texascavers Digest 26 Feb 2012 06:19:42 -0000 Issue 1506
Topics (messages 19636 through 19643):
cave-diving video
19636 by: Mixon Bill
Members Manual Needs Updates by Friday Morning!
19637 by: R D Milhollin
19638 by: Jim Kennedy
Update on Congressional funding for WNS from Peter Youngbaer
19639 by: R D Milhollin
ASS defunct?
19640 by: R D Milhollin
19642 by: Zach Broussard
Eric Flint contact info?
19641 by: Andy Gluesenkamp
Cave and karst student scholarships from Western Kentucky University
19643 by: George Veni
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--- Begin Message ---
There is a nice eleven-minute video of cave diving in Quintana Roo at www.karstworlds.com/2012/02/mexico-cave-diving-expedition.html
(and probably elsewhere one the web, as things work these days). It
is impressive how well the divers swim among the formations without
breaking them. According to Jim Coke, the cave, discovered in October
2011, is Cenote Muk K'in near the town of Muyil south of Tulum. It is
currently 3980 meters long.--Mixon
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Never play leapfrog with a unicorn.
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You may "reply" to the address this message
came from, but for long-term use, save:
Personal: [email protected]
AMCS: [email protected] or [email protected]
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I think she's serious!
----- Forwarded Message -----
From: Meredith Hall Johnson <[email protected]>Hi NSS,
This e-mail will tell you what you need to do today to be included in the next
NSS Members Manual, what information is needed, why it is important, and who
you can contact.
What Do You Need To Do TODAY To Be Included in the Next NSS Members Manual?
In case you did not understand or heed my last message about the database
"snapshot" being taken tomorrow, what I meant was: if your member info has
changed, update it NOW. Sometime tomorrow will be too late. You might have
until lunchtime if you're lucky.
No, it has nothing to do with getting your picture taken for the Members
Manual. It's the point in time the database info is captured so we can send the
Members Manual to the printer.
What Information Do You Need?
Go to https://secure.caves.org/nssapps/changeinfo.shtml and fill out the form
with your current info. The Members Manual includes your mailing address,
phone numbers, and e-mail address. If you aren't sure what is currently in the
database, write your concerns in the text box at the bottom.
You can even ADD AN E-MAIL ADDRESS! If you don't already have an e-mail address
listed with the NSS, now is the time to add it.
Why Is All This So Important?
Having current data in the database by tomorrow's snapshot means that you will
be listed with correct info in the 2012 issue of the Members Manual. You can
have the thrill of looking yourself up. More importantly, your friends can look
you up!
Adding an e-mail address is also important because the elections for Board of
Governors is electronic this year; you'll get your ballot via e-mail. Yes, you
can ask for a paper ballot, but like the rest of us, the NSS could sure use the
money saved from not mailing ballots.
Who Can You Contact If You Want To Talk With a Live Person?
Call the NSS Office at 256-852-1300. Whoever answers can look up your data and
make sure it is current and correct.
Thanks,
Meredith Hall Weberg
2012 NSS Members Manual Editor
Please forward this to every caver you know!
__._,_.___
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--- Begin Message ---
----- Forwarded Message -----
From: Meredith Hall Johnson <[email protected]>
To: [email protected]
Sent: Thursday, February 23, 2012 9:36 PM
Subject: Members Manual Needs Updates by Friday Morning!
Hi NSS,
This e-mail will tell you what you need to do today to be included in
the next NSS Members Manual, what information is needed, why it is
important, and who you can contact.
What Do You Need To Do TODAY To Be Included in the Next NSS Members
Manual?
In case you did not understand or heed my last message about the
database "snapshot" being taken tomorrow, what I meant was: if your
member info has changed, update it NOW. Sometime tomorrow will be too
late. You might have until lunchtime if you're lucky.
No, it has nothing to do with getting your picture taken for the Members
Manual. It's the point in time the database info is captured so we can
send the Members Manual to the printer.
What Information Do You Need?
