water flowing to Wakulla Spings.
Although the Wakulla Springs cave system is the primary focus of the
current exploration, other cave systems in the County will eventually be
explored.
Exploration is currently underway at Big Dismal Sink and in the
vicinity of Fisher Creek in the National Forest and at Wakulla, Sally Ward, and
Indian Springs. The purpose of these explorations are to make connectons
between
known caves and to locate previously unknown openings into the cave system, and
to identify sources of dark water entering the caves.
Twenty-seven sinkholes have been identified by divers as openings
into
the cave system. They use battery-powered scooters to pull them great distances
into the caves and to depths of over 300 feet. Diving is only possible during
periods without heavy rainfall because rain increases the dark water in streams
that flow into sinkholes. Rain water flowing through leaves becomes dark or tea
colored. The dark water significantly decreases visibility and makes
exploration
more dangerous , if not impossible.
Several experienced cave divers have lost their lives in this cave
system in recent years. Therfore, only the most experienced divers are
permitted
on these teams and all must follow a strict set of rules because of the hazards
involved.
Drysuits inflated wtih argon are worn to protect against the
prolonged cold temperatures. Special gases must be used in the scuba tanks to
protect divers from the narcotic effects of nitrogen and the toxic effects of
oxygen at the extreme depths that are reached. Only the most dedicated are
willing to endure the cold and discomfort during the hours of underwater
decompression at the end of each dive.
The cave divers of the Woodville Karst Plain Project conduct these
explorations on their own time and expense and at great risk in order to be the
first to witness this previously unknown frontier and to help protect the water
flowing to Wakulla Springs. In 1995, governor Chiles issued a special
commendation to these cave divers for thier services to the State of Florida.
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