A quest for subterranean conservation

Show Tia Bakker a dark, damp hole in the ground and chances are she will crawl right in.

For the last three years, the Bigfork High School senior has made exploring caves her pastime and her passion. Bakker, 18, is a dedicated member of the school’s Cave Club and is committed to exploring and preserving these natural resources.

In some cases, she is one of only about 10 people ever to have seen the inside of a cave. In others, people have made caves their dumping grounds and left a mess for Bakker and others to clean up.

“People don’t think of conserving these resources,” Bakker said.

Science teacher Hans Bodenhamer had led a Cave Club when he taught at Browning High School. When his Bigfork students learned that, they wanted to know why they didn’t have a similar club.

In fall 2007, Bigfork High’s Cave Club was born. And after proving her mettle during a fishing field trip — “I was the only girl who didn’t fall into the water” — Bakker was encouraged to join.

She was already into outdoor recreation, including hiking, biking, kayaking and rappelling. Cave Club seemed a natural fit.

At first, the club was all about exploration and adventure. Students rappelled during weekly practices and took trips to caves in Glacier National Park and Lewis & Clark National Forest.

But when students started finding garbage and graffiti in caves, the club’s focus shifted. Leaving a cave a dirty, deteriorating mess wasn’t an option, Bakker said.

They began cleaning caves, hauling out trash and scrubbing writing from the walls with wire brushes, water and “a lot of elbow grease.”

The club also has done noncollective studies of microinvertebrates in caves. Students haul microscopes to the field and examined the tiny creatures. They’ve completed water chemistry studies to determine factors that might affect the microinvertebrates.

Cave Club members have established monitoring in several caves, including in Glacier National Park. They write detailed descriptions of a cave’s every feature, take photos to accompany their descriptions and document everything in a GIS lab purchased with a $10,000 Best Buy grant.

“No one has time to do this at the park,” Bakker said.

Bakker and other club members have given presentations on their work, and Bakker will continue to give presentations after graduation. She is attending a GIS conference in San Diego in July.

The club’s efforts recently earned attention from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, which named Cave Club one of its 2009 President’s Environmental Youth Award winners. Bodenhamer, Bakker and fellow club member Ernie Cottle spent five days in Washington, D.C., to receive the award.

They attended a “huge ceremony” and shook hands with President Barack Obama.

But one of the biggest highlights for Bakker was meeting Phillipe Cousteau, diver, philanthropist and grandson of Jacques-Yves Cousteau.

Bakker told him about her desire to go into coral reef conservation. She plans to attend school this fall at Portland Community College, where she will get some general education requirements out of the way and start preparing for a major in marine biology.

Cousteau recommended a college in Scotland with an excellent marine biology program, Bakker said. If she can get there, she will.

In the meantime, caving will continue to be her passion — something she is thankful to Bodenhamer for.

“Without him I wouldn’t have discovered this passion,” Bakker said. “He’s done so much for us.”

Because of his club, Bakker will continue to do much for caves. She said that while she loves exploring areas few people have ever been, she really loves the club’s conservation efforts in caves that need cleaning.

“I want to do something about it. I want to be physical in it and do my part,” Bakker said.

“I may not be able to save every cave, but I want to spread the word and do my part. I want to make a difference.”

Reporter Kristi Albertson may be reached at 758-4438 or at kalbertson@dailyinterlake.com.