Land Owner Relations
Land owner relations is a required topic of most cave diving programs and it’s evolved as cave diving has. it’s easy to take advantage of the ease of access to cave diving sites, especially in North Florida and Mexico. There are plenty of other places to cave dive in the world with varying relationships with land owners and it was outside of these standard cave diving sites where I learned what land owner relations was really about.
I’ve been lucky to have mentors and friends that have opened doors for me that I didn’t know existed. One of these doors was the opportunity to do a familiarization dive in a sump system. This land was privately owned and the cave entrance was right behind the owners garage. In the dry months only a trickle of water exited the entrance and there was a pool in the entrance chamber. In the wet months the entire entrance pumped out water. Dry cavers (a true misnomer because those people are never dry or clean) had done a lot of research in the area and at some point the land owner reached out to cave divers asking for them to move a pipe deeper into the cave because in the dry season he wasn’t able to get water. After forming a relationship – which took literal years – the land owner agreed to let cave divers explore, video and map the system.
I was invited on a dive there. Before we got to the site my friend gave me a very strict and important briefing. It wasn’t about the cave, hazards or tasks. It was was about the land owner. This was his backyard and it took a lot of people a long time to get the privilege to come here. Be polite, respect his yard, and think about the little things (when changing into your undergarments stay decent – even to the neighbors). The only reason we were there was because he was letting us. My friend was especially motivated to keep diving the site because of the friendship he had built with the landowner. It doesn’t matter what or why something might upset the landowner – it’s his right to have opinions and ultimately it’s his land. This was the vital part – every person who was allowed there was representing the local dry caver group, and cavers globally. We were the ambassadors to our industry and our hobby. We weren’t paying to be there. Showing him the videos and the maps – which he loved – was the ticket for entrance. He loved the video and asked for a DVD to show house guests.
The dive was gorgeous. There was incredible dry cave, a significant sump that had big, beautiful passage with clear water that went and went. I only did one dive but I remember the site and the briefing very well. It’s obvious in this case why having a great relationship to the land owner was important. He controlled the access and, most importantly, we were representing more than just ourselves as individuals.
The dry caving community has very specific rules about land owners. they understand the importance of good relations and deal with problems in a political fashion to keep things smooth. People who want to act out and disobey the rules are not accepted into the groups. This comes from years of earning access to caving sites. Cave divers need to have a similar respect for the process.
The dive was gorgeous. There was incredible dry cave, a significant sump that had big, beautiful passage with clear water that went and went. I only did one dive but I remember the site and the briefing very well. It’s obvious in this case why having a great relationship to the land owner was important. He controlled the access and, most importantly, we were representing more than just ourselves as individuals.
The dry caving community has very specific rules about land owners. they understand the importance of good relations and deal with problems in a political fashion to keep things smooth. People who want to act out and disobey the rules are not accepted into the groups. This comes from years of earning access to caving sites. Cave divers need to have a similar respect for the process.
In America, land is owned by people or by the government. Around 28% of all land in the USA is owned by the fed. While government land is owned by the people there is no universal access to do whatever activity we wish on this land. Our activities and access can be limited. We’re not guaranteed access to cave dive just because the county, state, or fed owns the land.
We are extremely fortunate to have private and publicly owned dive sites that are easily accessible in Northern Florida. Those dive sties have owners or management groups. Most of us don’t get to hear those land owners or managers ask for maps or DVDs but they’re people – just like the land owner who let us dive his back yard. When we go to these sites we are representing cave divers. When we leave the site and post on social media with a tagged location, we are representing cave divers.
You have a right to opinion and free speech but when you’re on someone else’s land using their resources you have a responsibility to keep them happy – even at the expense of your ego. We are not entitled to these activities or the access we have. It’s earned.
If things need to be changed at a dive site there is a way to make it happen. For public land it involves working with elected and appointed officials to institute change. Actions of cave divers, even in recent years, has opened tons of caves through these methods. Private land access changes might be more difficult.
Guidelines
For our easily accessed dive sites there are often staff members. Be nice to the staff. Imagine that they can give you a google review instead of the other way around. Make it easy on them. I once heard a diver tell someone “I dive here more than you work here” after arguing over some outrageously arbitrary check-in requirement. That individual working the booth will always remember him as a cave diver. They might assume all cave divers will act out similarly at the slightest inconvenience. Don’t be that guy.
Clean up after yourself. Don’t leave trash at the dive site, don’t pour sorb on the ground, don’t leave used caths sitting out. A park where divers frequent recently told me they were upset that divers kept pouring “stuff” into the trash and it spilled out. The staff assumed it was all divers – turns out some people were dumping sorb at the site. Doesn’t matter who it was, the staff assumed it was something we all did.
Follow the 5 rules and dive conservatively. No site wants liability for people using their land. Many states have laws to protect landowners from accidents during recreational activities on private land but that isn’t an excuse to be high risk.
Obey the site rules. If the site doesn’t allow scooters or solo diving then don’t do those things. The site rules are part of the restrictions we agree to when we access the site. It doesn’t matter how good of a diver you think you are or how arbitrary the rules seem to be, you’re not entitled to the privilege of being there.
Don’t “sneak dive”. I have always thought trespassing was a dumb way to die. Not withstanding the illegality, if a land owner thinks cave divers are just trespassers it eliminates the future possibility of legitimate cave divers getting access. I met with a landowner asking permission to scout her land for caves and she mentioned catching trespassers caving on her land 20+ years prior. Trespassing is illegal and she associated the cavers as criminals ever since. I had to navigate a 20 year negative opinion to get access to ridge walk her property.
Pay the access fees. If there is a charge for access to the site pay it.
Consequences
Losing access is one result of poor land owner relations. There is a track record of sites getting closed to to accidents, personality conflicts and disorganization.
Creating a public perception of cave divers as hostile, ego driven or dangerous is the worst result of poor land owner relations because it causes a snowball effect in site access. Even if there is a 100% chance that a site’s access will be preserved having poor land owner relations will guarantee that the next site won’t be opened.
Remember that you’re representing a larger organization when you cave dive and there is no entitled right to use that land. Cave diving is an earned priveldge – from the certifications to the site access – remember you are a guest on someone else’s land.
