HomeMy WebLinkAboutCOM 0075.012 2002-2004 M~~ ~ s, zoos o~~al 13
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by Alaae D. Mcl~larie
Kaumana Cava, on the Saddle Road
:,hove Hilo, is a county pazk snd a popu-
lartourist destination one of few subter-
ranear. p;c:ages in the seatz that appeazs '
regularly in tourist guidebook; and can
he znt;.* d free of charge.
Part; of the cave also serve as a
azbage dump and a szwer. wece discovered t~vo year ago, u:;orc?**,*~: Jotsraai approac^ed >!~sm about it Ana$tes s~!unkc> ea.'.x~ JcurnrL
Last•fa.t, a y oup of spehtnkzrs (cave to lava n_bu expert Dr. S?'illiam R. Among those officials-was Parks :and about a simi!_a- simati^,.; at a 'ava tube
explorers) froL. a local caving club sur- HallrdaY. Recreation Director Pat Engelhard. called Tb?nl;sgiving Cave in C°rchidlartd.
veyed some of the upper re z.tres of the "I've photogran.
hod several of t!+Aw "I done know a thing. about it;' she A dump there, he saute, cant28ned fzrYiliz-
Kauma:.a Cavz, on a subcoa*sact to the =Palliday told fl:, Journol, spealti^~ by said, after a long pause, when the Journal er bags, p~cricide can:, home rubbish,
Department of Hawaiia- Hemsland=; phone fmm his :•~me in 1Vashvi!"•s, contacted her. 5ne said she would try to a^d "Everydtittg they ~.tsz on a papaya
whicl-i sv;~;ts to put in a subdivisian over TennessP=. Hz ::;id he asd his ccrp~ get a report from DHH;. or from the farm"
onz section of the cave.'l'ae- explorers ions removed L'.^ net"..l^s he had pho- engineering firm that hired the cave sur- Among the damaged caverns is
found that the section of cave above tngraphed, veyors. Kazumura Cave, the largest known lava
Kaumar.z Drive had become a massive Halliday has =rent :
Aasly 70 y?`ar tube in Lhx world, why.^z 40 miles. of
illegal dumpsite for garbage cf a1 saLTa, exploring rave ,~d lava tubes frG~i: ">,~®ty~t, ¢•~®yy;~ c:xploreal passages s~rsrh from Volcano
including medical waste such as syringes Kamchatlaa in 1?z>.ssia to Kenya in P.frica; ne2rly to the ocean ir. Hawaiiat: Paradise
^.nd colostomy bags. Current hameovn- amd has publ+
~ axtn:~sive!y on '!tz sub- Kaumana Cave is no*. an isolated pmb- Par:'° Tlae cave's upp:t' stretch>s are near-
rrs above the cave had created at lea:; ;ect He sa_d L,~ poll+ation in Ka;;?sar,2 lem• Lava tubes -casts formed b lava ly pristine. Beat Lower Pura sections of
three "cesspools" simply by knocking Cave was *~e ~x:~st of ~ y he'd s^zn on flowing underground -have been used the cave, which once held Native
holes in the cave roof. the islaru'. as rubbish pits and bottomless cesspools Hera°,tt,-"• burets and ctJJ}~ra?•=rtes, have
"Trey (the savers) got fl~rshad on in "That's a hel'<:scious zi.aation rp thew," y
fl over the island, sometim:s for genera- s?lifl°red badly. A II4 i article by Kevin
there, in fact;' recounted Rick Elitar::, he told the Jou.-3.1. "'Ihe last big flood ~~sd Caz!er,c Allred in :!e Journal of Cave
v o ened u a vi"_-::?P la ..r of useu aia-_> . lions. Some have become the personal ~
Chair of the Hawaii Grotto o.:he P P ti Y° Y°-` " dumps of individual landowners; ethers =?'d Karst Studies regd.-ed that the lower
National Speleological Society (NSS), Kauma'::i, :id, ;sus "areal •.v:~t:i- hold the trash of whole corruriunifles. Kazumura Cave held at !east "three sites
whose mz^tbers conducted the curve^. some one, be~a;:se v.•e der,'t Ico;•r t=.:lu~~ of a °-•aYr ollutios, :
vo significant
~ Ca.cs along roadsides sometimes.szrve ~ Yn P
Elo?ard photographed pilzs of g:ubag° at the water goes, rc:cepY -'o Hilo Bay" as ungrated storm drama. Some caves in ga''¢'aSe dumps, and sst•zral fills from
one ca.e cntrnce, shoals of rusted cans The crisis in K aumara Cavz w~,s pub- lower Puna have become dnmpsiG:s for road consm.;ction"
•md glass bottles on the cave f7Mr, wtrd ticly discussed o years ago at at: I+TSS agricultural was?es, including fertilizer "P~ of Kazumura has agricultural
gl2sdc bags hanging from rnr:k wat.'_s and sponsore' "Cc zz^rrce ^st Lava Tttbes ac bags and pesticide cans. wastz m it, although t~`;e automotive
lee rcc?s. In some plar.ca, acid saver;, water Conduits" which u~as att:°^..'.- ''i-ve seen pesticide cans in Kabiko waste is worse in [hat section;' Halliday