Go to https://secure.caves.org/nssapps/changeinfo.shtml and fill out the
form with your current info. The Members Manual includes your mailing
address, phone numbers, and e-mail address. If you aren't sure what is
currently in the database, write your concerns in the text box at the
bottom.
You can even ADD AN E-MAIL ADDRESS! If you don't already have an e-mail
address listed with the NSS, now is the time to add it.
Why Is All This So Important?
Having current data in the database by tomorrow's snapshot means that
you will be listed with correct info in the 2012 issue of the Members
Manual. You can have the thrill of looking yourself up. More
importantly, your friends can look you up!
Adding an e-mail address is also important because the elections for
Board of Governors is electronic this year; you'll get your ballot via
e-mail. Yes, you can ask for a paper ballot, but like the rest of us,
the NSS could sure use the money saved from not mailing ballots.
Who Can You Contact If You Want To Talk With a Live Person?
Call the NSS Office at 256-852-1300. Whoever answers can look up your
data and make sure it is current and correct.
Thanks,
Meredith Hall Weberg
2012 NSS Members Manual Editor
Please forward this to every caver you know!
--- End Message ---
--- Begin Message ---
I thought it would be helpful to post some information about
Congressional and Administrative funding for WNS, just to set some
context for the overall discussions about WNS.
As we reported earlier, the Federal Fiscal Year 2012 budget act ,
which finally passed in late December for the fiscal year that began
Oct. 1, 2011, contained $4 million for WNS in the U.S. Fish and
Wildlife budget. This was not new money, but a Congressional
directive to spend the $4 million out of the USFWS' Recovery funds.
This means that other activities they had been planning had to take a
back seat.
In January, President Obama presented his 2013 budget proposal, and
it includes $1.875 million for WNS in the USFWS budget - again from
Recovery funds. The U.S. Geological Survey budget also includes $1
million for WNS research. We don't have details yet, so the funding
source is unclear. This is the first time that WNS has been
specifically mentioned in the President's proposed budget.
Now, this is an election year, and many Washington observers feel
that Congress will not pass many agency budgets, rather choosing to
operate once again on continuing budget resolutions until after the
November election. This process typically level-funds budgets from
the prior year for short periods of time, until a comprehensive
budget act/compromise passes. This process essentially hijacks the
normal committee review of programs and budgets, meaning testimony
and advocacy efforts can be largely irrelevant.
That said, we are aware that at least some Congressional committees
and staff continue to work on WNS. We are expecting a hearing in the
Senate Agriculture Committee sometime in the second half of March.
In the meantime, and also to help provide context for all the WNS
discussions, a large collaborative of environmental organizations
have produced a lengthy document called the Green Budget for a number
of years. This year's version contains a few mentions of WNS,
including a separate section specifically on WNS. Here's a link to
the entire document:
https://soe.salsalabs.com/o/1/images/GreenBudget2013.pdfThe main
write-up is pp. 12-22 and 12-23 (pp. 247-248 of the PDF). I would
urge everyone to read at least that section to see what is being said
about WNS.
Going back to the $4 million appropriation made in December, we don't
yet have any details on how or when that funding will be used or
distributed. There was a prior Request for Proposals by USFWS for
research projects totaling up to $1 million due Dec. 4, with awards
expected to be announced this month (February) with project start
dates expected around May 1. If history is any guide, the $4 million
will be split between agency management activities, state grants, and
competitive research, but the funds will take up to a year or more
before they hit the street.
Again, my purpose in posting this information is to make folks aware
of the overall context in which WNS responses are taking place.
Peter Youngbaer
NSS 16161 CM FE
WNS Liaison
Cave Softly; Cave Cleanly
For the latest WNS info, check the NSS WNS website: http://www.caves.org/WNS
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--- Begin Message ---
The NSS Internal Organizations committee posted a short list of grottos that
had failed to renew as I/O's with the NSS, and I was surprised to see the Aggie
Speleological Society as one of about 5 or so. The letter sent as the final
contact attempt (after few e-mails) was reported returned as undeliverable.
Seems that a lot of Aggies have been involved in various caving happenings in
Texas lately (CBPS, Longhorn, Deep/Punkin, etc.); just wondering if they all
graduated at once or all moved out of the campus caver ghetto without leaving a
forwarding address. Locklear, this is your neck of the woods, can you report in?
