texascavers Digest 13 Mar 2012 11:09:56 -0000 Issue 1513 Topics (messages 19699 through 19706):
New US Fish and Wildlife Service WNS Site
19699 by: R D Milhollin
OT - 2 houses for sale in south Austin caver neighborhood
19700 by: Jim Kennedy
Re: Schoharie High School in NY caving country needs your vote
19701 by: Robert Tait
Big Changes to the NSS Web Site!
19702 by: Alex Sproul
Re: [PBSS] monthly meeting
19703 by: Bill Bentley
New bat species...
19704 by: Stefan Creaser
new email
19705 by: tbsamsel.verizon.net
SOS Alliance Helps Quadruple Critical Habitat for Endangered Cave Critters :
19706 by: JerryAtkin.aol.com
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--- Begin Message ---Forwarded from Peter: Breaking News: The USFWS has launched its new WNS website, http://whitenosesyndrome.org The format is user-friendly, and the general public will find a wealth of information. A quick perusal shows that it does not contain as much information as the former USFWS page, particularly in the research and grants area, and there are no updates to the caving advisory nor the decon protocols. Thanks, 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 ---Just FYI, I was on my way to my new place this afternoon and noticed a couple more "For Sale" signs up nearby in the 78745 neighborhood. If anyone is looking at buying a house soon near other cavers (me and Gill), you might want to check these out. 5504 Hummingbird Lane, 3/1, 1165 square feet, 0.2 acres http://www.realtyaustin.com/idx/homes/texas/austin/78745/5504-humming-bird-ln/6824329.html 505 Ramble Lane, 3/2.5, 1484 square feet, 0.2 acres with garage. http://www.realtyaustin.com/idx/homes/texas/austin/78745/505-ramble-ln/6891035.html -- Crash<<attachment: winmail.dat>>
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--- Begin Message ---Ernst - Thanks for the post. Schoharie is just down the road from me, and the town was pretty much washed away by the flood. I was in Canada when the storm hit, and drove back to Schenectady through the aftermath. The trip took 4 hours longer, because of road closings and washouts. At 3:AM as I navigated my way closer closer to my home, slipping past barricades, trying to find a way to cross the river, I had vision of Apocalypse films, where entire cities have been cordoned off to prevent the plague from spreading, or to hide the presence of alien invaders. It was spooky.. Power was out in may places, and it was dead quiet.I found out the next day there was a curfew, because of the emergency, which explains why it was so quiet., . And Yah, the caving up here is great, but I do miss those warmer Texas caves.. And the warm Texas Cavers.. The contest closes tomorrow (Monday) at midnight.. If you have not done so, it takes less than a minute to register (email and zip code), and vote. Schoharie is in the lead, but it would be nice to keep it that way. Cheers Rob, form update NY On Thu, Mar 1, 2012 at 10:57 AM, Ernst H. Kastning <[email protected]> wrote: > Dear Texas Cavers, > > Schoharie County in upstate New York is the prime caving area in the > northeastern region (NRO-NSS). The county was hit badly by Hurricane Irene > in 2011. NRO Cavers have contributed a great deal so far in physical help > with the clean up and in fundraising. The NRO caving community has fostered > a wonderful relationship with the local folks over the years and especially > now in responding to their needs. For example the Fall NRO meet saw many > cavers helping in the cleanup rather than going caving that weekend. > Additionally, last weekend the NRO and Howe Caverns sponsored a special > off-tour caving trip at Howe Caverns for cavers that raised over $2100. > > You may have attended the 1991 NSS Convention in Cobleskill, New York. That > was in Schoharie County. Also, Schoharie is home to Speleobooks and Emily > and Mike are highly involved in helping the local folks in their time of > need. > > Here is how cavers can help the small county high school in their efforts to > help the community. Please read the email below and cast your vote. We can > make a difference. This is a national contest, open to public voting. > Check out the 12 videos on the site and especially the one by the Schoharie > High School students. There is not a finalist from a Texas school, so Texas > cavers should have no conflict of interest. > > Thanks, > > Ernst Kastning > > > > > ------ Forwarded Message > From: Chuck Porter <[email protected]> > Reply-To: <[email protected]> > Date: Thu, 1 Mar 2012 09:38:32 -0500 > To: <[email protected]>, <[email protected]> > Subject: [NRO-NSS] Fwd: Schoharie High School > > Schoharie is still ahead; help keep it that way. > > Chuck > > Begin forwarded message: > > > A message from a friend that I think it would be great if we could all > support > > > This is very important for a local high school. As you know Schoharie > suffered terribly last fall in that flood. Samsung has sponsored a contest > for high schools - 1500 schools entered and 12 were selected as finalists > for the People's Choice Award. Schoharie high school is one of them. Each > school made a video of a science project - Schoharie is testing the soil > to see if the farmers can plant again where the flood hit or if the soil is > contaminated. > > Please go to www.samsung.com/solvefortomorrow > <http://www.samsung.com/solvefortomorrow> to vote for Schoharie. Right now > it is a tight race between a California school and Schoharie. > None of the other schools are close. You can vote once a day until March > 12th. The first time you vote, you may get a window asking that you confirm > your e-mail address. If it doesn't seem to work, you will get an e-mail > back asking you to confirm and then each day afterwards, there will be no > problem. > > There is a great deal of money involved and it would be great > if little Schoharie High School could win. > > I have been checking the results and we are losing ground - CA > is catching up to Schoharie. Someone checked and the CA school is very > large and affluent and Schoharie is only 850 kids and the equipment they > would receive would mean a great deal to them. > > Please, please take the minute each day to vote. > > Ruby Gold > > -- > > > > -- > You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups > "Northeastern Regional Organization of the NSS" group. > To post to this group, send email to [email protected]. > To unsubscribe from this group, send email to > [email protected]. > For more options, visit this group at > http://groups.google.com/group/nro-nss?hl=en. > > > ------ End of Forwarded Message
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--- Begin Message ---We're pleased to announce that the NSS Web site is getting some major improvements on March 12th. The home page has been simplified by moving all links that pertain only to members to a separate MEMBERS page, which will incorporate information previously located on the "NSS Business" pages. You'll find it easier and more straightforward to navigate, and an internal search function will soon be added. As you've perhaps noticed, the login system has already been improved; instead of protecting just the front door, it secures our internal business from all directions, including from web bots and search engines. As before, log into the member-only section of the Web site with your NSS number and use your zip code as the password. Why March 12th, you ask? Because that marks the first anniversary of the CavingNews Web site, and we're using that date to unveil a cooperative arrangement in which we host a CavingNews.com widget on our home page, and ask you to assist the site by providing local and regional caving news stories. A third major change is that on the new Members page, there is now an archive of all NSS periodicals -- yes, all, from our inception in 1941! It's not yet quite complete, but will be very soon. You're sure to enjoy this trove of entertainment and information. You can read about these changes more in depth here: http://caves.org/info/Web_Announcement.pdf Or better yet, go to caves.org and explore!
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--- Begin Message -------- Original Message ----- From: Ormsby, Matthew A To: [email protected] Sent: Monday, March 12, 2012 9:06 AM Subject: [PBSS] monthly meeting All, The next meeting of the Permian Basin Speleological Society is Tuesday March 13th, 2012 at 7:00 p.m. We are still at Murray's Delicatessen in Midland, Texas. Murray's is is located at 3211 West Wadley in Midland. We meet in the back room. Come early & have dinner--we have the room starting at 6:00 We will discuss the recent trip to Deep Cave in Carlsbad Caverns National Park and upcoming events like the spring regional at Fort Stanton. Were also looking to plan a few more trips for this spring so if you'd like to go caving and you often have conflicts with your schedule, this is the place to get them resolved. Any and all are welcome! For further information about the Permian Basin Speleological Society contact: Matthew Ormsby [email protected] Jacqui Thomas [email protected] , Bill Bentley [email protected], or Patrick Ray [email protected] PBSS web page: http://www.caver.net/pbss/pbss.html The Permian Basin Speleological Society was founded in October 1983 and was chartered as the 300th grotto of the National Speleological Society on January 18, 1984. The Permian Basin Speleological Society is an affiliated grotto or Caving club with the Texas Speleological Association and the Southwestern Region of the National Speleological Society and supports the cave conservation ethics of the National Speleological Society. PBSS mailing list [email protected] http://caver.net/mailman/listinfo/pbss_caver.net
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--- Begin Message ---...flies into a wall. This is the result ;-) http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2012/02/120223-new-bat-species-vietnam-animals-science/ --Stefan -- 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.