bags were actually hanging from the coil- zd by regresent~*.tves Pele cave," noted told the Jeumah "Pecg!>_ have no idea
in ,where the rJere de osirPd b from stag and how man oisonous substances are in a
g Y` P Y Halliday. "It's a particu- Y F
floods. Conditions in one stretch of the county agencies lazly bad situaGer~ rnr that gees all to n:w °
cave were so bad thzt only e-e volunteer, But some curs: ,,p One dum m the ca~•e was set on fare,
ke coon ci2r•>-o?c ~ Gauze it's at the P ~
a visitor from Alaska, was willing to Y YY lower end of posing a nasty probem for Coanty fire-
explore it. were not ~ st an aztificial Oghtzrs,'.•etc2an spot rfr Bill McClellan
The waste is entering the cave awaze of r r p drainage ditch." told the Journal. Meg teller het, helped to
upstream of the public en7;utce in lem until the train other savers in search and rescue
Kaumana Cave Pazk, raising questions techniques, using a section of Power
about disease and pollution hw-ards in S~ ~ Cave ~6Y89S Kazumura Cave - fKly to confront
the cave's more frequently-visited lower volunteers with the 1:a?ards of a mountain
sections. ~$B~' li ~ 8'~Q~ ~N~$`$'$5833~3~ of ~arbagc.
The problem is not new. One spelunker '"'Iris big nice open cave comes to this
recalls finding a syringe in the cave ?~si~ ~~1~'~ tiyq~~'r ~~t~pf place where you get dorm on your belly
approximately eight years ago. More s P ha:~e to crawl for eight feet," he recounts,
~y - confintxr,' on page 14.
Ref. sag
• Rif. ~~s~ P
14_ OllT21~ M~_15 2003
Few of the dumpers,
most likely, have ever
witnessed the world
they`re bombarding with I
rubbish.
Continued from page 13.
"avtl then rt opens up on bus' osg pile of
garbage, and yon say ' Wow. Iiuw'd that
get hem?"
Mike Shambaugh, an avid amateur
rover who works as a Amon g:mrd at '
Kolani Crnrecnonal Center, rook this The makai wing of die cave wold only into intricate mazes, or bunting through {nsecls, spiders, and other artlvoppds, at
reporter to experience another problem be reached by docking undu an acciden- the roofs of oldu caverns to form spec- its base are colonies of bacteria, fungi
cavo hrsNand. Located just ofl Stainback taI archway ofjarmned-ingather rubbish, tacular lava falls. And even as it uodcs, a and "slime molds" - pdnnitlve creatures
Highway, the lave robe has been used as a held in place by [he weight of the trash oken leaves layu6 of fresh rock above iq that bodge the gap betwceq microbes
clandestine rubbish dump [or years. above it. okcn forming new roofs [hat subdivide end fungi, begintting life assingle<ell
A descent down a taro feet of faro-and- ShambauKh estimb[ed that the cave the cave. SWactite-like formations are organisms, Nan gathering in colonies
garbage covered slope, than a 2a-foot held approximately 25 tons of refuse. formed as the rising and receding Row that produce mushroom-Wee spores.
exteasian loddu, led to the top of a 35- coats older frown atone drips on the cell- Whi]e the irtsccts tend to be bleached
4t1-Foot-tall cascade of garbage end Assaulting an Alien World ing with layers of fresh stone. Smaller wtdle or vansparen[ by evolution; the
dchrie, fnduding chairs, auto and wash- Yew of [he dumpers, moat Hkely Gave drips form thovaands of thin `soda slime molds come in a smpdeing stay
ing madsine pans, chicken pain, tam- ever witnessed the world they're bum- shawsJ' Huffeted by plasma-hot gasses of hngh[ hues, from aquamarine W
pons, oinhnent mhes. stoves, water banding wiW rubbish. Most residents' and shaped by new droplets of lava [hat orange to white. 1n one section of the
heaters, Imusehold garbage baggy. toasters, Lavin ex enence has robabl been flow asymmetrically down the initial
K P P Y garbage cave oR Stainback Ighway, the
shoes, cnnstruchon materials and a liviited to brief forays into Keumana stalks, the soda shows oRen freeze into we0s appeaz [o glint with [houaand6 of
leather hat. Some large canister hore the Cave or into Thurston Lava 7hbe, the wend fishhooks, 'L'shapes, inverted flecks of shiny metallic gold. U reality,
Vnitials of a local eonstmeuon coinpanY- walk-through cave in Hewai'i Volcanoes Ts, helixes, even circles. though, Urey aren't metal; they're tiny
Nadonal Park. According fo EMazd, the At 2[x10 nr more degrees FahreMeir slime mold colonies.
