texascavers Digest 29 Mar 2012 15:52:26 -0000 Issue 1522
Topics (messages 19762 through 19773):
Re: Karst Field Studies Registration Deadline Approaching
19762 by: Bill Bentley
yet another LED light
19763 by: Mixon Bill
Bexar County - Subdivisions in habitat of 2 species get feds' scrutiny
19764 by: Joe Ranzau
Pathwrangler Beta
19765 by: George D. Nincehelser
SCAM ALERT! Fwd: VACATION PROBLEM....Mark Gee
19766 by: Speleosteele.aol.com
19767 by: Bill Bentley
19769 by: Allan B. Cobb
19773 by: Stefan Creaser
TSA Spring Convention -SA Road Work
19768 by: Linda Palit
Re: Devils River State Natural Area - Public Meetings - Locations and Details
19770 by: caverarch
Sunday TCMA Breakfast
19771 by: Linda Palit
TSA Spring Convention Program & Details (March 30-April 1st, Boerne, TX)
19772 by: ellie watson
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----------------------------------------------------------------------
--- Begin Message ---
----- Original Message -----
From: North, Leslie
To: [email protected]
Sent: Wednesday, March 28, 2012 1:09 PM
Subject: Karst Field Studies Registration Deadline Approaching
I apologize for bothering you, but can you please forward this message to your
grotto members. These classes offer opportunities for grotto members to learn
more about cave and karst science and techniques, so we can keep expanding the
world of caves and karst.
The early registration deadline for the Summer 2012 Field Courses extended to
April 9, but is still rapidly approaching!!! Don't miss out on the discounted
pricing!
Courses this summer will include:
- Exploration of Mammoth Cave, June 4-10
- Techniques in Karst Groundwater Investigations, June 6-8
- Karst Hydrogeology of the Ozarks, June 10-16
- Cave Archaeology, June 11-16
- Cave Survey and Cartography, June 17-23
- Application of Geophysical Methods to Karst Terrains, June 16-22
Courses may be taken for graduate, undergraduate, or continuing education
credit. Courses may also be taken as non-credit workshops. For more information
about the program, courses, how to register, and instructors, please visit
karstfieldstudies.com.
If you have any questions please contact the 2012 Karst Field Studies Director,
Dr. Leslie North, at [email protected].
"Like" us on Facebook (Karst Field Studies (WKU/Mammoth Cave)).
Hope to see you this summer!
Dr. Leslie A. North
Assistant Professor
Department of Geography and Geology
Hoffman Environmental Research Institute
Western Kentucky University
1906 College Heights Blvd., EST 436
Bowling Green, KY 42101
(270) 745-5982
--- End Message ---
--- Begin Message ---
Another LED light. -- Mixon
http://www.littlemonkeycaving.co.uk/Pages/RudeNora.aspx
----------------------------------------
The winner of the rat race is still a rat.
----------------------------------------
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]
--- End Message ---
--- Begin Message ---
http://www.mysanantonio.com/living_green_sa/article/Subdivisions-in-habitat-of-2-species-get-feds-3432888.php#page-3
Subdivisions in habitat of 2 species get feds' scrutiny
By Colin McDonald
Updated 02:37 a.m., Wednesday, March 28, 2012
In Northwest Bexar County, where the limestone of the Edwards Aquifer
meets the Texas Hill Country, Monte Cristo Developers has started work
on two subdivisions of high-end houses scattered across nearly 200
acres of rolling virgin land, three miles from Camp Bullis.
The developments, which encompass habitat that protects the aquifer
and is critical to two endangered species, including the
golden-cheeked warbler, are the kind that neither San Antonio nor the
U.S. Army wants.
But the city lacks the regulatory power to stop them, even though
construction could hurt aquifer recharge features and drive more
warblers onto Camp Bullis, threatening its viability as a
war-simulation medical training site for Fort Sam Houston.
So the city and the Army are now looking to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife
Service to enforce the Endangered Species Act on private land.
If it finds a violation, the USFWS could make the developer stop
building houses or mitigate for the loss of habitat.
The USFWS said it has started to review one of the developments,
Bloomfield Hills, where roads and three houses have been built, for a
possible violation. Construction hasn't started on the other tract,
Bloomfield Heights.
