BLM In Belize: Employees Participate in International Assignment Taking Them From Districts of Utah to Caves of Central America

Located just beyond the shared Belizean and Guatemalan border, the BLM team consisting of Savanna Agardy and Kyle Voyles found themselves navigating through thick jungle and looking ahead to the prospect of six days of work mapping one of the largest cave systems in the world with the help of Friends for Conservation and Development (FCD), Department of Interior (DOI) and the International Technical Assistance Programs (ITAP) cave experts.

Spider Monkeys swinging overhead, beetles flying around at dusk, and the alarm clock of parrots singing at sunrise. It sounds nothing like the experience of a typical Utah resident but, instead, a tale from BLM cave explorers that begins with baths in the caves, fresh-flowing water, and nights ending in swaying hammocks.

After waking up to the distinct sounds of parrots and toucans and with the occasional late-night Howler Monkey call, the team got to work in what Agardy describes as “an experience of a lifetime”.

Packing up camp and moving into the unknown Agardy, Voyles and accompanying members from the Belizean Institute of Archaeology (the government agency that oversees all of Belize's archaeological heritage) successfully mapped a remote section of the Chiquibul Cave System (CCS) measuring an approximate mile. While this task seems daunting by itself, mapping wasn't the only assignment at hand: the team additionally identified 50 archaeological features and over a dozen artifacts from 200-900 AD, a time frame known as the Classic Maya Period. 

After learning all they could from the story that the CCS had to tell, it was time that the team turned their focus towards teaching, walking the FCD staff through cave rescue methods with help from Gretchen Baker (DOI-ITAP team member) and Kyle Rybacki, a former BLM employee.   

After a long flight bringing the team back to Utah, Agardy and Voyles continue to work on their findings, with some help from digital technology in designing maps and reporting archeological finds.

All this effort would be futile without help from the DOI-ITAP with the support of the U.S. Agency for International Development/Guatemala, which assists and encourages our teams' continued exploration efforts.

With skies covered by jungle canopies and caves of mysterious heritage still left to explore, visit https://www.doi.gov/itap/opportunities to find out how to get in on the action and experience the unmapped regions of the earth calling to be discovered and questioned.