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Tongass Home » Districts and Offices » Prince of Wales Island » Recreation » El Capitan Cave
The Gate
Moving farther into the cave, you reach a a heavy metal gate. Bat Conservation International designed this gate. The gate was carried into the cave in pieces and welded into place. The state of the art design allows bats to enter and leave the cave. The spacing between the bars was carefully calculated to allow for the wingspan of the two different species of bats that use the cave. Bats continue to use the deeper parts of the cave, even with the gate in place.
The Tongass National Forest installed the gate for two reasons.
Visitor safety was the most important consideration. As people learned
of El Capitan Cave, they wanted to explore the cave. However, Southeast
Alaska caves extremely hazardous. Numerous pits of varying depths line
the main and side passageways, while some parts of the cave still flood
on occasion The cold, wet conditions and cool temperatures create a high
potential for hypothermia. Loose and falling rocks are a 
hazard throughout
the cave. And, because the cave is a maze, it is extremely easy to get
lost. The gate protects visitors from these serious hazards.
Secondly, the gate protects the cave itself. Because this portion of the cave is so easily accessible, it is also easily vandalized. In the past, visitors would come into the cave and take the beautiful formations home with them. Many formations were also destroyed through carelessness. The Forest Service installed the gate and invited people to tour the cave with a guide to become more sensitive and aware of the effects they have on the cave ecosystem.
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USDA Forest Service - Tongass National Forest Accessibility Statement
Last Modified: July 11, 2007