texascavers Digest 29 Oct 2008 00:07:11 -0000 Issue 634
Topics (messages 9264 through 9275):
OT - Short video made by cavers
9264 by: Joe Datri
Re: ... and Longhorn Caverns Dig, Saturday, Nov. 1st
9265 by: Lyndon Tiu
9266 by: Lyndon Tiu
Jacobs Well Stops Flowing
9267 by: Jules Jenkins
9268 by: George Veni
9269 by: Diana Tomchick
Caving Gear Price Increases
9270 by: Minton, Mark
Bats in the News
9271 by: Minton, Mark
Re: AACT Position open
9272 by: J. LaRue Thomas
bat die-off
9273 by: Mixon Bill
9274 by: Diana Tomchick
Re: bat die-off (UNCLASSIFIED)
9275 by: Pekins, Charles E Mr CIV USA IMCOM
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--- Begin Message ---
Hey all,
This video isn't very caving related, though it was made by cavers and
has a few caving references in it.
I have finally put it on You Tube and thought some of you might want
to check it out.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OIPy1aTk0QA
We made it in only 24 hours and it is starring Gary Franklin, Saj
Pierson, and Sandi Calhoun.
It was directed by Joe Datri, and made with the help of Geoff
Hoese, Aimee Beveridge, Terry Holsinger, Mike Pugilise, Bill Stone, Grace
Borengasser, Wes Schumacher, Saj Pierson, Sandi Calhon, Drew Thompson,
Heather Tucek, Matt Zapitello, Matt Turner, Devra Heyer,
Gary Franklin, Jordan, Don Cooper, Brandon Weaver and Scott Leach.
Enjoy!
-Joe
--- End Message ---
--- Begin Message ---
Longhorn Cavern. There will be a concert in the cave Saturday night after the
dig:
http://www.longhorncaverns.com/schedule.html
November 1, 2008
The Lonesome Heroes
myspace.com/lonesomeheroes
http://www.myspace.com/lonesomeheroes
On Fri, 24 Oct 2008 15:09:58 -0500 [email protected] wrote:
> Also, please consider helping out with the Longhorn Cavern Dig next
> weekend, Saturday, November 1st.
>
> We will be meeting at the visitors' center at Longhorn Caverns State
> Park at 9 AM and caravan from there to the Crownover entrance needing
> to be dug out.
>
> Please bring any tools and equipment that you might think is
> necessary, i.e., shovels, buckets (lots of good, sturdy ones), pigs or
> sleds for hauling dirt down the passageway, pick axes, etc., as well
> as your own water, food, and camping gear.
>
> Lyndon Tiu will have a campsite at Inks Lake SP for those arriving
> Friday night or you may camp at the Longhorn Caverns SP Picnic area
> both nights.
>
> Lyndon will post a note at the Park Office letting you know where he
> is camped at.
>
>
>
> Thanks and have a good weekend!
>
>
>
> Mark Alman
>
>
>
--
Lyndon Tiu
--- End Message ---
--- Begin Message ---
and I forgot to add:
Since it's Halloween, we get to scare unsuspecting tourists in the cave.
Cover ourselves in mud, hide in a corner, jump out and scream when a tour group
passes by ;)
--
Lyndon Tiu
--- End Message ---
--- Begin Message ---
JACOB’S WELL STOPS FLOWING
Emergency
30% reduction in water use called for
Wimberley, Texas
Oct. 27, 2008
Jacob’s Well, the famous natural spring known to be the longest underwater cave
in Texas, stopped flowing for the second time in recorded history on the
evening of October 20th. “ The lack of rainfall and the continued pumping
of the aquifer to serve local water supply has caused Jacob’s Well to cease
flowing,” stated Jack Hollon of the Wimberley Valley Watershed
Association (WVWA) and the Hays Trinity Groundwater Conservation District.
Jacob’s Well has been hovering at between one and two cubic feet per second for
the past several months. The well continued to flow through the drought
of record in the 1950’s and was the primary source of water flowing to the
Blanco River which is also at it’s lowest flow since the drought of record in
1956. Jacob’s Well is the barometer for the health of the aquifer; the well
ceasing to flow at this time is a major environmental event, as it stopped for
the first time in recorded history in the summer of 2000.
