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April 2013 Goliath's Cave - The Final Chapter

The November 2012 issue of the Minnesota Speleological Survey's monthly publication includes a trip report by a government employee about her first foray into Goliath's Cave. Kerry Erickson, MSS editor and Mystery Cave employee, states that her superior, Warren Netherton , thought it would be beneficial for staff members to have an idea of what the cave looked like. I know Kerry to be a dedicated caver, but I feel she was given some false information from those she looks up to and respects, which deeply saddens me. And while she did make certain observations and identified them as problems, she never states the causes of the problems, nor suggests any solutions.

Kerry states that the group stumbled through prairie grasses on the way to the cave. But those were not grasses. If the group entered across from my meticulously maintained prairie, then what she was actually traipsing through was a parcel full of noxious weeds. Imagine: a land owner of the private sector having to berate the DNR's best, the Scientific and Natural Area, into controlling their own noxious, weed-infested property. In fact, there is a noxious weed law in Fillmore County, which the DNR ironically enforces, even while continuing to blatantly violate it.

At the cave entrance, Kerry took note of the debris that made the gate difficult to open. That should have been the first clue to the staff members that something was wrong. Kerry states that they crawled through passages carpeted with raccoon feces and observed large passages with sticks and debris wedged high above their heads. Kerry states that the cave is frequently inundated with large amounts of water and understands the very real dangers this cave poses to human life.

When the group finally made their way to the passage that drops down to the stream level, I can't imagine that they missed the horizontal claw marks halfway up the walls. This is a vivid snapshot of where resident raccoons fought for their lives while being swept down to the lower stream level and to their deaths. It would be most difficult for me to believe that nobody on that trip wondered out loud where all the debris ends up. Remember, these are the STAFF members of another cave: folks who we place our trust in to protect our incredibly unique and rare natural resources.

Here are the facts, which should have been blatantly obvious to the group: The natural entrance to Goliath's is a gaping hole at the base of a major sinkhole. Because it is continually excavated open each time it becomes impassable by the Sentence to Serve program, under the direct supervision of the SNA/DNR, tons of muck, organic debris, and garbage are allowed to enter and travel through this cave. The force of the water that Kerry mentions carries the debris through the government owned upper level and deposits it in the lower level, most of which is owned by the Minnesota Cave Preserve. The SNA/DNR is seriously impacting a large portion of this cave due to their deliberate actions. It is frustrating that an entire group of government employees sees this desecration but makes no mention of the cause. I would hate to think that the DNR would so willingly trash out a cave they are supposed to protect due to a personal vendetta against their neighboring land owner. Sadly, if that isn't the case, then they are just utterly incompetent when it comes to managing this resource.

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Others have rationalized this situation by pointing out that there are multiple sinkholes in the surrounding woods, which also allow water to enter the cave system. Should these folks take a walk through the woods to see these sinkholes, they would find that rocks and muck have nearly sealed them shut, providing a sort of filtration screen for the water that pours in. Raccoons, fence posts, tires, assorted garbage, and tons of muck do not find their way in via these sinkholes; what does enter is filtered water. I should know. I first visited the cave back in 1986 and have explored literally every inch of Goliath's since. As I write this letter, the DNR continues to plug up and taint the lower portion of the cave because of their actions. How long and what action would the DNR take if a land owner from the private sector knowingly and purposely degraded "their" resources?

Not only is the SNA/DNR a poor steward of Goliath's and the land above it, but they are also creating a well known and well documented death trap for visitors who enter. Myself and many others have, on numerous occasions, described the threat of drowning in this cave. As you may be aware, I have an open offer to create a safe artificial entrance for the DNR/SNA into "their" portion of "their" cave on "their" property for no charge. I wonder what the tour group said or thought when they came across digging tools protruding into the cave from an obviously abandoned project? Let me spell it out. "Hey, some cavers, including a past president of the MSS, recognized the dire need for a safe entrance, and so they took it upon themselves to create one." Never mind that two of them came within seconds of dying just feet before they would have completed the job.

But the SNA/DNR cares no more for human life than it does for the natural resources they "own".

On October 14. 2004, one month before I began creating my own entrance into the cave, I wrote a letter to SNA director Bob Djupstrom and carbon copied DNR Commissioner Gene Merrian, notifying them of the project. "I, and a large support group, would like to work with the DNR/SNA staff to establish a mutually beneficial enduring relationship so this cave system can be safely visited to enhance exploratory and scientific knowledge."

