ELLIOTT ET AL.: THE CAVE FAUNA OF CALIFORNIA 
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Table 23. Conservation status of the top 20 biodiversity caves in California. 
Biodiversity Rank 
Location 
County 
Type 
Owner Class 
Vandalism? 
Gated? 
Access 
1 
Clough Cave 
Tulare 
Cave 
federal 
Severe/ 
restored 
Yes 
Permit required 
2 
Samwel Cave 
Shasta 
Cave 
federal 
Yes 
Yes 
Permit required 
3 
Empire Cave 
Santa Cruz 
Cave 
State 
Yes 
Defunct 
Unrestricted 
4 
Clay Cave 
Napa 
Ash Cave 
Private 
Yes 
No 
Unrestricted 
5 
Lilbum Cave 
Tulare 
Cave 
federal 
Minor 
Yes 
Scientific study 
only 
6 
Transplant Mine 
Tuolumne 
Mines 
federal 
Yes 
Neglected 
7 
Hurricane Crawl Cave 
Tulare 
Cave 
federal 
Yes 
Permit required 
8 
Music Hall Cave 
Calaveras 
Cave 
federal 
Yes 
No 
Unrestricted 
9 
Lost Soldier's Cave 
Tulare 
Cave 
federal 
Yes 
Yes 
Permit required 
11 
Hidden Cave 
Siskiyou 
Cave 
federal 
Minor 
No 
Unrestricted 
12 
Bower Cave 
Mariposa 
Cave 
federal 
Yes 
Yes 
Permit required 
13 
Carlow's Cave 
Calaveras 
Cave 
federal 
Yes 
No 
Unrestricted 
14 
Kaweah Cave 
Tulare 
Cave 
federal 
Minor 
No 
Unrestricted 
15 
Lost Piton Cave 
Calaveras 
Cave 
federal 
Minor 
No 
Unrestricted 
16 
O'Neil's Cave 
Calaveras 
Cave 
Private 
Minor 
No 
Restricted 
17 
Walk Softly Cave 
Tulare 
Cave 
federal 
No 
Yes 
Permit required 
18 
Subway Cave 
Shasta 
Lava Tube 
federal 
Yes 
No 
Unrestricted 
19 
Shasta Caverns 
Shasta 
Cave 
Commercial 
Yes 
Yes 
Entrance Pee 
20 
Poleta Cave 
Inyo 
Cave 
federal 
Yes 
Yes 
Permit required 
Table 24. Ownership of subterranean sites in California. NGO means nongovernmental organizations, 
usually nonprofits. 
Type 
Commer- cial 
Federal 
NGO 
Private 
State 
Unknown 
Totals 
Caves 
10 
436 
3 
56 
25 
792 
1322 
Groundwater 
1 
48 
1 
5 
11 
195 
261 
Lava Tubes 
255 
1 
7 
188 
451 
Mines 
4 
74 
1 
8 
10 
121 
218 
Sea Caves 
1 
162 
242 
405 
Totals 
16 
975 
6 
76 
46 
1,538 
2,657 
California is fortunate to have substantial public lands that provide basic protection to many 
caves. They are managed by the National Park Service, Bureau of Land Management, U.S. Forest 
Service, and various state agencies. Private conservation organizations also provide protection for 
caves, including The Nature Conservancy, which owns many littoral caves on Santa Cruz Island; 
Peninsula Open Space Trust and Sempervirens Fund, which owns several major caves in Santa 
Cruz County; and the Western Cave Conservancy, which owns a cave in Amador County. In addi- 