Gary Mowad, state administrator for the USFWS, warns that developers
proceed at their own peril if they destroy habitat without prior
review by the agency.
In case federal authorities don't act, city attorney Michael Bernard
said he is looking into whether the city has the option to sue the
developer.
For the Army, which has had to restrict training on parts of the
26,000-acre Camp Bullis to protect warblers there, any move to force a
developer to comply with the Endangered Species Act and preserve
habitat would be welcome.
“This is the culmination of what we have been trying to get for four
years,” said Jim Cannizzo, environmental lawyer for Camp Bullis and
Fort Sam Houston.
“They have the developer in the cross hairs and now it is time for
(the USFWS) and the U.S. attorney to force the developer to do
mitigation like he should be doing.”
Protecting the aquifer
The Monte Cristo land, near Babcock Road and Cielo Vista Drive west of
Friedrich Park, is riddled with fault lines, cracks and caves that
connect to the Edwards and Trinity aquifers.
Recharge features like those are so important for the protection of
San Antonio's drinking water that the city has spent $135 million of a
voter-approved sales tax since 2000 to preserve land over the Edwards.
One of its first purchases, for $3.7 million, was the 326-acre
Woodland Hills property, which includes Breathless Cave, directly
downhill from and adjacent to the Monte Cristo developments.
As is often the case in northern Bexar County, both subdivisions have
endangered golden-cheeked warblers, according to surveys paid for by
the developer and the city.
Nearly a quarter of one, Bloomfield Heights, also is considered
critical habitat for the Madla Cave meshweaver.
The small spider is one of the nine endangered Bexar County karst
invertebrates that live in only a few caves scattered across Bexar and
western Medina counties, including Breathless Cave, according to the
USFWS.
Because warblers tend to nest and forage along creeks on steep-sided
slopes, as they do on the Monte Cristo land, preservation of their
habitat also protects water running into the recharge features of the
Edwards, said John Hoyt, assistant general manager of the Edwards
Aquifer Authority.
Protection of the endangered karst invertebrates, such as the
meshweaver, serves a similar role because their existence is an
indicator of water quality, he said.
“They certainly go hand in hand,” he said about protecting San
Antonio's main water source and endangered species.
City approvals
Although development that could harm endangered species and their
habitat is at odds with San Antonio's North Sector Plan, the city
approved both subdivisions because they complied with development
rules, according to Rod Sanchez, director of the Planning and
Development Services Department.
Bloomfield Hills was platted in 2009 for more than 80 lots on about 90
acres. The Heights plan, approved in February, shows 122 lots on 102
acres.
By state law the city can't take into account possible violations of
the Endangered Species Act when it reviews a development.
But under a 2009 ordinance approved by the City Council, developers
have to acknowledge, by signing an affidavit, that in northern Bexar
County they are likely to encounter areas of critical habitat for
warblers and karst invertebrates. The USFWS is alerted about approved
subdivisions under that provision.
The Monte Cristo developments illustrate the effect of the 2009 rule.
Since Bloomfield Hills was approved before the change, the developer
didn't have to file the affidavit disclosing if or when an endangered
species survey was done.
The USFWS said it only recently learned the Hills had been platted.
For Bloomfield Heights, which came after the rule and where ground has
yet to be broken, the developer did sign an affidavit.
It also hired Pape-Dawson Engineers last year to do a survey. It
showed warblers on the Heights land and habitat critical to the
meshweaver, according to documents on file with the USFWS.
That same survey showed that in the Hills, where the three houses
already built are valued at more than $400,000 each, construction took
place in occupied golden-cheeked warbler habitat, according to the
documents at USFWS. A fourth home is almost finished. The Hills has
more warblers than the Heights, according to the survey.
For development to destroy 1 acre of occupied warbler habitat and
comply with the Endangered Species Act, the USFWS usually requires 2
or 3 acres of equal or better habitat be protected elsewhere.
For the meshweaver, mitigation is more difficult because it lives in
only a few caves. For example, the developer of La Cantera shopping
center had to pay to preserve eight caves in Bexar County to mitigate
for two caves that housed the meshweaver and another species and were
damaged by the addition of parking lots.
'Rules of the game'
The developers of Bloomfield Heights said recently they have every
intention of complying with the Endangered Species Act.
