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Merlin's Cave preserve
**As of November 2010, we're 95% there!!**
"Hidden Treasure in the Taconic hills of Columbia County, NY"
The NCC is looking to acquire a 34 acre parcel of land in Columbia County, NY for $95,000.
The parcel includes two known caves--Merlin's and Dragon Bones Caves-- and consists of woodland with significant karst features. Merlin's is the larger and more significant of the two caves, with a current depth of 116 feet and length of nearly 800ft. The cave is adorned with many neat geological features, numerous waterfalls, and is very much 3D in nature. Much more of the cave remains to be surveyed.
We are interested in purchasing the Merlin's property for several reasons, including:
- Unique geological area: The cave is formed in Stockbridge Marble, and runs along a Taconic thrust fault. This is one of the few places where Stockbridge Marble outcrops in NY, and one of the rare locations with a known cave in a thurst fault.
- Newly discovered cave, in nearly pristine condition: The fault section of the cave was discovered in the fall of 2006. With little traffic in the cave, formations remain clean and intact. Line of sinks runs the length of the property with the known extent of Merlin's Cave just reaching the first few sinks.
- Sizeable bat hibernaculum: The cave includes a large chamber that houses a significant bat population. White Nose Syndrome (WNS) was found to be affecting the bats when the room was discovered, and a post-WNS count last year turned out ~350 bats with three that may have been Indiana bats. Many dead bats were noted in the spring of 2007, as the cave was discovered.
Please consider donating to help us take advantage of these generous offers!
The Merlin's map and fundraising poster (including photos) is below.
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