Jacob’s Well is the primary source of water flowing from the Trinity Aquifer to
form Cypress Creek, the beautiful stream that rambles through the cities of
Wood Creek and Wimberley. “Losing the flow to Jacob’s Well is a signal
that the aquifer is stressed and we all need to conserve water immediately.
The WVWA is calling for a moratorium on permitting of any new wells or
sub-divisions in the Trinity aquifer recharge zone that sustains Jacob’s Well.
We also request that all water supply companies and individual well
owners move into drought contingency and cut back water use by 30% or more,”
stated David Baker, Executive Director of WVWA.
The Jacob’s Well Natural Area was recently awarded a grant from Hays County
parks and open space bond funds to purchase the 55 acres around the well and to
establish a research and environmental education center. WVWA was founded
in 1996 and acquired the property in 2005. The WVWA’s mission
advocates protecting the water quality and quantity of the area by
promoting sustainable watershed management through community
education, conservation and land protection.
The community’s investment in protecting Jacob’s Well, Blue Hole and Cypress
Creek is
threatened by unchecked development and the lack of authority to regulate
pumping from the Trinity aquifer. Land in the recharge zone of Jacob’s Well
must be protected from any further development. As a community, we need
to stop over pumping groundwater and advocate legislation to mandate rainwater
harvesting for all new development in this sensitive area to preserve Jacob’s
Well and the environmental and economic future of this valley.
--- End Message ---
--- Begin Message ---
I've long suspected that a significant portion of the water flowing from
Jacob's Well is pirated from the Blanco River. In looking at the spring's
and river's discharge records and comparing them, there seems to be a gross
correlation. The effects of daily pumping make the spring's hydrograph jump
up and down so an exact match isn't possible, assuming a significant
correlation exists. A statistical study of the long term record between the
two would be useful to prove or disprove this theory. The pumping is
actually helpful in the sense that it could be used to estimate the
percentage of discharge that is directly attributable to the Blanco versus
general aquifer recharge. However, since the Blanco is spring fed, and those
springs are affected by pumping upstream, the contribution of the river to
the spring at any given time is also a statement on the impacts of regional
groundwater pumping outside the immediate Wimberley area and how actions in
one area affects another.
George
From: Jules Jenkins [mailto:[email protected]]
Sent: Tuesday, October 28, 2008 9:46 AM
To: [email protected]
Subject: [Texascavers] Jacobs Well Stops Flowing
JACOB'S WELL STOPS FLOWING
Emergency 30% reduction in water use
called for
Wimberley, Texas
Oct. 27, 2008
Jacob's Well, the famous natural spring known to be the longest underwater
cave in Texas, stopped flowing for the second time in recorded history on
the evening of October 20th. " The lack of rainfall and the continued
pumping of the aquifer to serve local water supply has caused Jacob's Well
to cease flowing," stated Jack Hollon of the Wimberley Valley Watershed
Association (WVWA) and the Hays Trinity Groundwater Conservation District.
Jacob's Well has been hovering at between one and two cubic feet per second
for the past several months. The well continued to flow through the drought
of record in the 1950's and was the primary source of water flowing to the
Blanco River which is also at it's lowest flow since the drought of record
in 1956. Jacob's Well is the barometer for the health of the aquifer; the
well ceasing to flow at this time is a major environmental event, as it
stopped for the first time in recorded history in the summer of 2000.
Jacob's Well is the primary source of water flowing from the Trinity Aquifer
to form Cypress Creek, the beautiful stream that rambles through the cities
of Wood Creek and Wimberley. "Losing the flow to Jacob's Well is a signal
that the aquifer is stressed and we all need to conserve water immediately.
The WVWA is calling for a moratorium on permitting of any new wells or
sub-divisions in the Trinity aquifer recharge zone that sustains Jacob's
Well. We also request that all water supply companies and individual well
owners move into drought contingency and cut back water use by 30% or more,"
stated David Baker, Executive Director of WVWA.