“We play by the rules of the game,” said Keith Faseler, land division
president of McGuyer Homebuilders of Houston, which has taken the lead
in developing both tracts. “Bottom line, we understand that when we
develop (Bloomfield Heights) we will have to take that into
consideration.”
Although he said he knew the Heights has endangered species issues,
his company wanted to go through the city permitting process with its
original plan anyway.
He held out that, in the future, the species could leave the property
or become delisted and the development could go forward as planned.
Cannizzo, the environmental lawyer for Camp Bullis and Fort Sam
Houston, questioned why a developer would spend money on such a
project.
“Seems like a funny business model,” he said.
Faseler said he was told by the original developer, Monte Cristo, that
for the Hills all approvals were in place. The only thing left to do
was sell homes.
Faseler deferred questions to Henry Isaac, the founder of Monte Cristo
Developers, based in Dearborn, Mich. Isaac is listed as the authorized
representative for Bloomfield Heights but says he is no longer the
lead on either.
Isaac said by email that the Bloomfield Hills plan relied on a 2006
report by an environmental firm and surveys by SWCA Environmental
Consultants in 1991 and 1995. He said to ask SWCA for the surveys. But
that company would not provide them when asked and said it had no
comment.
“We are not in the business of developing properties that would
violate any local agency requirements,” Isaac wrote in his email.
When the two Bloomfield developments and 2011 survey were brought to
the attention of the USFWS by the Express-News, the agency said it
would review them.
“There is the potential that take could have occurred, and the service
is going to be looking into the matter further,” said Adam Zerrenner,
field supervisor for the USFWS Austin office.
It isn't perfect
For a development to cause “take” of a species and thus violate the
Endangered Species Act, the USFWS has to prove the developer changed
the habitat significantly to impair breeding, feeding and sheltering,
Mowad explained.
Putting in a single road through habitat may not qualify, he said.
But lining that road with houses, as the plan for Bloomfield Hills
shows, so the habitat is gone or is so fragmented the species can't
use it anymore, would be, he said.
Even if a development firm does comply with the city's rule about
acknowledging the Endangered Species Act and files surveys with USFWS
that show the presence of endangered species, it could still destroy
habitat without the agency's knowledge, USFWS biologist Christina
Williams said.
“The reality is that we may have the information that it had birds,
like in this incidence,” she said. “But we have no idea a subdivision
was going in there until someone tells us.”
She said it is now easier to start an investigation because the
developer will have created a paper trail with the city. But the
system isn't perfect.
For Cannizzo, that is maddening.
Last year the Army spent $1.5 million, added to Bexar County's $4.8
million, to buy undeveloped land on the Dierks Ranch in West Comal
County as substitute warbler habitat for Camp Bullis.
As he watches more developments go in around Bullis without any
mitigation being done and more warblers showing up on the base,
Cannizzo can't help but think developers are getting away with
violating the Endangered Species Act.
“It really time for USFWS to step up and enforce the ESA,” he said.
[email protected]
Read more:
http://www.mysanantonio.com/news/environment/article/Subdivisions-in-habitat-of-2-species-get-feds-3432888.php#ixzz1qS7RjRON
--- End Message ---
--- Begin Message ---
Someone planning cave trips might find this of interest. I haven't used it
myself.
http://www.pathwrangler.com
>From their "about" page:
Let's face it, planning an adventure trip or an outdoor excursion is like
herding cats. It is maddening to get everyone and everything prepared.
We've built a collaborative web tool that makes trip planning not only
easy, but fun. The goal is empower you so that your only limitation is your
imagination and sense of wonder. It is used just as easily by professional
guides running recurring expeditions to the Himalayas to just a handful of
avid outdoor enthusiasts planning their next hiking trip in Yosemite.
--- End Message ---
--- Begin Message ---
Texas cavers,
I called Mark Gee this morning and alerted him that he had been hacked and
the e-mail below had been received by me. Mark attended our grotto meeting
last night. He is not in Madrid, Spain. He asked me to send this notice out
to his friends.
This happened to Mark a year or two ago and a Dallas/Fort Worth caver, who
is living overseas these days, fell for it and sent $1,800 to the scamming
crook.
Be aware,
Bill
____________________________________
From: [email protected]
Reply-to: [email protected]
Sent: 3/29/2012 6:42:26 A.M. Central Daylight Time
Subj: VACATION PROBLEM....Mark Gee
Good Morning!!
