The Lake Today

Despite harsh temperatures in the low 20’s on Saturday, cave enthusiasts from all over the state made a valiant start in cleaning up a pit that has been used as an illegal dumping site for generations.

Just outside Montreal is Goodwin Sinkhole and Goodwin Pit Cave, which are two important karst resources in Laclede County that affect water quality at Ha Ha Tonka Spring and the Lake of the Ozarks.

According to Missouri Caves and Karst Conservancy (MCKC), Goodwin Sinkhole has been the site of illegal dumping, primarily of household goods and tires, since the late 1950’s. The Missouri Department of Natural Resources has dye-traced the water from Goodwin Sink, and verified that water that drains into Goodwin Sink flows underground and emerges 10 miles away at Ha Ha Tonka Spring, one of the 15 largest springs in Missouri that discharges almost 50 million gallons per day into the Niangua Arm of the Lake of the Ozarks.

For many decades, trash and debris have prevented normal water flow at the sinkhole and has caused pollution at Ha Ha Tonka Spring and the Lake of the Ozarks according to MCKC. Frustration among the landowner and neighbors who near Lancaster Road on Highway H, lead to the MCKC taking on the project of cleaning up a 60-year accumulation of debris and managing Goodwin Sinkhole and Goodwin Pit Cave.

Laying the foundation

More than 30 volunteers from grottos, caving and civic organizations, area high schools, Boy Scout troops and members of several Missouri Master Naturalist chapters, along with MCKC members gathered at the top of the sinkhole around 10 a.m. Saturday morning. Bundled up in warm attire, volunteers listened to instructions from Klaus Leidenfrost, MCKC‘s president, about important safety issues of cleaning out this 20-30 deep pit.

Klaus is employed as a wildlife biologist with the U.S. Forest Service in Rolla. As part of his job, he was in charge of the Conical Sink in Phelps County (2007-2008), Slaughter Sink Phelps County (2008-2010) and Gooch Sink, Phelps County (2011) clean-up projects, along with numerous other illegal dumps on U. S. Forest Service lands. His significant expertise derived from these three massive clean-up projects gives the MCKC the guidance and source of knowledge needed to safely, efficiently and effectively plan and accomplish the organization’s goals at Goodwin Sinkhole and Goodwin Pit Cave.

The clean-up has been divided into five phases and the estimated cost for the future work is close to $25,000. MCKC has agreed to fund most of the initial expenses, but is actively seeking donations and grants to defray expenses. MCKC has been notified of a grant award from the Missouri Department of Conservation’s Wildlife Diversity Funds to assist with the project.

Volunteers dug and hauled trash on the surface of the sinkhole as part of the first phase of this major clean-up on Saturday and Sunday. A mixture of volunteers derived from the MCKC, Lake of the Ozarks Grotto, Springfield Plateau Grotto, Choteau Grotto, Kansas City Area Grotto, Meramec Valley Grotto, Meramec Valley Master Naturalists Chapter, students from Camdenton and Lebanon schools, and Boy Scouts of Overland Park, Kan.

Leidenfrost said MCKC’s goal it to clean out the entire pit and then eventually re-open the cave. Being in unchartered territory, Goodwin Pit Cave has sparked the excitement and motivation of all the dedicated volunteers who attended the clean-up this weekend.

“We think the cave goes a real long way. There are numerous caves in the area and they may be linked,” Leidenfrost said. “We won’t know until we can get inside, but we’ll find out.”

The Grotto and Goodwin

Affiliated with the MCKC, the local Lake of the Ozarks Grotto Club has fully committed to aiding the Goodwin project with approximately 10-15 members devoted to partake in the clean-up. Lake Ozarks Grotto, a not-for-profit organization dedicated to the preservation of caves and cave life, was established around the 1940’s. In addition to facilitating the Goodwin project, the organization is currently locating all the caves in Morgan County.

Seven members initially visited the site on Jan. 28 to start the clean-up. Members dug up large items such as used tires, a couch and several appliances. Since the sinkhole has been known to fill up water, members tied the nearly 400 tires together in case of flooding. Leindenfrost stated that the DNR has agreed to pick up the tires.

Lake of the Ozarks Grotto Club president Ken Long said he was able to enter the cave and describes it as walking in a landfill. He said each side from floor to ceiling is mud, gravel and trash.

“At one time I would say that cave entrance, by looking, witching and the way it runs underground, was 30 feet long and probably 10 foot high at one time when the trash wasn’t there,” Long said. “Now it’s a hole about 3 feet around and 7 feet down because of the trash.”

Long also visited the site the previous weekend and “witched” the area around the cave to where it leads to. He said “witching” or “dowsing” is technique used for finding underground water and is performed by a person walking across the ground holding two copper rods bent in to a “L” shape. When the person walks over underground water the rods turn outward or cross.

He said the water first runs through River Cave before it gets to Ha Ha Tonka Spring. River Cave is a hibernation habitat for bats in the wintertime, and it has endangered species in the cave such as the blind cavefish.

What excites Long most is the history of this cavern. He said rumor has it that it was used as a Civil War shelter and people used to take covered wagons into it. He was excited to start digging and opening up the cave to see the many tokens of history they might undercover.

Long, who has been caving for 30 years, said his determinations are simply put: “I always want to know what’s around that next corner.” He and his fellow grotto members plan to help survey the cave along with the MCKC after the clean-up project is complete.

Saving the cave

According to older photos of the sinkhole, there could be up to 5-10 feet of dirt and gravel, which is covering an unknown amount of tires and trash in the sinkhole. In addition, the MCKC has no idea how far back the trash goes into the cave.

Phase one and phase two of the clean-up are to gather up all the tires and other trash visible on the surface and remove them from the sinkhole. Phase three will be digging up the gravel and bottom of the sinkhole to uncover all the buried tires and trash. Phase four will be collecting and removing all the remaining trash and tires from the sinkhole, and phase five will consist of installing a dirt beam next to Lancaster Road and erect a 8-foot fence to discourage future dumping. In addition, they will put up a sign to educate the public how dumping in sinkholes negatively impacts the areas ground water.

Leidenfrost said the best time for these clean-ups is during the leaf-off months for several reasons including: better visibility, no snakes, no mosquitoes or other insects. The weather could still be a key factor in this project and this project could take over a year to finish.

Anyone who is interested in assisting with any of the phases of clean-up can contact Klaus Leidenfrost by email at president@mocavesandkarst.org or kleidenfrost@fs.fed.us, calling 573-341-7410 or visiting MCKC’s website at www.mocavesandkarst.org.

The Lake of the Ozarks Grotto has meetings each month and welcomes anyone who has a sincere interest in caves. Their meetings are held the second Tuesday of each month, April through November, at 7:30 p.m. at the Camden County Museum in Linn Creek.