Why not volunteer, Fritz? There are several state parks within a short distance of your new home. All of them could use some help. Or, if your knees aren't up to it, get out your checkbook. Parks is only $4M short at this point. Parks has been hit hard but my division (Wildlife) has also taken some big hits lately. We took 20% staff cuts last year and now we aren't allowed to spend any of the money that is supposedly sitting in the coffers. Things are going to get much worse before they get better and we need any kind of help we can get. Andy
Andrew G. Gluesenkamp, Ph.D. 700 Billie Brooks Drive Driftwood, Texas 78619 (512) 799-1095 [email protected] --- On Tue, 1/31/12, Fritz Holt <[email protected]> wrote: From: Fritz Holt <[email protected]> Subject: RE: [Texascavers] new sinkhole drains pond in south Austin To: "'caverarch'" <[email protected]>, "[email protected]" <[email protected]> Cc: "[email protected]" <[email protected]> Date: Tuesday, January 31, 2012, 10:19 AM My comment on the culverts was one of uninformed conclusion. Admittedly I didn’t consider the fire debris but I must wonder what condition the culverts were in before the fires. Had they been asked, I would believe that many would have volunteered to help or do such chores and maintenance in our beloved and (once) beautiful state park(s). Thank goodness the treasured CCC built structures were saved. Texas has many thousands of birders (and not all are senior citizens) and nature enthusiasts who would enjoy working on behalf of TP&W. I am in the process of buying acreage property five miles NE of Dripping Springs which is about 25 minutes from my daughter’s home on 2244. When I drive to Austin it is heartbreaking to see the devastation to the forest and homes just east of Bastrop . It confirms my belief that I never want to be without property insurance. It was not my intent to imply neglect on the part of TP&W employees. I hold them in high regard for doing an often thankless job. Fritz From: caverarch [mailto:[email protected]] Sent: Tuesday, January 31, 2012 9:15 AM To: [email protected] ; Fritz Holt Cc: [email protected] Subject: Re: [Texascavers] new sinkhole drains pond in south Austin Fritz, I imagine that the Bastrop State Park soils, laid bare of vegetation by the fire and no longer held in place by living root systems, was easy to erode, as well, in such a deluge. But while Logan is right that no amount of volunteers could have averted this particular disaster, I think he would also agree that our parks are all deteriorating in a less dramatic but inevitable fashion due to gutting of the state parks staffs and maintenance funds all across the state. Roger Moore -----Original Message----- From: Logan McNatt < [email protected] > To: Fritz Holt <[email protected]> Cc: Texas Cavers <[email protected]> Sent: Mon, Jan 30, 2012 11:47 pm Subject: Re: [Texascavers] new sinkhole drains pond in south Austin Fritz, Joe Datri posted a good photo of the sinkhole on the U.T. Grotto Facebook page. A lot of dirt and rubble in the bottom to be removed. Cavers are working on getting permission to enter. I hope the city or whoever is in charge decides to leave it open, but I have no idea what will happen. Regarding the culverts at Bastrop State Park , the staff is short-handed and dealing with layoffs and budget cutbacks as are most of the state parks. Not to mention the drought and one of the worst fires in Texas history. Even if they had an army of volunteers to clean out all the culverts after the fire, enough pine needles and other debris have fallen that the culverts would have clogged up again very quickly during the deluge. On 1/30/2012 12:13 PM, Fritz Holt wrote: May this sinkhole be currently viewed? Will this water quality pond be repaired or allowed to remain as a recharge circuit to the aquifer? Whether it would have averted the problem or not, it seems the park authorities should have forseen this possibility and kept the culverts clear of debris. Fritz, with hindsight From: Logan McNatt [mailto:[email protected]] Sent: Saturday, January 28, 2012 4:49 PM To: Texas Cavers Subject: [Texascavers] new sinkhole drains pond in south Austin Thanks to Peter Sprouse and Zara Environmental for forwarding this information; original source unknown. The early morning storm of Jan 25th dumped 5 to 7 inches of rain over much of Travis and Bastrop counties in 6 to 10 hours. I didn't see anything in the news about this sinkhole. The huge water quality pond located at Mopac and William Cannon "Shops at Arbor Trails" (inc. Costco, Target, Chuy's etc) went from full to empty during this morning's storm. Over the past year, it was speculated that the pond was leaking. Few storms had tested the pond over the last few months, but this one clearly revealed the issue. The liner gave way (split) to reveal a large sinkhole which slurped down all the water. Musta been one helluva whirlpool. (not cave related) Bastrop State Park got hit real hard by the storm because the fire removed all the ground cover. The old Civilian Conservation Corps culverts had gotten clogged during the long drought, so the water overflowed and took out large chunks of the park roads. See the following link for photos. https://www.facebook.com/#!/pages/Friends-of-the-Lost-Pines-State-Parks-Bastrop-and-Buescher-State-Parks/313894840447 Logan
