Conservation

Conservation

One of the focal points of GUE has always been conservation. Here is a brief list of efforts through the history of GUE.


2000
  • WKPP finishes a two-year dedicated effort to explore Wakulla cave during a record drought period that provided unusually clear water. Their dives extend the map of Wakulla Cave out to ~6,000m (~4 miles) to the south of the spring vent establishing the World’s record for the longest underwater cave dive and ~2,500m (~1.5 miles) north of the spring vent. Their combined efforts increase the total amount of mapped conduits to ~24,000m (~15 miles).
  • WKPP helps to develop a documentary program on the caves in the WKP for Public Television and increases their focus on public outreach and disseminating critical information about caves in the WKP to local and state resource managers.

2001
  • HKI and GUE give presentation to the Florida Academy of Sciences on the importance of caves and karst to understanding groundwater flow and protecting groundwater and springs in Florida (approximately 60 people in attendance).
  • WKPP gives presentation to general public at Wakulla Springs State Park on Wakulla Cave and the initial results on groundwater tracing work.
  • GUE conducts first seminar on the basics of groundwater flow and karst in Florida for cave divers and general public in Florida (approximately 30 people in attendance).
  • Hydro Consortium, Florida State University, Hazlett-Kincaid Inc and GUE discuss research objectives in the WKP with the Florida Geological Survey. Groundwater tracing, data collection in the caves, and education are identified as primary objectives.

2002
  • Hazlett-Kincaid Inc and GUE begin development of an educational exhibit on the importance of caves and karst to groundwater resource protection in Florida for the FGS.
  • GUE and HKI begin development of a K-12 educational video on groundwater and karst in Florida ("Florida's Aquifer Adventure") for the FGS.
  • GUE conducts second seminar on the basics of groundwater flow and karst in Florida for cave divers and general public in Florida (approximately 30 people in attendance).
  • WKPP installs tubing for sampling and injection into Sullivan, Cheryl, and Emerald Sinks, records rhodamine dye injection on digital video, and collects water samples for source analysis from presumed surface water intrusion tunnels and groundwater tunnels in the Leon Sinks cave system.
  • HKI and GUE begin development of the "Florida Cave Database" for the FGS, which is the first coordinated effort to develop a database for the location and maps of underwater caves in Florida.
  • Hydro Consortium, Hazlett-Kincaid, GUE, and Florida Geological Survey present preliminary findings of tracing project and karst groundwater modeling efforts at the Annual meeting of the Geological Society of America held in Denver CO (~3000 people in attendance).
    A hybrid modeling approach to flow in conduit dominated karst aquifers
    Groundwater tracing as a means to collect data for groundwater model design...