RD
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--- Begin Message ---
Howdy Cavers,
All of our members who were NSS members have graduated and I was not made
aware that there was a problem until we were already removed from the list.
Our officer transition period is approaching in about a month and I will
make sure that the new officers become NSS members so that we can be
reinstated.
I would like to ask that if anyone has any future questions about ASS to
please contact me directly at [email protected].
Thanks,
Zach Broussard
ASS President
On Fri, Feb 24, 2012 at 12:32 AM, R D Milhollin <[email protected]>wrote:
> The NSS Internal Organizations committee posted a short list of grottos
> that had failed to renew as I/O's with the NSS, and I was surprised to see
> the Aggie Speleological Society as one of about 5 or so. The letter sent as
> the final contact attempt (after few e-mails) was reported returned as
> undeliverable. Seems that a lot of Aggies have been involved in various
> caving happenings in Texas lately (CBPS, Longhorn, Deep/Punkin, etc.); just
> wondering if they all graduated at once or all moved out of the campus
> caver ghetto without leaving a forwarding address. Locklear, this is your
> neck of the woods, can you report in?
>
> RD
>
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--- Begin Message ---
Trying to reach Eric
Please share off list
Sent from my iPhone
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--- Begin Message ---
Dear Friends,
Below is information on two student grants, the first supported by NCKRI,
from our friends at Western Kentucky University. Please share this
information with any students who might be interested and see the links
below for more information.
George
-------------------------------------------------
The Western Kentucky University Hoffman Environmental Research Institute is
pleased to offer two new award competitions for karst education.
1. The Nick Crawford Karst Education Scholarship will provide financial
support for one student per year to attend a weeklong course in WKU's 2012
Karst Field Studies program (http://karstfieldstudies.com)
<http://karstfieldstudies.com)%20> as a non-credit workshop or for
university credit at the Western Kentucky University Karst Field Studies
Program. The successful applicant will receive: 1) reimbursement on round
trip travel costs to the course location up to $1000, 2) a waiver of the
fees if taking the course for a workshop ($500) or $500 credited to tuition
for those taking a course for graduate or undergraduate credit, 3) free
shared bunkhouse accommodation at the Cave Research Foundation's Hamilton
Valley Research Station near Mammoth Cave National Park where most courses
are held, or $100 credit toward shared accommodation in the Missouri Ozark's
or New Mexico Geophysics Courses, and 4) a $150 stipend. For an application
and complete information please see
http://karstfieldstudies.com/scholarship.php. The scholarship is made
possible with the generous support of the National Cave and Karst Research
Institute, the Stan and Kay Sides Environmental Education Fund, and the
United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization.
2. Student Research Grant for Karst Groundwater Flow Studies
The Hoffman Institute's Crawford Hydrology Laboratory is pleased to announce
a new initiative to help support student research. The Laboratory will
provide an award two times per year of up to $1,000 each through a proposal
competition to offer undergraduate and/or graduate research support for
fluorescence laboratory products and services used in groundwater tracing
investigations.
Awards will cover up to $700 for laboratory analytical costs, up to $300
applied to dye tracing supplies such as charcoal receptors, fluorescent dye,
and mailing of samples.
Any full-time undergraduate or graduate student enrolled at an accredited
university with an endorsement from a full-time faculty member of that
university. Proposals from high school students may be considered with
additional supporting documentation as described in the application packet.
Applicants are eligible for the award once per calendar year.
Proposals should be limited to projects that can be completed within 12
months from the start of the project. Awards are limited to a maximum of
$1,000 per project.
For application details please see
http://hoffmanworld.org/dyetracing2/?page_id=579.
***************************
George Veni, Ph.D.
Executive Director
National Cave and Karst Research Institute
400-1 Cascades Avenue
Carlsbad, New Mexico 88220-6215 USA
Office: 575-887-5517
Mobile: 210-863-5919
Fax: 575-887-5523
[email protected]
www.nckri.org
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