Hawaii Groho of the NSS only has lava boils or "degasses," expelling some Back at his house aker Ne expedition
about 3D members -half local, half hdnerals such as sulfur as gaseous furors. to the garbage cave, Shambapgh proudly
nrn,~.a cave en[husiastsfrom dsewhcre. As these gasses cool. the rnineraVs wn- showed off some of the photmgtaphs he'd
Il~~.(~L]G Thurston Lava 1Lbe's vandalized ime- dense out again. fornning complex crys- taken of the lava robes' other denizens.
flesidenffa(8 Commere(el riot has probably also shaped the popular tats. Other crystals may form later from Some roam simply bleached and blinded
IS/ardW/de Sales 8 SeN/ee omega of lava robes as rather simple, water soluble minerals such as calcium, vusions of surface insects, such as crick-
utin[uesting places, especially compared seeping inm the cave and (otnung the'v ets. Others seemed [o come out of a fan-
R°!h?d?°d •Weter SoRoners m [he better known limestone caverns. own nrineml wmpounds or combining rosy realm. Fantails, for insmnce, secrete
Oealar + yer8g'OSmasls But in (act, lava mhes are every bit as with the volatile sulfur loge "Cai15" of wax bristles, which they
K # " complex and spectacular as thew Woe- Oken, such crystals are so fragile that then break off to build nests. They are
stone relatives, and often bear astonish- a single dro of water can destro Otero.
P Y found nowhere else on earth.'
t r - ing resemblances [o them, despite very Bin on the dry side of the islantl, lava Shambaugh also displayed several pic-
~
s y;s different namml histories. Formed initial- mbw oHen sport whole walls sheathed in rotas at a dry wNta spidu tltat he
{s" - ly when a skin of cooled lava forms over wlite and yellow crysWs: some['vnes believed could be a new species. Only
a hot surface lava Flow, a lava tube con- bristly, sometimes furry, sometimes one of the spiders had a full compliment
times [o evolve aRer it goes under- Stowing like miniature forests or as thou- of eight legs; some bad only six, like
ground The ho[ lava and superheated sands of Uny knobs. insects, while one had seven. Either they
- gasses erode the surrounding rock. cob There's also life down m [he caves. At '
ring underground canyons, branching the mp of the food chain are blind - tnnfinued on nexF page.
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11 . ~
_ _ Mov t t s, 2003 journal _ _ 15 I
conrineed from preda°, page. [The Cave Conservanry] also successfully lobbied last
lifestyles involved something that raga-
early tore n0legs, nr some members were year for the passage of the state's first cave protection wooed be tike a hen-or-three-Year fnnd-
being bom with fewer than the normal ing. You need a coordinator and project
namber. law, which makes it illegal to dump in caves, to sell manager who would look a[ the major
When he heard about Shambaugh's geologic spetimens taken from caves or to make caves r~~di„`t ap prntocnla and esmbhah some 'i
spiders, Halliday immediately though[ of / 8~
e ossible Gel fit: sticides, which can 71re cavern have at least one sym a- 'I
P P a into cesspools. P
cause genetic deformities. thetic ear in Ne curtent county govern-
makes it illegal tv dump in caves, tv sell Hawaiian grave goods, some Native tnenC Barbara BeB, who heads the coun-
Natural Defenses, geologic epecvnens taken from caves, a Hawauans claim they have good reason to ry's new Department of EnJVUnmental
Human Laws [o make caves into cesspools (though mietme[ sctenus[s. Management.
