Devils Hole Dive Team
Volunteer Research Divers, Death Valley National Park,
The Devils Hole Dive Team is an all-volunteer cave diving team that supports the work of Death Valley National Park. The team has provided the official census of the endangered Devils Hole pupfish, one of the most endangered species in the world, for the last 36 years. The longevity of the team allows for consistency in the count – the seasoned divers know the census protocols and follow the exact same method every time. The dive team gives the National Park Service and scientists studying the pupfish the most critical piece of information on the status of the species – an accurate estimate of population size. Diving in Devils Hole is limited to the dive team. The current team includes two research divers: Stan Hillyard and Zane Marshall, and four safety divers: Tom Jaskulski, Peter Garcia, Robert Perotti, and Mal Maloney. Additional members are currently in training, including two agency biologists who coordinate research and management of the Devils Hole ecosystem for the National Park Service and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
Native Americans recount an ominous oral history of Devils Hole. Tribal members relate stories of "water babies" ready to swallow children (and perhaps even adults) that stayed at the hole too long. The “hole” is a surface fracture about 6 feet wide that allows entry into an extensive underground cave. The water itself is very warm at 92°F. Small groups of divers have been investigating Devils Hole with scuba equipment since 1950. Divers have been unable to determine the depth of the cave system, although they have reached depths of 435 ft and were able to see another 50 feet further. An adjacent underwater cave system that geologists theorize is connected to Devils Hole is also currently being explored by the team.
Right: The Dive Team in the water.
The Devils Hole pupfish is a unique fish that may have the most restricted habitat of any vertebrate species. The fish is a mere three quarters of an inch long, and is distinctly adapted to the limestone cavern it inhabits. It was one of the first species to be placed on the Federal list of Endangered Species in 1967. At the time, agricultural irrigation tapped into the aquifer that feeds Devils Hole, causing the water level to plummet. A shallow limestone shelf located inches below the water surface functions as the primary feeding and spawning habitat for the pupfish. The population crashed as water levels declined. The fish rebounded following a ruling by the U.S. Supreme Court that returned water levels to a former level. Unfortunately, starting in the mid-90’s, the population once again started to decline, this time without a clear cause.
The Devils Hole Dive Team has been helping the National Park Service and its partners begin to piece together the puzzle that will hopefully one day explain the factors responsible for the observed decline of the Devils Hole pupfish population.