The Jacob's Well Natural Area was recently awarded a grant from Hays County
parks and open space bond funds to purchase the 55 acres around the well and
to establish a research and environmental education center. WVWA was
founded in 1996 and acquired the property in 2005. The WVWA's mission
advocates protecting the water quality and quantity of the area by
promoting sustainable watershed management through community education,
conservation and land protection.
The community's investment in protecting Jacob's Well, Blue Hole and Cypress
Creek is threatened by unchecked development and the lack of authority to
regulate pumping from the Trinity aquifer. Land in the recharge zone of
Jacob's Well must be protected from any further development. As a
community, we need to stop over pumping groundwater and advocate legislation
to mandate rainwater harvesting for all new development in this sensitive
area to preserve Jacob's Well and the environmental and economic future of
this valley.
--- End Message ---
--- Begin Message ---
As a community, we need to stop over pumping groundwater and
advocate legislation to mandate rainwater harvesting for all new
development in this sensitive area to preserve Jacob’s Well and the
environmental and economic future of this valley.
This morning before work I was supposed to meet with the
representative of a rainwater harvesting company based in North Texas,
as I would like them to install a complete system to handle drainage
problems around our house, harvest the rainwater and install drip
irrigation for extensive vegetable garden beds. Unfortunately he
didn't show up and did not contact me to let me know. If I lived in
the Austin-San Antonio area this would not be a big problem--I'd
simply call up another one of the many companies based in the area and
ask them to give me an estimate. Here in North Texas I have only
managed to identify this one company (based out of Denton) that is
qualified to do the job!
If anyone knows of another company that specializes in installation of
complete rainwater harvesting systems in the North Texas area, please
let me know. I sense a good opportunity for someone to start up such a
business in this area.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Diana R. Tomchick
Associate Professor
University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center
Department of Biochemistry
5323 Harry Hines Blvd.
Rm. ND10.214B
Dallas, TX 75390-8816, U.S.A.
Email: [email protected]
214-645-6383 (phone)
214-645-6353 (fax)
--- End Message ---
--- Begin Message ---
Anyone wanting to get new caving gear in the near future might want to consider buying it this week. The following messages have been making the rounds.
Mark Minton
-----Original Message-----
From: cave-club Discussion List [mailto:
[email protected]] On
Behalf Of Douglas Moore
Sent: Tuesday, October 28, 2008 11:28 AM
To:
[email protected]Subject: Re: [Fwd: New Rope Prices]
The price increases are across the board.
New England Ropes are going up about 15% on NOV 1.
Gonzo Guano Gear is going up about 20% on NOV 1.
Petzl is going up about 11% on JAN 1.
I would expect almost all caving related equipment to go up an average of 12 to 15 percent within the next 3 months.
So I guess lock the prices in and order from your favorite vendors.
-Doug
Karst Sports
-------- Original Message --------
Subject: New Rope Prices
Date: Tue, 28 Oct 2008 10:53:48 -0400
From: Gini Smith <
[email protected]>
Reply-To: <
[email protected]>
Organization: On Rope, Inc.
To: 'On Rope 1'
[email protected]Hello
We are sending this email to our customers who have ordered in the last
few years. We have been advised by PMI that rope prices will go up 32%
November 1.
We will try to keep prices down as much as possible. We currently have
PIT rope in stock at $.65 per foot until current stock is gone. Future
prices of PIT rope may be as high as $.86 per foot. Rope, sport or
rescue, which must be ordered after November 1, will be at the new
prices.
Evidently it has taken several years for rope prices to increase due to
petroleum increases, even though we are now seeing gas prices go down!
If you have received this email in error or in duplicate, please accept
our apologies.
Thanks for your continued support as an On Rope 1 customer.
Gini and Bruce Smith
On Rope 1, Inc.