I'm writing this with tears in my eyes,my family and I came down here to
Madrid,Spain for a short vacation unfortunately we were mugged at the park
of the hotel where we stayed,all cash,credit card and cell were stolen off
us but luckily for us we still have our passports with us.
We've been to the embassy and the Police here but they're not helping
issues at all and our flight leaves in less than few hours from now but we're
having problems settling the hotel bills and the hotel manager won't let us
leave until we settle the bills,I'm freaked out at the moment.
Mark.
--- End Message ---
--- Begin Message ---
I remember Mark being a faily big guy, I was amazed that anyone could mug
him...LOL
Bill
----- Original Message -----
From: [email protected]
To: [email protected] ; [email protected] ;
[email protected]
Sent: Thursday, March 29, 2012 7:54 AM
Subject: [Texascavers] SCAM ALERT! Fwd: VACATION PROBLEM....Mark Gee
Texas cavers,
I called Mark Gee this morning and alerted him that he had been hacked and
the e-mail below had been received by me. Mark attended our grotto meeting last
night. He is not in Madrid, Spain. He asked me to send this notice out to his
friends.
This happened to Mark a year or two ago and a Dallas/Fort Worth caver, who is
living overseas these days, fell for it and sent $1,800 to the scamming crook.
Be aware,
Bill
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
From: [email protected]
Reply-to: [email protected]
Sent: 3/29/2012 6:42:26 A.M. Central Daylight Time
Subj: VACATION PROBLEM....Mark Gee
Good Morning!!
I'm writing this with tears in my eyes,my family and I came down here
to Madrid,Spain for a short vacation unfortunately we were mugged at the park
of the hotel where we stayed,all cash,credit card and cell were stolen off us
but luckily for us we still have our passports with us.
We've been to the embassy and the Police here but they're not helping
issues at all and our flight leaves in less than few hours from now but we're
having problems settling the hotel bills and the hotel manager won't let us
leave until we settle the bills,I'm freaked out at the moment.
Mark.
--- End Message ---
--- Begin Message ---
Hi All,
I hAve a vaCaTion ProLem. I need $$$ to traVel. I am stuck AT hoMe and have NO
$$. pLeaSe senD me $$$ so I caAn go on Vacation. PLEASE! This is not a ScaM.
Allan
P.S. Hey, it’s worth a try!
From: Bill Bentley
Sent: Thursday, March 29, 2012 10:33 AM
To: [email protected] ; [email protected]
Subject: Re: [Texascavers] SCAM ALERT! Fwd: VACATION PROBLEM....Mark Gee
I remember Mark being a faily big guy, I was amazed that anyone could mug
him...LOL
Bill
----- Original Message -----
From: [email protected]
To: [email protected] ; [email protected] ;
[email protected]
Sent: Thursday, March 29, 2012 7:54 AM
Subject: [Texascavers] SCAM ALERT! Fwd: VACATION PROBLEM....Mark Gee
Texas cavers,
I called Mark Gee this morning and alerted him that he had been hacked and
the e-mail below had been received by me. Mark attended our grotto meeting last
night. He is not in Madrid, Spain. He asked me to send this notice out to his
friends.
This happened to Mark a year or two ago and a Dallas/Fort Worth caver, who is
living overseas these days, fell for it and sent $1,800 to the scamming crook.
Be aware,
Bill
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
From: [email protected]
Reply-to: [email protected]
Sent: 3/29/2012 6:42:26 A.M. Central Daylight Time
Subj: VACATION PROBLEM....Mark Gee
Good Morning!!
I'm writing this with tears in my eyes,my family and I came down here
to Madrid,Spain for a short vacation unfortunately we were mugged at the park
of the hotel where we stayed,all cash,credit card and cell were stolen off us
but luckily for us we still have our passports with us.
We've been to the embassy and the Police here but they're not helping
issues at all and our flight leaves in less than few hours from now but we're
having problems settling the hotel bills and the hotel manager won't let us
leave until we settle the bills,I'm freaked out at the moment.
Mark.
