Fort Stanton NCA / BLM-Snowy River Passage / NCA Summary / BLM-Photos / BLM WNS Statement / CLF Feature / Ft. Stanton Museum / FSCSP in the NEWS / Draft Management Plan (in work)
FSC Study Project
The Fort Stanton Cave Study Project is a non-profit organization whose mission is to conduct and promote exploration, public education, scientific research, and environmentally sound management of the caves and karst within and surrounding the Fort Stanton – Snowy River National Conservation Area. This organization, comprised of around 200 volunteers, has been pursuing these activities for over 40 years, taking Fort Stanton Cave from a well known popular recreational cave, to a world class, scientifically extraordinary, 20+ mile system. The discovery of the famed Snowy River passage in 2001 is one of the most significant achievements of this organization.
The banner picture above shows a portion of North Snowy River, located below an upper level passage called The Metro (Photo by John Cochran). The Fort Stanton Cave Study Project (FSCSP) is a long-term and ongoing project operating under a Volunteer Services Agreement with the BLM. The project sponsors three 9-day expeditions yearly. The FSCSP policy is to be fully open to all individuals interested in furthering the goals of the project. The Fort Stanton Cave Study Project is a private, non-profit organization under section 501(c)(3) of the IRS code.
FSCSP Expedition Schedule
Fort Stanton Cave, an extensive limestone cave in central New Mexico, is the third-longest cave in the state and is important because of the discovery of the Snowy River passage which was found to have flowing water during certain times. Modern-day cavers have been exploring its passages for over 50 years and continue their explorations and study as part of the Ft. Stanton Cave Study Project.
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Fort Stanton Cave
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2013 Expeditions
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Winter trips in planning (FS Cave closed for bats) |
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Compass Course Measurements & Weir Structure Construction
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Spring Expedition |
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April 27 - May 5, 2013 |
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Summer Expedition |
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July 6 - July 14, 2013 |
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Fall Expedition |
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October 5 - October 13, 2013 |
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Special |
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TBD |
A slide show of photographs starting at the cave entrance features additional pictures of the Snowy River area.
Fort Stanton Cave
Fort Stanton Cave is a significant natural, cultural and historical resource located in the south-central part of New Mexico in Lincoln County, between the villages of Lincoln and Capitan. The 25,000+ acres of public land administered by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) was designated the Fort Stanton-Snowy River Cave National Conservation Area in 2009.
The Snowy River Passage, discovered in 2001, is now thought to be the longest cave formation in the world. It was caused by intermittent flowing waters that left the white calcite formation on the floor shown in this photo. (This new passage is currently only open to scientists who are studying and surveying the cave.) Although the full extent of Snowy River is unknown, the passage has been surveyed over 5 miles in length. Research on the unique passage continues both underground and above-ground using sophisticated measurement techniques. (Click on the picture to view a larger image.)
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This picture, taken in October, 2011, shows an amazing new feature located five miles from the entrance in far south Snowy River. Although somewhat similar to some smaller objects in the area near Turtle Junction, the team designated this area as the "Realm of the Floating Islands". Tim George inspects this set of twin peaks which actually become islands during the time that Snowy River is flowing. Jim Goodbar Photo.
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Bob Buecher looks upstream at the Turtle Junction intersection of the Mud Turtle passage with the Snowy River passage. Data loggers can be seen in this photo which was taken on May 2, 2010, when Snowy River was flowing. Downloading data from the instrumentation allows scientists to monitor water depth and other characteristics over a period of time as long as a year in many cases. Black plastic sheets are used as "clean zones" when scientists change into clean clothing and equipment before venturing onto the white floor of Snowy RIver during times when the water is not flowing. Pete Lindsley Photo.
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This Snowy River picture shows the passage just "upstream" from the Turtle Junction changing area. It shows the extent of the crystals that form under water when Snowy River is running. Teams that visit this portion of the passage must change into clean clothing and footwear and take great care to not scuff their feet on the delicate floor crystals. If they drop a bit of mud onto the pristine white surface they immediately have to clean up the dirt so that future visitors will not grind it into the white surface. Once the water flows over such an area another small deposit of calcite covers the floor preventing easy removal of the dirty area. Pete Lindsley Photo. |
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Project Area
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New National Conservation Area (NCA)
In 2009 the area around Ft. Stanton Cave was made into a designated National Conservation Area (NCA) with more than 25,000 acres in order to protect this new resource. The new NCA is managed by the Bureau of Land Management out of the Roswell Field Office. The FSCSP is affiliated with the Conservation Lands Foundation.
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History of Exploration
Ft. Stanton Cave, NM, is located just northeast of the historic Fort Stanton near Capitan, NM. Signatures show that the soldiers were exploring the front part of the cave back in the mid-19th century. We have also found evidence that American Indians (Jornada Mogollon and Apache) may have explored the cave using cane torches before the soldiers. Modern-day cavers dug into a unique passage they named Snowy River and so far have explored it over 5 miles. Snowy River is a large, mostly level ancient stream passage that has a pure white calcite floor that runs the length of the passage. Due to the delicate nature of the floor channel coating that varies from fractions of an inch to perhaps four inches in thickness, explorers take special care to keep the formation clean and to minimize damage. In 2007 the cavers discovered that Snowy River occasionally has clear water flowing through the passage, its maximum depth defined by the edge of the pure white calcite formation on the mud floor and limestone walls.
Conservation Goals and Objectives
The centerpiece of the Fort Stanton-Snowy River Cave National Conservation Area (FS-SRC NCA) is Fort Stanton Cave and its associated karst system. Our main activity is documenting and protecting this cave and karst system. The information that we gather assists the Bureau of Land Management to better understand the cave and karst resources, manage them, and protect the area. A specific issue that we are trying to understand is the hydrological relationship of the cave to the ground water and surface water resources in the NCA. This relationship is poorly understood at present. We want to make sure that ground and surface water withdrawals in areas near the NCA do not affect the water conditions inside of the cave. Biologists have found the Snowy River passage of Fort Stanton Cave to be a microbiological laboratory of profound significance. A major facet of our mission is to protect and preserve this area. We are just beginning to understand the historic usage of the cave by the local populace starting in the 1850s and before that, the Native Americans. Preserving this evidence is one of our goals. In support of our strong interest of conservation of the resource the FSCSP is working closely with the Conservation Lands Foundation. In case you missed it, the Sunday April 17th issue of Parade Magazine featured a good article "Saving Our National Treasures" that featured some of the unique lands under the BLM's National Landscape Conservation System (NLCS).
Download Video
We currently offer a short video presentation by Jim Cox on the history and exploration of Snowy River
(Please wait for 240 MB mp4 file to load) Check back later - we plan to add additional photographs in 2013.
Additional photographs are found here.
Maps & GIS
Example of Cave Cartography
Devil's Backbone Area of Ft. Stanton Cave
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Map for Fort Stanton Museum
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A 2010 project assisting the BLM with graphics for their new Ft. Stanton Museum cave room is complete. A new illustrated map showing just under 15 miles was prepared and is mounted on the museum wall at eye level. The museum is located on the Fort Stanton Quadrangle. Selected versions of this map and other graphics may be found here. |
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