//For the Serious Rope User//
www.onrope1.com <http://www.onrope1.com>
423-344-4716
ISO 9001:2000 certified
--- End Message ---
--- Begin Message ---
Last week's radio broadcast of Living on Earth had a piece about bats and White Nose Syndrome. <http://www.loe.org/shows/segments.htm?programID=08-P13-00043&segmentID=7>
Mark Minton
--- End Message ---
--- Begin Message ---
Any of you cavers also theater people? Need a job in Fort Worth? My sister, an
actress in NYC, sent this to me. Jacqui
In a message dated 10/23/2008 6:06:33 P.M. Eastern Daylight Time,
[email protected] writes:
Please help spread the word that the American Association of
Community Theatre has a new Field Services Director position open.
Here's the posting:
Field Services Director - American Association of Community Theatre
(www.aact.org, headquartered in Fort Worth, TX) seeks an organized,
creative, self-starter, who enjoys frequent travel, for the newly
created position of Field Services Director. Position is responsible
for membership development, theatre festival and convention
coordination, and direction of outreach activities. Three or more
years experience in theatre, arts, or events management required.
Successful candidate will demonstrate expertise in volunteer
management, program development/execution, and strategic planning, as
well as outstanding communication, organizational, and leadership
skills. Person must be able to work with a geographically diverse
group of people including board members, staff, volunteers, and
local, regional, and national resources. Bachelor degree or
equivalent experience and proficiency in computer information systems
needed. Send resume or questions to [email protected] by December 1, 2008.
Thanks,
-- Julie
Julie Crawford
Act Locally, AACT Nationally: Celebrating Stephen Schwartz
American Association of Community Theatre
1300 Gendy St
Fort Worth, TX 76107
Toll Free 866.Our.AACT (687.2228)
[email protected]
http://www.aact.org
--- Begin Message ---
Please help spread the word that the American Association of
Community Theatre has a new Field Services Director position open.
Here's the posting:
Field Services Director - American Association of Community Theatre
(www.aact.org, headquartered in Fort Worth, TX) seeks an organized,
creative, self-starter, who enjoys frequent travel, for the newly
created position of Field Services Director. Position is responsible
for membership development, theatre festival and convention
coordination, and direction of outreach activities. Three or more
years experience in theatre, arts, or events management required.
Successful candidate will demonstrate expertise in volunteer
management, program development/execution, and strategic planning, as
well as outstanding communication, organizational, and leadership
skills. Person must be able to work with a geographically diverse
group of people including board members, staff, volunteers, and
local, regional, and national resources. Bachelor degree or
equivalent experience and proficiency in computer information systems
needed. Send resume or questions to [email protected] by December 1, 2008.
Thanks,
-- Julie
Julie Crawford
Act Locally, AACT Nationally: Celebrating Stephen Schwartz
American Association of Community Theatre
1300 Gendy St
Fort Worth, TX 76107
Toll Free 866.Our.AACT (687.2228)
[email protected]
http://www.aact.org
--- End Message ---
--- End Message ---
--- Begin Message ---
What's wrong with this picture? from the radio-show transcript
recently pointed to by a post here)
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
GELLERMAN: Well if it's not the white nose syndrome that's killing the
bats, what is it?
KUNZ: Well I've got several hypotheses here.
GELLERMAN: Again, Batman - professor Tom Kunz.
KUNZ: It has to do with fat. And it has to do with insects and it has
to do with other potential reasons why insect populations around the
world are declining. You may or may not know this, but insect
populations - in particular, moths and some beetles, for example in
New York State, a little lady bug beetle is going down the tubes. So
this leads to the hypothesis there's a reduction in the number of
insects that are available to bats during the fall of the year, when
they need that fuel to deposit fat to successfully hibernate.
GELLERMAN: This is still just a hypothesis, just a theory, but one
thing is certain: bats which are critical to holding the population of
insects in check and play important roles in pollinating forests, are
dying in large numbers in New England. And bats in caves could be like
the canary in the coal mine.
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
So bats are important because they control the insect population, but
they are dying because there aren't enough insects.... (And bats in
the northeastern US don't pollinate forests, though some insects do.)
-- Mixon
----------------------------------------------
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 ---
Bill,
This is a classic example of why it's dangerous for scientists to
justify the protection of a species based on it's supposed utility to
humans. Saving the bats should be about saving the bats, not about
what we humans will miss when the bats are gone.