--- End Message ---
--- Begin Message ---
Send me your bank details and online password and I’ll put money in your
account…
-Stefan
From: Allan B. Cobb [mailto:[email protected]]
Sent: Thursday, March 29, 2012 10:40 AM
To: [email protected]
Subject: Re: [Texascavers] SCAM ALERT! Fwd: VACATION PROBLEM....Mark Gee
Hi All,
I hAve a vaCaTion ProLem. I need $$$ to traVel. I am stuck AT hoMe and have NO
$$. pLeaSe senD me $$$ so I caAn go on Vacation. PLEASE! This is not a ScaM.
Allan
P.S. Hey, it’s worth a try! [cid:[email protected]]
From: Bill Bentley<mailto:[email protected]>
Sent: Thursday, March 29, 2012 10:33 AM
To: [email protected]<mailto:[email protected]> ;
[email protected]<mailto:[email protected]>
Subject: Re: [Texascavers] SCAM ALERT! Fwd: VACATION PROBLEM....Mark Gee
I remember Mark being a faily big guy, I was amazed that anyone could mug
him...LOL
Bill
----- Original Message -----
From: [email protected]<mailto:[email protected]>
To: [email protected]<mailto:[email protected]> ;
[email protected]<mailto:[email protected]> ;
[email protected]<mailto:[email protected]>
Sent: Thursday, March 29, 2012 7:54 AM
Subject: [Texascavers] SCAM ALERT! Fwd: VACATION PROBLEM....Mark Gee
Texas cavers,
I called Mark Gee this morning and alerted him that he had been hacked and the
e-mail below had been received by me. Mark attended our grotto meeting last
night. He is not in Madrid, Spain. He asked me to send this notice out to his
friends.
This happened to Mark a year or two ago and a Dallas/Fort Worth caver, who is
living overseas these days, fell for it and sent $1,800 to the scamming crook.
Be aware,
Bill
________________________________
From: [email protected]<mailto:[email protected]>
Reply-to: [email protected]<mailto:[email protected]>
Sent: 3/29/2012 6:42:26 A.M. Central Daylight Time
Subj: VACATION PROBLEM....Mark Gee
Good Morning!!
I'm writing this with tears in my eyes,my family and I came down here to
Madrid,Spain for a short vacation unfortunately we were mugged at the park of
the hotel where we stayed,all cash,credit card and cell were stolen off us but
luckily for us we still have our passports with us.
We've been to the embassy and the Police here but they're not helping issues at
all and our flight leaves in less than few hours from now but we're having
problems settling the hotel bills and the hotel manager won't let us leave
until we settle the bills,I'm freaked out at the moment.
Mark.
-- IMPORTANT NOTICE: The contents of this email and any attachments are
confidential and may also be privileged. If you are not the intended recipient,
please notify the sender immediately and do not disclose the contents to any
other person, use it for any purpose, or store or copy the information in any
medium. Thank you.
--- End Message ---
--- Begin Message ---
Hope To see all of you this weekend at Spring Convention!
Just a note that 1604 will be closed from 10pm Friday night until
probably Monday morning. That means you should avoid 1604 and 281
during those hours or expect a mind-numbing delay.
Have a good trip.
Linda
--- End Message ---
--- Begin Message ---
FYI: Public comment meetings to be held around the state
Roger G. Moore
-----Original Message-----
From: DevilsRiverComment <[email protected]>
To: DevilsRiverComment <[email protected]>
Sent: Thu, Mar 29, 2012 10:17 am
Subject: Devils River State Natural Area - Public Meetings - Locations and
Details
TheTexas Parks and Wildlife Department is holding public meetings to present
andtake comments on the proposed Devils River State Natural Area Public Use
Plan.TPWD is welcoming and encouraging public comment regarding recreational
andpublic use of the State Natural Area and its associated river
frontage.Proposed changes and new recreational use will be presented. This is
anopportunity to participate in the proposed Public Use Plan for the Devils
RiverState Natural Area.
Pleaserefer to the Devils River State Natural Area website for general
informationand maps concerning the proposed Public Use Plan.
http://www.tpwd.state.tx.us/spdest/findadest/parks/devils_river/
Thepublic meetings will take place on the following dates:
• Houston — April 10,7-9 p.m. — Houston Zoo, Brown Education Hall, 6200 Hermann
Park Drive,Gate 5, Houston 77030 (Enter through GATE 5)
• Arlington — April 11,7-9 p.m. — Bob Duncan Center, Garden Room, 2800 S.