"ITe problem of cave pollution weuld existing cosspoola would be grandfa- Erhard hopes that that mistms[ can he 'Thrs is really good timing fo[ a story I
thered iv} overcame. like this;' she told Ne ?oumaL "We '
he even worst, believes Halliday, d most don't have a Pond far this and it kee s '
Ieva robes weren't like "e leaky pipe in a Accordtog to the law, parties who "BaeicaBy, f think we'm nn Ne same P
porous medium." encounter a burial site in any cave must page;' he believes. "We don't want to °°rmng up"
"Water leaks out of them end into them tmmediatdy "cease their activity and destroy, nr to rob Naive Hawaiians of But while the manly didn't have any
mach mom than with limestone caves;' leave the uve;' end ¢port [he discovery [heu heritage. We want m docvmev[ and special funding for cave cleanup, she '
to the Department of Natural Resources. preserve the resources." Hawaiian ant- said, if volunteers wanted to work on the
he told Ne J°umal. '"ITe mbbly lava Violators of the new law could face facts N caves, he believes, "should sta Problem, "It's (or [he community good,
makes up an enormous potential reservoe Y so I'm sure we could work somethin '
space for absorption and adsorption" criminal fines of up to $1.5!10 and where they're at. Stuff that s been [here g
"adminisv alive nalties" --court costs, for 500 ears should sea them' O°t
("Adsorption;' is what happens when ~ ~ y Y Meanwhile, Bell's de artment and [he
chemicals in the water condense into par- etc. - of up to $30,000. P
rides on grovel and rabble. The more But one provision of Ne new law may How to Start the Cleanup Environmental Management
gravel and rabble sudace, the more con- have backfved'againsl the cave enthusi- Erhard and other spelunkers have differ- Comrmssion are working m revise
tamNan6 get removed) ants The clause states, "Nn person may en[ feelings, however, about more recent Chapter 20 of the County Code to more
enter or mrverse a cave, or an se ment shongly address the problem of illegal
'"Rtis is a reazon no one has gotten imo Y g additions to Ne caves, such az un cans I
thereof, without the property owner's and colosmm bas dumping.
houble for a long time for abusing lava riot wrinen conxnC' Y g ~ Any successful program to stop [he
tubes tees way," he suggested. "Under P "We'd like to clean up this stiff, but it trashin of the caves would robabl
normal situations, i[ takes a lot of water Shambaugh, who worked on the crew takes money to do it;' Erhard says. His g P y
that mapped Kavumma Cave, points out club members are wiI1N to volunteer t° also require an educational component.
t° saturate these nbes, which is why you that, es tall 'n Puna's crowded subdi- g Cleanups and fines don't do much good, ~
haven'[ had a lot of cholera and such PeC Y ~ help in the effort, but would like help '
things as a result of i[" visions, that clause makes cave explo- from the county or state with expenses the covers point out, ff people don't
Unfonuna¢ly, he poimed out, ration venally impossible. ranging from covwalrs and gloves to about the problem. i
Kaumana Cave lacks this natural defense. "lust in Hawauarr Acres alone, (here dumpsters and cranes. "Number One, you need to clean it
A layer of impervious clay below the lava are over 4,2001ots. The roadways are "Maybe what nceds to be established up;' muntains Erhard. "Number Two,
flow that houses the cave prevents water owned in common by Ne residents;' he and funded fm the county is a Cave You need a sign that says, "tNs cave has
from leaking dawn into Ne miles of rock notes. "To go into Kazumum cave, you'd Cleanup Tazk Force;' he suggests. "'f7ils lust been through a $IS,OW cleanup.
need eignamres from x114,200 property wouldn't have to be a permanev[ thing. I[ Please don't dump here." $
below. So the cave floods instead, wash-
ing its garbage and sewage downsheam. owners.'
And even normal lava robes can Bond, if Withom Neu abinty ro explore caves (
enough rain falls and Ne "reservous''of and report problems, the spelunkers fear, B@tOfB YOU BUId, OWI-1@r~BUIICt@r St3fVICBS
water-caaying space in and around Ne [he problems will just get worse. But _ ACOOSifUC}IOfl COflSUtlrlg tlrrTl
cave become saturated. efforts to amend that provision this year _
The covers aren't relying solely on this have met with opposition from some F~~ ~ C((]ffl fig 4 COSt MOOOge(1"le Ot
naNml defense to protect rhea beloved Native Hswaiiavs, who have ppinted out / 'I
resource. Erhard and others are torminga tha[lese responsible cave explorers can ¢ SCiIBC{Ulflg 4 EStIfll Cltlll9
novproh[ called the Cave Conservancy to also loot and vandalize- And after \ >f~
omhase and ror4m endav ered caves decades of experiencing archeologists t I
P p g X Hilo: 982-6549 Kona: 327-1'948
on Ne island.'Ihey also sawessfnlly lob Paid by drvelopus to look the other way /,r
bicd Iasi year for Ne pazsage of [he end of watdilvg museums warehouse "Design for your bvdgel, don't budget for your design."
staMS feat cave protection taw, wNch Hawaiian remains and trade away Island wide SENiCe - 1 hour free consultation of your home or site
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