It protects the entrance to Unthanks Cave, which houses significant biological diversity and a wide variety of invertebrate life.

The cave's streams drain a significant karst area south of the Powell River.

[3] Holsingeria unthanksensis, also known as the thankless ghostsnail, has since been found in additional cave streams in Lee County, with an additional population noted 310 miles (500 km) north in Skyline Caverns.

[4] Additional unusual species found within the cave include a second hydrobiid snail, the Powell Valley planarian (Sphalloplana consimilis), the Southwest Virginia cave isopod (Caecidotea recurvata), and a cave-dwelling carabid beetle.

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