Center Street,Arlington 76014
• Austin — April 12, 6:30-8:30p.m. — LCRA Redbud Center, Room RBC 108 North,
3601 Lake Austin Blvd.,Austin 78703
• Del Rio — April 16,7-9 p.m. — Civic Center, Kennedy Room, 1915 Veterans
Blvd., Del Rio 78840
• San Antonio — April 19,7-9 p.m. — Central Library Auditorium, 600 Soledad,
San Antonio 78205
Commentcan also be made by emailing [email protected].
Forfurther information, please contact Chris Beckcom, (512) 389-4661,
[email protected] Joe Ranzau, (830) 395-2133,
[email protected]
--- End Message ---
--- Begin Message ---
TCMA will be serving breakfast Sunday morning beginning about 8am,
hopefully coffee sooner. A $5 donation is requested. Since the
evening meal will be catered, I am not sure who will have plates or
whatever. I will have some, but if you can bring your own it would be
helpful. We could still use a couple of cooks for Sunday morning,
also. Breakfast Tacos, Juice, and Coffee will be on the menu.
Thanks!
Coffee will be available at the school Saturday morning, but PLEASE
bring a cup. I have no idea how many people will need coffee, so it
is really hard to provide cups and I cannot bear to buy the weird foam
ones.
--- End Message ---
--- Begin Message ---
*2012 TSA Spring Convention
March 30-April 1st, 2012
Boerne, TX*
http://www.cavetexas.org/events/TSASC/tsasc2012.html
Alright Cavers, its time to get this party started!
The Texas Speleological Association's annual Spring Convention is one day
away and everything is good to go! Come prepared for rain just in case but
Saturday and Sunday should be nice and sunny. All registration is on site
so just come on. (Signs will be set up for registration). Wifi is at
Cascade Caverns and Geneva School of Boerne. There might be a food truck at
Geneva School on Saturday for another function but we can eat there too.
PLEASE NOTE: The presentations will be held at Geneva School of Boerne
(113 Cascade Caverns Rd, Fair Oaks Ranch, TX 78015). Presentations are a
little over a mile from Cascade Caverns, both locations on Cascade Caverns
Road, and you will pass the school on your way to camp.
*Printable Location Map*:
http://www.cavetexas.org/PDF/2012%20TSA%20Spring%20Convention.pdf
*Program & Detail (all the info is here):*
https://docs.google.com/open?id=0BzP7GaKdftjDRTRfNVFKdWtSVjJCYmJUanpsNGU0QQ
*FEES*:
*Registration* (Registration fee includes admission to presentations &
supper on Saturday)
$15.00 Individual Rate per person
$10.00 Child Rate per child 12-16 years old
$40.00 Family Rate (parents & children)
Children 12 and under $free
*Camping*
$5.00 Camping per person/per night camping (children under 16 camp free)
*THE DETAILS....
*
This is an annual, technical meeting with formal presentations from cavers
about cave sciences, exploration, project status and displays in the
Map/Photo Salon. The TSA, founded in 1956, has been bringing Texas
cavers together for over 50 years. Come and meet fellow cavers and project
leaders from around the state. This is a great chance to get involved with
ongoing projects and create future caving opportunities for all.
Don Arburn, [email protected], is facilitating the Photo Salon and Marvin
Miller, [email protected], is facilitating the Map Salon and I know many
are eager to see caver's beautiful talents in the Salons. Deadline for
entries is 10:00 am, Saturday, March 31st at Geneva School of Boerne (113
Cascade Caverns Rd, Fair Oaks Ranch, TX 78015). Please show off your photos
and maps!!
*PRESENTATION FACILITY for Saturday Meeting:* Geneva School of Boerne (113
Cascade Caverns Rd, Fair Oaks Ranch, TX 78015)
-Arial view of facility(park anywhere):
https://docs.google.com/open?id=0BzP7GaKdftjDY0NhYUxVYTJTNnlQNzFXZGE0azM4QQ
-Presentation facility and campground are a little over 1 mile apart and
the road good for a nice bicycle ride.
