committed to ensuring continued access to the property and to ongoing exploration. We acquired the cave in October of 1998 and paid it off in January of 2001.
Billy Clay Cave Preserve
Billy Clay Pit is Preserving the Caves of Today located in Poca- hontas County, for the Cavers of Tomorrow West Virginia near the Snowshoe Ski Resort. Cartogra- pher Walt Hamm View from the entrance of Billy Clay Pit and the Pittsburgh Grotto have sur- caving skills to safely visit Billy Clay Pit. veyed over a mile Another small cave, Clay Pit #2, is also on the of passage in this property. multi-drop vertical cave, which had MAKC Kiosks been closed for many years. Its The MAKC maintains three educational kiosks pristine formations and displays containing safe caving and conserva- are relatively un- tion information at our Hall Cave Preserve, at Bear touched due to Cave in Westmoreland County, Pa., and at Laurel the cave’s vertical Caverns, the show cave in Fayette County, Pa. Billy Clay Pit entrance and the low visitation rate. A paleontological study by Fred Grady of the Membership Smithsonian Institution documented the bones of Volunteers operate the Mid-Atlantic Karst Con- a now-extinct (in West Virginia) porcupine. servancy. We have no paid staff. Join us in this To allow access to this cave while protecting it, exciting endeavor. a permit system has been put into place. This also assures that visitors have the appropriate vertical You can help
by becoming a member, making a donation, and http://www.karst.org by volunteering your time to help us with our con- servation projects, such as cave cleanups. Fill out the membership form that is part of this brochure today. E-mail us at [email protected] to nd out how Dedicated to the study, to volunteer, or write to us at the address below. exploration, conservation and • Complete the application on the other side. • Include credit card information or enclose a preservation of caves and check payable to: karst resources in the Mid-Atlantic Karst Conservancy, Inc. P.O. Box 196, Murrysville, PA 15668 Mid-Atlantic Region
Billy Clay Pit entic study and recreational caving. • Educate landowners, cavers and the general Membership Application public about the importance of caves and karst resources (karst is an area of irregular limestone 1 New Member 1 Renewal in which erosion has produced ssures, sinkholes, underground streams, and caverns.) Name • Acquire and manage caves and karst areas. Address
City State Zip
Home phone
Caves are special places Work phone
Some caves harbor important archaeological and E-mail address paleontological resources. Many are important for hydrological reasons Caving Afliations -- that is, they are part of our natural groundwa- ter conduits, their streams Select an annual membership level. All resurging as springs in our include a subscription to the quarterly mountain hillsides. Some Hall Cave Entrance MAKC newsletter, Karst Chronicle. caves are home to bats and woodrats, important Hall Cave Preserve 1 Regular $10 native species which play 1 Donor $50 an integral role in our eco- We own 380 foot long Hall Cave in Huntingdon County, Pennsylvania and 9.45 acres of very 1 Contributing $100 system. Some caves have 1 Sustaining $ ____ a month delicate formations which karsty ground surrounding it. Hall Cave has been on my credit card for grow only a few inches extensively used for recreational and educational every thousand years or activities. There are strong possibilities for nding 1 one year so. Just as humans have additional cave on the property. The MAKC is 1 until I notify you had an impact on our Credit Card Number wetlands, our air quality, and our water quality, they have also had an impact on our caves. Sinkholes 1 VISA 1 MasterCard lled with trash carry pollution into our groundwater. Spray paint grafti despoils scenic rock faces. Stubs Expiration Date of once-gorgeous and pristine formations are all that remain in some caves. I want to help sponsor the Billy Clay Cave Preserve (maps of available par- The Mid-Atlantic cels sent on request) Karst Conservancy 1 $10 foot sections of the cave at $40 each 1 Surface parcels at $50 each was formed in 1997 to: The Mid-Atlantic Karst Conservancy is a • Preserve these works of non-prot 501 (c) 3 corporation chartered in nature for conservation, sci- Hall Cave Formations the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.