The Vertebrate Fauna of Jenolan Karst Conservation Reserve: Final

tourist attraction for people from Sydney, despite the long journey. Damage to caves increased as
visitor numbers increased, with a dance floor installed in the Grand Arch in 1869 (Gemmell-Smith
2004). Vandalism began to become an issue and Lucas and Imperial Caves had new entrances cut
and then sealed with doors, undoubtedly impacting on the cave environments and the fauna that used
them. By 1872 vandalism had become such an issue that breaking of stalactites became a punishable
offence (Gemmell-Smith 2004). Imperial, Arch and Nettle Caves have been artificially lit since 1887.
One of the earliest land-uses of the Jenolan area was the stripping of the bark off wattles for the
tanning industry (Gemmell-Smith 2004). After this a hardwood mill was set up on Jenolan Caves Hill
(Gemmell-Smith 2004).
The caves and the surrounding forest have
been reserved since 1866 (Cook 1889).
Between 1890 and 1927 significant
developments were added including visitor
facilities, lighting, pathways and the
construction of Caves House. The installation
of lighting was at the time a significant
technological achievement. In 1954 the
Binoomea Cut, a 122 metre long passage was
tunnelled into the limestone in order to allow
one way passage of tourists through the
Orient Cave. The Binoomea Cut enters the
Bat End Chamber, so named as tourists used
to flush large numbers of bats into this deadend
chamber.
Habitat tree – Mt Whitely turnoff. Photo © C. H. Barker
In 1989 management was transferred to the
Jenolan Caves Reserve Trust (a statutory government authority), and the first management plan was
implemented. Prior to this it operated under a model that discouraged scientific investigation in the
show caves (Smith and Burns 2011). The show caves are the main tourist attraction; they have
significant infrastructure (e.g. walkways and lighting) and are heavily visited. Further development and
maintenance of these caves continues to this day, such as the installation of LED lighting in the Orient
Cave. The majority of caves in JKCR remain undeveloped and are only accessible to cavers on a
permit basis or through organised guided tours. In 2005, management responsibility was transferred to
the Department of Environment and Conservation, now the Office of Environment and Heritage.
JKCR contains areas of remnant native forest which are contiguous with the reserves of the southern
Blue Mountains which covers over 1.03 million hectares of the GBMWHA. Historically the forests in the
reserve were protected in order to protect the karst system. As a result, only limited logging has
occurred, with the forests retaining many large hollow-bearing trees which are of high habitat value for
fauna. The caves themselves were ‘discovered’ by a pastoralist and parts of the reserve have been
cleared and grazed in the past. Whilst most of the reserve has not been recently logged, collection of
firewood may have had localised impacts in accessible areas and adjacent to established housing; fire
wood collection was commonplace in the 1950’s (Benson-Inglis 2008).
1.3.8 Adjacent land uses
JKCR is bordered to the east and south
by Kanangra-Boyd NP and is contiguous
with the extensive reserved lands of the
GBMWHA. These areas are managed
primarily for conservation and passive
recreation and are in a largely
undisturbed state.
The majority of the remaining
surrounding lands are managed for
commercial timber harvesting, with
Jenolan SF to the north and private
forestry to the west (Map 1). Exotic pine
plantations occur along the northern and
western boundaries, although Jenolan
SF also contains areas of native
eucalypt forest. These forests are used Jenolan landscape. Photo © R. Nicolai/OEH
for recreational camping, hunting, four-
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The Vertebrate Fauna of Jenolan Karst Conservation Reserve