*CAMPGROUND for Friday-Sunday:* Cascade Caverns (226 Cascade Caverns Road,
Boerne, Texas 78015) http://www.cascadecaverns.com/
-Current photos of campground facilities:
https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10150602639639506.386786.507449505&type=3&l=f86b9393ca
*WEEKEND SCHEDULE: *
*Friday, March 30th *
7:00 p.m. Registration begins at Cascade Caverns
8:00 p.m. Cascade Caverns tour for Cavers, meet at Visitor Center
*Saturday, March 31st *
8:00 a.m. Registration begins at Geneva School of Boerne
8:00-10:00 a.m. Photo and Map Salon submissions due to Geneva School
10 a.m.-4:00 p.m. Regular scheduled tours of Cascade Caverns: (Tours at
10am, 11am, 12pm, 1pm, 2pm, 3pm, 4pm)
*Morning Session (9:30a.m.- 11:30 p.m.) *
9:00-9:30 Diana Tomchick, "Winter Caving in China with the Hong Megui Cave
Exploration Society: Entering the Year of the Dragon"
9:35-10:10 Peter Sprouse, "Cartography of Wide-area Cave Systems in
Quintana Roo"
10:15-10:45 Jim Kennedy, "Recent Progress of TSA’s Colorado Bend State Park
Project."
10:50-11:15 Edward Patrick, "In-situ Mass Spectrometry of Cave Atmospheres"
11:15-11:30 Monica Ponce, "Invitation: International
Speleological Conference on Mayan Caves, Quintana Roo, Mexico, 25-27 May,
2012
*Break & Vertical Workshop (11:30 a.m.-1:30 p.m.)*
11:30 Group Photo by Bennett Lee set outside Geneva School of Boerne
12:00 - 1:30 p.m. Lunch, Salon viewing, and shopping at vendors
12:00 - 1:30p.m Vertical Show & Tell at Cascade Caverns Cave by David Ochel
Bring your most favorite,weird, or useful/useless piece of vertical gear.
Tell us all about it. We'll have the vertical shaft in the cave entrance
rigged to play with it. This is *not* a beginner introduction to vertical
caving. Every interested caver is welcome, but only those who are already
proficient on rope will be let close to the shaft.
*Afternoon Session (1:30 p.m.-5:00p.m.)*
1:30- 2:00pm Mustafa Saribudak, "Main Barton Springs Geophysics in
Austin,TX: Where is all the spring water coming from into the Barton
Springs Pool?"
2:00-2:20 Allan Cobb, "Fun Caving in Thailand!"
2:25-2:40 Ellie Watson, "Logan’s Cave Survey Project"
2:55-3:15 Julia Germany/Gerry Geletzke, "Longhorn Cavern Restoration and
Conservation Projects"
3:20-3:40 Ben Hutchins, "The Edwards Aquifer: A Groundwater Refugium
Supported by Allochthonous Production"
3:45-4:30 Travis Scott/Jerry Atkinson, "Update on Porcupine Grotto
Projects, with an emphasis on Bradford Cave and Harrison Cave "
4:30-4:55 Logan McNatt, "Finding the Deepest Pit in the World:Discovery and
First Descent of El Sotano de El Barro, Mexico"
* -End Sessions-*
5:00 p.m. TSA Business Meeting at Geneva School, directly after talks
6:30 p.m Dinner served at Cascade Caverns Rec Building, bring your own
utensils
7:30 p.m Announce Photo/Map Salon winners & awards at Cascade Caverns
Pavilion
8:00-9:30p.m. Texas Cave Management Association (TCMA) Annual Fundraising
Auction at Cascade Caverns Pavilion-Jim Kennedy, auctioneer
*Sunday, April 3rd *
8:00 a.m. TCMA Fundraiser Breakfast at Cascade Caverns Rec Building
9:00 a.m. TCMA Members Meeting at Cascade Caverns Pavilion
9:00 a.m. Easter Egg hunt for the kiddos, meet at Cascade Caverns Rec
Building
10:00 a.m Cascade Caverns tour for Cavers, meet at Visitor's Center
11:00 a.m.- 4 p.m. Regular Scheduled Tours of Cascade Caverns (Tours at
11am, 12pm, 1pm, 2pm, 3pm, 4pm.)
2:00 p.m. Check-out Time
Please don't hesitate to ask me any questions.
See you soon!
Ellie Watson
TSA Vice Chair
509-899-0007
[email protected]
For Facebook users: https://www.facebook.com/events/312213962130706/
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