2003
  • WKPP conducts assessment of B Tunnel as possible source of nitrate contamination to Wakulla Spring for the NWFWMD and replaces their hydrologic meter that measures flow and stage at the cave entrance in the spring vent.
  • Hazlett-Kincaid and GUE present preliminary results of tracing and modeling efforts in the WKP at the 2nd Florida Springs Conference (~400 people in attendance). Groundwater tracing as a means to collect data for groundwater model design...
  • HKI, CGW, and WKPP conduct field reconnaissance of the region west of the Leon Sinks cave system to assess hydrologic conditions for tracing the Fisher Creek insurgence. Heavy rains and flooding reveal that Sullivan Sink receives overflow runoff from Fisher Creek.
  • WKPP and HKI give presentation to general public at Wakulla Springs State Park on Wakulla Cave and the initial results from the Leon Sinks groundwater tracing work.
  • The HC holds its 5th Annual Workshop entitled: "Significance of Caves to Watershed Management and Protection in Florida" (Ocala, FL: ~150 people in attendance). GUE and WKPP members serve on expert panels at the workshop and give presentations about caves and research in the WKP. GUE presents preliminary release of "Florida's Aquifer Adventure" educational video.
  • HKI and WKPP give two public presentations at the Annual Wakulla Wildlife Festival at Wakulla Springs Florida (~1500 people in attendance). A video of exploring Wakulla cave is presented and a presentation is made on key scientific findings and their implications to water resource protection.
  • WKPP gives presentation at the annual Wakulla Spring Working Group meeting in Tallahassee for state regulatory staff, park personnel and interested community members.
  • GUE & HKI give presentation on the need for increased cooperation between cave divers and scientists at the annual meeting of the National Speleological Society in Gainesville, Florida.
    Cooperation for Conservation
  • WKPP develops and uses cave-radio location technology to locate the junction between B and C Tunnels in Wakulla cave at the surface for well installation and installed additional tubing for sampling into Sullivan, Cheryl and Emerald Sinks.
  • HKI and WKPP give public presentation at Wakulla Springs State Park on exploring Wakulla cave, ongoing results of tracing work and meter installations, and the implications of findings to water resource protection (~40 people in attendance).
  • WKPP uses radio location technology to locate A/K Tunnel junction at the land surface for well installation and to locate the upstream most dark water tunnel junction in the Leon Sinks cave system.
  • HKI and WKPP use the radio location data to refine the maps of Wakulla and upper Leon Sinks cave systems.
  • WKPP Installs the first of seven hydrologic meters at the cave entrance in the spring vent and runs a cable to the meter from the land surface to bring it online. The meter begins to record flow, temperature, and conductivity at 15-minute intervals. Installation was coordinated with FGS and FSU-GFDI staff.
  • WKPP and FGS make video tape of well penetrating Wakulla Cave at the B/C Tunnel Junction.
  • WKPP replaces NWFWMD hydrologic meter at the cave entrance in the spring vent.
  • WKPP install two more hydrologic meters at the B/C Tunnel Junction (~500 feet into cave from cave entrance at spring), run cables to the meters from B/C Tunnel well to bring them online, and install sampling tubes at B and C Tunnels to support groundwater sampling and tracing experiments. The meters begin to record flow, temperature, and conductivity at 15-minute intervals. Installations are coordinated with FGS and FSU-GFDI staff.
  • WKPP collects bacteria samples from B and C Tunnels in Wakulla Cave and from Sally Ward Cave for the University of West Florida and uses radio location technology to locate the A/D Tunnel junction at the land surface for well installation but radio fails and location is not located.
  • WKPP installs sampling tubes in Upper River Sink, Fish Hole and Turner Sinks. One tube is extended for over 250m into the cave from Upper River Sink to independently access flow down the western branch of the Leon Sinks cave system.
  • Hazlett-Kincaid, CGW, and WKPP conduct field reconnaissance of the region west of the Leon Sinks cave system to assess hydrologic conditions for tracing the Black Creek insurgence.
  • HKI and WKPP give public presentation at Wakulla Springs State Park on exploring Wakulla cave and ongoing results of tracing work and meter installations and the implications of findings to water resource protection (~40 people in attendance).
  • HC, HKI, Wakulla Springs State Park, and GUE develop and lead a field trip through WKP for Florida's Secretary Struhs (Department of Environmental Protection) and high level DEP staff discussing cave systems, their importance to water resource management, and the findings of the scientific studies.
  • WKPP uses radio location technology to relocate A/D Tunnel junction at the land surface for well installation.
  • WKPP installs hydrologic meter into Turner Sink in the Leon Sinks cave system to collect data on Leon Sinks flow prior to meter installations in Wakulla Cave. The meter begins to record flow, temperature, and conductivity at 15-minute intervals.

