Couple aims to 're-wild' former 7 Caves attraction

[Lynn]

Couple aims to 're-wild' former 7 Caves attraction
By Steve Bennish
Dayton Daily News

The Wisconsin Glacier began its retreat from southern Ohio some time in the past 14,000 years, releasing a tremendous volume of water that cut a 100-foot deep gorge in Highland County's Paint Twp., the channel for what is now Rocky Fork Creek. The cascade also helped form an intricate 23-cave network.

The caves have hosted the Shawnee, 19th century pioneer dances, four species of bats, rare salamanders and a century's parade of tourists. Visitors from 1897 until recently arrived in everything from stage coaches to SUVs to gaze at an otherworldly landscape of cliffs, canyons, waterfalls and the illuminated caverns of what became known as the 7 Caves tourist attraction.

Today, the 13-acre cave site is poised to enter a new era. It is surrounded by the 2,000-acre private non-profit Highlands Nature Sanctuary, an idea born from the efforts of a husband and wife team — Larry Henry, 62, and his wife, Nancy, 53 — who left careers as state parks officials.

The Henrys are possessed by a passion to "re-wild" the caves by tearing out electric lights and other modern niceties in favor of candle-lit lanterns held by knowledgeable nature guides.

They see this as a first step in luring back swarms of bats and other threatened wildlife to create an interpretive nature center unlike any in the state, one that boasts hundreds of varieties of wildflowers, 900-year-old white cedar trees and striking cliff views.

The 7 Caves parcel, immortalized in tourist brochures, is among the final pieces in a puzzle the Henrys have been working on for a decade — an attempt to conserve the Rocky Fork Creek watershed.

One thing blocks their path: the need to raise $300,000 before March to complete a purchase agreement of 7 Caves. A contract on the land is half paid, Larry Henry says. Another $80,000 could refurbish the site that includes a small stone gate house and cliff-perched former gift shop that overlooks the creek.

Henry won't accept the possibility of defeat and is hopeful enough donations will materialize to make the dream a reality.

"It has to happen," he said. "Of my entire career, this is the pivotal moment."

Erasing 'negative human impact'

The Henrys have faced financial deadlines before and won.

Larry Henry left state employment in the early 1980s after a stint as assistant chief of the Ohio Parks and Recreation Division. Over a period of 18 years in public service, he had worked for the U.S. Forest Service, Ohio Division of Forestry and the Parks Division.

Nancy Henry had also worked for the state, at one time as chief naturalist for Parks. Both wanted new challenges.

They founded Benevolence Cafe and Bakery, a restaurant in Columbus' Short North neighborhood. The two had an epiphany during this period, after travels in central and Latin America. They visited a barrier reef off the coast of Belize that was litter-strewn. They saw the rain forest burning. They realized that the notion of a perfect wilderness left somewhere on Earth was an illusion.

"There's no place you can go where you don't see negative human impact," Nancy said. "We thought, Ohio is a challenge. We decided to work here."

After searching for a potential site, the two began in 1993 with the purchase of one cave in the complex. At the time, they didn't had the resources to purchase the main cave complex, the tourist attraction run by various families since the late 1800s.

In 1995, the two formed a non-profit with a small group to undertake the purchase of 47 acres near the caves. They sold the restaurant business in 2004.

"Our first vocations taught us about the land and teaching," Nancy said. "Our second vocation taught us the more real world of business, networking and human relations."

Saving 'hot spots' in the Arc of Appalachia

Today, the Henrys and 200 volunteers manage 38 parcels — ranging from a half-acre to 310 acres — valued at $5.6 million.

Help has come from countless small donations, as well as the Ohio Division of Natural Areas and Preserves, a Clean Ohio grant from the state, and a loan from the worldwide conservation group Nature Conservancy.

While the Henrys have concentrated on Rocky Fork, their efforts have extended into what they call the Arc of Appalachia, a 90-mile crescent on the leading edge of the Appalachian foothills that extends south to the Ohio River. It's an area of the state's deepest forests and greatest diversity of plants and animals.

The Henrys focus on botanical and zoological "hot spots," places of rare orchids and other wildflowers, animals and landscapes that need saving. The holdings include nine homes, four of which the Henrys have turned into retreats and lodges available for overnight stays.

They count among their proudest accomplishments the securing of a 54-acre parcel in Scioto County that is home to the largest population of the gold star lily, a state endangered plant.

In Adams County, the non-profit purchased a 250-acre tract on the bluffs of the Ohio River partially surrounded by the Shawnee State Forest. Bobcats are on the land, as are timber rattlesnakes.

But 7 Caves is home to plants that are called glacial relics, said Horton Hobbs III, a professor of biology at Wittenberg University who wrote a scholarly paper on the caves.

The deep gorge creates a micro-climate that allows colder climate plants to survive in Ohio.

"It's a unique spot in the state," Hobbs said. He said he hopes the Henrys succeed.

Larry Henry said that if all goes according to plan, the caves would be open to the public on May 1 and stay open every weekend through October.

Contact Steve Bennish at 225-7407.

Article: http://www.daytondailynews.com/localnew ... caves.html

[Andy]

Rob Boley, a board member of the Highlands Nature Sanctuary, will be speaking about Ohio's Seven Caves at the January 8, 2006 Dayton Underground Grotto meeting. All are welcome to attend. DUG meets at Roger Brucker's house in Beavercreek, OH. A map and directions can be found at http://www.dugcaves.com.

Andy Niekamp

[batrotter]

I have kayaked down Rocky Fork numerous times when the water is up. It is a beutiful place. I've never visited 7 Caves though. I wonder how much passage they have in them? Some parts of Ohio such as Hocking Hills don't know what a cave is. They are mostly rock shelters, not true caves.

[Ron Fulcher]

The caves are smaller than what most of us are used to but, you can get into a "dark region" in some of them. For the most part, you can see still see the entrance from the back of them. There is a great hike that leads you from one to the next and that is probably the best part of the experience! I will be down by them soon to check in with some customers in the area.

Ron Fulcher
NSS 44706RL