CAPE GIRARDEAU, Mo. (KMOX) - A group of 50 community members are being celebrated for their work to clean up a garbage-riddled cave in southern Missouri.
The team comprised of Missouri Department of Conservation (MDC) staff, Eagle Scouts, cavers with Meramec Valley Grotto (MVG) and Missouri Stream Team volunteers removed 3.5 tons of trash from the sinkhole known as Grandpa's Hole Cave in Ste. Genevieve County.
In a multi-day clean up, the group removed nearly 500 old tires and filled two 10-foot-by-5-foot-by-3-foot trailers with junk from the cave.
See videos and photos of the clean up, here
“There was a large amount of trash in the walk-in entrance and throughout the cave,” said Alex Litsch with MST. “Vertically trained cavers worked around the top of the 60-foot pit to hoist trash out of the cave, and volunteers were on the surface and in the cave moving trash to a dumpster.”
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Jason Crites, MDC Fisheries Management Biologist, said the area contains an extensive karst system – or multifaceted landscape – where the dissolving bedrock has formed sinking streams, sinkholes, springs, caves, and other distinctive topographies. He said many of this system’s openings allow water to enter the ground and flow towards the surface streams, which in this case has a negative impact on the environment.
“Dumping trash and other refuse in sinkholes and caves will ultimately end up in our waterways,” Crites added. “I encourage people to refrain from dumping, especially in these locations.”
The cave was discovered in 2009 in the middle of a farm and found to be used as a "tire dump." It goes down at least 45 feet and has nearly 500-feet of caverns, according to Missouri Caves and Karst Conservancy.
To get involved with future cleanups, visit Missouri Stream Team online here
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