2004
  • WKPP removes hydrologic meter from Turner Sink, installs A/D tunnel flow meter, video tapes D Tunnel well casing, measures the conduit cross-sectional areas at B, C, and D Tunnel meters with hand-held sonar for flow calculations, installs sampling tube at A/D Tunnel to support groundwater sampling and tracing experiments, collects bacteria samples at the B, C, and D Tunnel meters for the University of West Florida, and installs native plants in the Wakulla Spring Basin for Wakulla Springs State Park.
  • WKPP installs three more hydrologic meters for the FGS at D, K and A/K Tunnels and runs cables to meters from the A/D and A/K Tunnel wells to bring the meters online. The meters begin to record flow, temperature, and conductivity at 15-minute intervals. Installations are coordinated with FGS and FSU-GFDI staff.
  • WKPP moves the A/D Tunnel meter further upstream, collects bacteria samples from B, C, and D, A/D, K, and A/K Tunnel meters for the University of West Florida, measures the conduit cross-sectional areas at the remaining three meter locations with hand-held sonar for flow calculations, installs sampling tubes at D, K and A/K Tunnels to support groundwater sampling and tracing experiments, and installs native plants in the Wakulla Spring Basin for Wakulla Springs State Park.
  • HKI and WKPP give public presentation at Wakulla Springs State Park on exploring Wakulla cave and ongoing results of tracing work and meter installations and the implications of findings to water resource protection (~60 people in attendance).
  • HC, HKI, and GUE give scientific presentation at the FSU Geology Department on the on-going results of the tracing and meter projects in the Woodville Karst Plain (~100 people in attendance).
  • HC, HKI, GUE, and FGS present preliminary findings of tracing, cave meter, Cave Database, and Karst Groundwater Modeling projects at the Annual meeting of the South East Section - Geological Society of America meeting in Washington DC (~1000 people in attendance).
    Understanding Wakulla spring
    Characterizing rapid point-recharge to the Floridan aquifer in the Woodville Karst Plain of north Florida
    The Florida Cave Database: A GIS of underwater cave for hydrogeological characterizations
  • FGS and GUE release the finalized version of "Florida's Aquifer Adventure" for distribution to Florida Schools and interested organizations.
  • WKPP extracted non-functioning FGS meter from Wakulla Cave entrance and replaced the NWFWMD meter at the cave entrance.
  • HKI and WKPP give two public presentations at the annual Wakulla Wildlife Festival at Wakulla Springs Florida (~ 1500 people in attendance). A video of exploring Wakulla cave is presented and a presentation is made on key scientific findings and their implications to water resource protection.
  • HC and WKPP give two presentations on caves in the WKP and water resource protection to the 8th Grade Students at Riversprings Middle School and 4th Grade Students at Shadeville Elementary School in Wakulla County, Florida.
  • HC, Friends of Wakulla Springs, and the WKPP sponsor and hold the first Town Hall Meeting on protecting springs and water resources in north Florida. The event was entitled "Exploring the Secrets of Wakulla Spring." It is held at the Riversprings Middle School and was attended by ~150 people mostly from Wakulla County.
  • WKPP re-maps conduit cross-sectional areas at the K and A/K meters, moves the C Tunnel meter farther upstream due to an eddy effect observed in the flow direction data, confirms sampling tube conditions in the Leon Sinks cave system in preparation for a tracing experiment.
  • The HC and GUE sponsor and lead a field trip in the Santa Fe River Basin of north-central Florida as part of the annual meeting of the National Speleological Society Cave Diving Section. The field trip toured and discussed key karst features that control groundwater flow and potential contamination in the Floridan aquifer and included a canoe trip down part of the Santa Fe River (approximately 35 people in attendance).
  • HKI, CGW, and WKPP conduct field reconnaissance of the region east of the Leon Sinks cave system to assess hydrologic conditions for tracing the Ames Sink / Munson slough insurgence.
  • WKPP installs water sampling tube ~200m into the upstream section of Sally Ward cave, and uses radio location technology to locate the northern loop junction in the Leon Sinks cave system to correct the cave map and begin to determine position of cave relative to overlying highways.
  • HC, HKI, Wakulla Springs State Park, and GUE develop and lead a field trip through WKP for the Florida State Cabinet Aides discussing the cave systems, their importance to water resource management, and the findings of the scientific studies. Approximately 15 Aides attend, including 4 from the Governor’s office.
  • HC, Friends of Wakulla Springs, and the WKPP sponsor and hold the second Town Hall Meeting (Exploring the Secrets of Wakulla Spring) on protecting springs and water resources in north Florida. It is held at the Gray Building in Tallahassee, Florida and is attended by ~200 people from Leon and Wakulla Counties and the City of Tallahassee.