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--- Begin Message ---SOS Alliance Helps Quadruple Critical Habitat for Endangered Cave Critters Friday, 09 March 2012 11:07 Pat Brodnax The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service recently announced _the final designation of 4,216 acres of critical habitat_ (http://www.fws.gov/southwest/es/Documents/R2ES/Bexar_Inverts_FINAL_CH_FR_20120214.pdf) for nine species of endangered karst invertebrates in Bexar County—a major increase from the 1,063 acres initially designated under the Bush administration in 2003. Cokendolpher cave harvestman (photo by Dr. Jean Krejca) The expanded protection is the result of a 2009 lawsuit brought by Aquifer Guardians in Urban Areas (AGUA) and the Center for Biological Diversity (CBD)to challenge tainted Bush-era decisions on twelve endangered species in the Hill Country. SOS Alliance attorneys served as local counsel and helped negotiate _the settlement requiring the revised critical habitat designation_ (http://www.biologicaldiversity.org/campaigns/cleaning_up_the_bush_legacy/pdfs/Settlement-12-18-2009.pdf) , with technical assistance from staff at the Greater Edwards Aquifer Alliance. The nine species benefitting from the revised critical habitat designation consist of three beetles, one daddy long-legs, and five spiders that live in subterranean voids and caves associated with the karst topography of the Edwards Aquifer. Several of the species are known to occur in only one or two caves in Bexar County and nowhere else in the world. The biggest threat to the cave-dwelling species is urban development on the aquifer recharge zone, which destroys habitat by adding pavement and contaminated water to the karst ecosystem. The settlement that SOS Alliance helped negotiate also requires a revised critical habitat rule for three species of freshwater invertebrates that live in four springs: Comal Springs and Hueco Springs in Comal County, and Fern Bank Springs and San Marcos Springs in Hays County. The proposed rule for these aquatic species will be published in October of this year. Comal springs riffle beetle (photo by Joe N. Fries) Under the tainted Bush administration decision on the aquatic species, Assistant Deputy Assistant Secretary Julie MacDonald ordered the removal of subterranean waters of the Edwards Aquifer from the critical habit rule— leaving only small areas around the springs—despite the fact that the primary threat to the species is pumping of groundwater from the Aquifer. It is especially important that the three aquatic species receive comprehensive critical habitat protection in light of the current pressure on the Edwards Aquifer from over-pumping, drought, climate change, and the recent Texas Supreme Court decision (EAA v. Day) upending Texas groundwater law. Species: The nine endangered karst invertebrate species subject to the recent critical habitat designation are: Helotes mold beetle (Batrisodes venyivi), Cokendolpher Cave harvestman (Texella cokendolpheri), Robber Baron Cave meshweaver (Cicurina baronia), Madla Cave meshweaver (Cicurina madla), Bracken Bat Cave meshweaver (Cicurina venii), Government Canyon Bat Cave meshweaver (Cicurina vespera), Government Canyon Bat Cave spider (Neoleptoneta microps), Rhadine exilis (ground beetle, no common name), and Rhadine infernalis (ground beetle, no common name). The three endangered aquatic invertebrate species that will be included in the critical habitat designation rule that will be proposed later this year are: Peck’s Cave amphipod (Stygobromus pecki), Comal Springs dryopid beetle (Stygoparnus comalensis), and Comal Springs riffle beetle (Heterelmis comalensis). Last Updated ( Sunday, 11 March 2012 11:31 ) _http://www.sosalliance.org/component/content/article/1-latest-news/326-sos- alliance-helps-quadruple-critical-habitat-for-endangered-cave-critters_ (http://www.sosalliance.org/component/content/article/1-latest-news/326-sos-alli ance-helps-quadruple-critical-habitat-for-endangered-cave-critters)
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