I did not receive a reply until two and a half MONTHS later, which stated, "The DNR acquired the SNA land to preserve the water quality to Canfield Creek, a trout stream that enters Forestville State Park at the Big Spring. In response to your comment that the DNR and yourself now jointly own the Goliath's Cave, please be informed that entry into the underground portions of the land i.e. Cherry Grove Blind Valley SNA, continues to be illegal without a permit."

I submit that the DNR/SNA is clueless regarding the water that flows through this cave. Instead of protecting the water in the Canfield Creek, per their mission statement, they are polluting it. They have clearly demonstrated their failure regarding the care and preservation of this cave system.

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Shortly after I created "David's" entrance, the DNR suddenly corrected their erroneous website with information on how to apply for a research permit. But the National Speleological Society's "Scientist of the Year" and Morse-Alumni Professor for the Earth Sciences department at the University of Minnesota, was denied a permit. The reason? "Lack of qualifications." But instead, several DNR minions were awarded permits to survey the cave! I learned that the sole intent of this survey was to collect evidence that would hopefully show that "there isn't a chance in Hell they (referring to myself and other cavers) could have located a cave passage from the surface using memory sketches - then there might be serious repercussions for Ackerman." Note that the lower stream level under the control of the SNA has not been surveyed by the DNR's minions, and it is doubtful it ever will be. To date, they lack the ability to reach it.

Besides their purposeful neglect of the cave, they also continue to state incorrect information on their website. One of their websites states, "Few stream passages are of walking height, with only an inch of air clearance in one low point. " This is obviously not true because the main stream passage occasionally soars up to one hundred feet in height.

Along with inaccurate information, they also use their online presence to state outright lies. Their website also states that, "In 1999, the Thomas Kapper family sold their property to the SNA Program to see it protected for conservation purposes." This statement is a bold lie, which I have reminded them. Thomas Kapper applied for a permit to quarry it into oblivion. The DNR knew that the water which flows through the cave and exits via the Big Spring in "their" park would be eliminated or severely degraded, so they struck an agreement with the Kapper family to locate a suitable quarry site for them in exchange for purchasing the property above Goliath's. Venita Sikkink, the neighbor who owned half of the cave, along with the caving community, supplied the Kappers with amazing photos and information of the incredible cave system. Yet the Kappers sought to wipe it out in name of financial greed.

Shame on the DNR/SNA for propagating such a lie.

To this day, there are four very clear facts:

1. The SNA/DNR is in direct violation of their own policy, which states that "Any activity that violates or damages resources - air, water, soil, plants, animals, and rocks - is punishable by fine or jail sentence."

2. The downstream portion of the cave continues to fill with trash, muck and debris because of the DNR's use of prison labor to keep the sinkhole entrance open.

3. The water quality continues to be adversely affected as a direct result.

4. Lives of cave visitors and researchers continue to be placed in peril.

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It is obvious that the DNR will continue to maintain a grudge against their neighbor for owning part of what they firmly believe to be "theirs" and for holding them accountable for being such poor stewards of our amazing and fragile ecosystem. Perhaps the book "Opening Goliath" contributed to this?

However, I have successfully completed the objectives I set out to achieve when I purchased this property:

1. Goliath's Cave now has a safe, dry entrance.

2. Scientific studies have resumed.

3. The caving community now has access to this caving system.

4. Exploration and survey have become a wildly successful reality.

I am especially proud to have had the opportunity to discover and survey major portions of this cave. I am, however, saddened that portions of what I risked my life to discover, survey, and study have been found to lie under the DNR/SNA property. But as fate would have it, over one third of a mile of what I discovered is inaccessible to the SNA/DNR because the only access point to them is under the Cave Preserve land!

Venita Sikkink and her family sold me their land so that future generations could benefit from the scientific knowledge that has been gained in this amazing underground wilderness. Venita will celebrate her 100th anniversary this month. She has asked for a map of the cave, which she will receive.

I have compiled data from numerous sources and have drafted a map, which I have verified to be extremely accurate. The Minnesota Cave Preserve and the Minnesota Cave Club will consider this the final and official map of the Goliath's Cave System. This map will be used in all of our official publications.

My work in Goliath's Cave has now been successfully completed.

Happy Trails,

John Ackerman

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