Insect populations can rebound faster than mammal populations. If a
bat population falls so low that it is no longer sustainable, it's
going to be a darn sight harder to get it re-introduced into an area
than it will be for the insects to repopulate the area once their
predators are gone.
Diana
On Oct 28, 2008, at 6:52 PM, Mixon Bill wrote:
What's wrong with this picture? from the radio-show transcript
recently pointed to by a post here)
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
GELLERMAN: Well if it's not the white nose syndrome that's killing
the bats, what is it?
KUNZ: Well I've got several hypotheses here.
GELLERMAN: Again, Batman - professor Tom Kunz.
KUNZ: It has to do with fat. And it has to do with insects and it
has to do with other potential reasons why insect populations around
the world are declining. You may or may not know this, but insect
populations - in particular, moths and some beetles, for example in
New York State, a little lady bug beetle is going down the tubes. So
this leads to the hypothesis there's a reduction in the number of
insects that are available to bats during the fall of the year, when
they need that fuel to deposit fat to successfully hibernate.
GELLERMAN: This is still just a hypothesis, just a theory, but one
thing is certain: bats which are critical to holding the population
of insects in check and play important roles in pollinating forests,
are dying in large numbers in New England. And bats in caves could
be like the canary in the coal mine.
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
So bats are important because they control the insect population,
but they are dying because there aren't enough insects.... (And bats
in the northeastern US don't pollinate forests, though some insects
do.) -- Mixon
----------------------------------------------
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]
---------------------------------------------------------------------
Visit our website: http://texascavers.com
To unsubscribe, e-mail: [email protected]
For additional commands, e-mail: [email protected]
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Diana R. Tomchick
Associate Professor
University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center
Department of Biochemistry
5323 Harry Hines Blvd.
Rm. ND10.214B
Dallas, TX 75390-8816, U.S.A.
Email: [email protected]
214-645-6383 (phone)
214-645-6353 (fax)
--- End Message ---
--- Begin Message ---
Classification: UNCLASSIFIED
Caveats: NONE
Pesticides have been suspected as one of possibly many causes of WNS bat
deaths. In theory, wide-spread, non-judicious pesticide application can
decrease insect abundance, especially if the target insects are crop
pests (which we all know pesticides impact all insect/invertebrate
species). Research has proven that bats eat astounding numbers of crop
pests. So less insects, less bat food, less fat deposited for
hibernation...bye-bye bats. It appears that WNS may be the combination
of several factors impacting the bats at once.
Cheers,
Charles E. Pekins
-----Original Message-----
From: Mixon Bill [mailto:[email protected]]
Sent: Tuesday, October 28, 2008 6:52 PM
To: Cavers Texas
Subject: [Texascavers] bat die-off
What's wrong with this picture? from the radio-show transcript recently
pointed to by a post here)
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
GELLERMAN: Well if it's not the white nose syndrome that's killing the
bats, what is it?
KUNZ: Well I've got several hypotheses here.
GELLERMAN: Again, Batman - professor Tom Kunz.
KUNZ: It has to do with fat. And it has to do with insects and it has to
do with other potential reasons why insect populations around the world
are declining. You may or may not know this, but insect populations - in
particular, moths and some beetles, for example in New York State, a
little lady bug beetle is going down the tubes. So this leads to the
hypothesis there's a reduction in the number of insects that are
available to bats during the fall of the year, when they need that fuel
to deposit fat to successfully hibernate.
GELLERMAN: This is still just a hypothesis, just a theory, but one thing
is certain: bats which are critical to holding the population of insects
in check and play important roles in pollinating forests, are dying in
large numbers in New England. And bats in caves could be like the canary
in the coal mine.
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
So bats are important because they control the insect population, but
they are dying because there aren't enough insects.... (And bats in the
northeastern US don't pollinate forests, though some insects do.)
-- Mixon
----------------------------------------------
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]
---------------------------------------------------------------------
Visit our website: http://texascavers.com To unsubscribe, e-mail:
[email protected]
For additional commands, e-mail: [email protected]
Classification: UNCLASSIFIED
Caveats: NONE
--- End Message ---
