Lost River - Karst Information Portal

2007 NSS Convention Guidebook
passage and some of the larger cave rooms in
the state, Sullivan is a significant and sporting
horizontal cave. Years of overuse and vandalism
have taken their toll on the more accessible
parts of the cave; but through the dedicated
effort of hundreds of volunteers including
cavers, scouts, and members of the public who
often had no idea what they were getting into,
the cave has been restored to some of its former
glory.
Surface management goals have included
repairs to the driveway and parking area and
reforestation of approximately 5 acres in two
open fields.
Permission and a key are required to access
the gated cave. A liability release must be signed
in advance for any underground activities.
Orangeville Rise
In 1999, the IKC acquired the Orangeville
Rise. The second-largest spring in Indiana,
the Rise provides a major input to the Lost River
system and is a National Natural Landmark and
a state-dedicated nature preserve. The property
consists of a little over 3 acres of land within the
224
Orangeville Rise from the air. Photo by Richard Fields and Hank Huffman.
town of Orangeville, Indiana. Surface access is
available anytime during the day. There is no
underground access.
The property was a gift from The Nature
Conservancy of Indiana when The Nature
Conservancy recognized that this property
would benefit from the kind of increased
focus and active stewardship that the Indiana
Karst Conservancy could provide.
Buddha Karst Preserve
In 2001, the Indiana Karst Conservancy
purchased the Buddha Karst Preserve. The
property consists of 37 acres of rolling karst
topography containing several wet-weather
swallets, numerous sinkholes, two sinkhole
ponds, and two caves. Buddha Cave was
also featured on the cover of the 1992 NSS
Convention guidebook. This cave has a little of
everything to offer: a large entrance room, some
crawling, exposed climbs, a 20-foot ladder or
rope drop, and a nicely-decorated lower stream
passage.
Buddha Karst Preserve is a state-dedicated
nature preserve and, as such, is subject to