Jim Jacobs
Well, as usual our November meeting took place the first week of December,and we elected officers for the next year. The hardest working member of thegrotto, John Marquart of Charleston, IL, will now take a well-deserved turn aspresident. Our new vice president is Beth Reinke from Champaign. A rather newNNG member, Beth quickly showed that she has the kind of interest, enthusiamand ability that is necessary for a good grotto member and officer. Jim Jacobswill be reinstalled as secretary after a turn as grotto treasurer. Julie Angelwill take over as treasurer (as soon as she can figure out Jim's treasurycomputer spreadsheet.) Julie is a two-year grotto member, and from thebeginning, plunged head-first into all of the grotto activities with unboundedenthusiasm. Our new Executive Committee Member-at-large, Norm Rogers, is, ofcourse, our old president. His contributions to the NNG have been welldocumented. I'm sure that our new officers will bring their own styles to theirrespective jobs, and help to keep our thriving grotto refreshed and growing. Ofcourse, Brian Braye and I will continue as co-editors of the NNN, with JohnMarquart as science editor. These are committee assignments rather thanelective offices.
NSS DUES TO RISE
According to Evelyn Bradshaw, Internal Organizations Chair, the NSS Board ofGovernors voted at their last meeting to increase the dues for the first timein quite a few years. [It's the first time since I've been a member-Ed.] Althoughthis increase is effective January 1, 1996, special deals have been offered toencourage long-term membership and new members. Current members can sign up forLife, Sustaining Life, or three-year memberships at 1995 prices until May 1,1996! New members may also join at 1995 prices until that date. The three-yearpackage will save you $14.00, so take advantage of it! Anyone wishing to takeadvantage of the Life Membership will save $90.00, as it will go from $450 to$540. Dues may be paid by check, Visa or Mastercard.
Although our grotto is a group which is dedicated to cave conservation, itdoesn't hurt to study the bases of our beliefs from time to time. The formalbasis of our cave conservation creed is the POLICY FOR CAVE CONSERVATION of theNSS. It occurred to me that perhaps some of our members have never had thechance to read this statement. Herein is a reprint of that policy, as approvedby the Board of Governors on December 28, 1960.
The National Speleological Society believes: That caves have unique,scientific, recreational, and scenic values; That these values are endangeredby both carelessness and intentional vandalism; That these values, once gone,cannot be recovered; and that the responsibility for protecting caves must beassumed by those who study and enjoy them.
Accordingly, the intention of the Society is to work for the preservation ofcaves with a realistic policy supported by effective programs for theencouragement of self-discipline among cavers; education and research concerningthe causes and prevention of cave damage; and special projects, includingcooperation with other groups similarly dedicated to the conservation ofnatural areas. Specifically:
All contents of cave-formations, life, and loose deposits--are significant forits enjoyment and interpretation. Therefore, caving parties should leave a caveas they find it. They should provide means for the removal of waste; theirmarking to a few, small and removable signs as are needed to furveys; andespecially, exercise extreme care not to accidentally break or soil formations,disturb life forms or unnecessarily increase the number of disfiguring pathsthrough an area.
Scientific collection is professional, selective, and minimal. Thecollecting of mineral or biological material for display purposes, includingpreviously broken or dead specimens, is never justified, as it encouragesothers to collect and destroys the interest of the cave.
The Society encourages projects such as: establishing cave preserves,placing entrance gates where appropriate; opposing the sale of speleothems;supporting effective protective measures; cleaning and restoring over-usedcaves; cooperating with private cave owners by providing knowledge about theircave and assisting them in protecting their cave and property from damageduring cave visits, and encouraging commercial cave owners to make use of theiropportunity to aid the public in conservation.
Where there is reason to believe that publication of cave locations willlead to vandalism before adequate protection can be established, the Societywill oppose such publication.
It is the duty of every Society member to take personal responsibility forspreading a consciousness of the cave conservation problem to each potentialuser of caves. Without this, the beauty and value of our caves will not longremain with us.
Our JANUARY MEETING will take place on FRIDAY, THE 26TH AT 7:OO. This is ourpublic meeting, and John Marquart will present his famous show, CAVES ANDCAVING - SPELEOLOGY: An Introduction to the Chemistry, Geology, and Ecology ofCaves. Let's have a BIG turnout!! If you have not yet paid, please bring orsend your DUES!
PART II-STATE-BY STATE TRENDS
John R. Marquart, Ph.D.
Department of Chemistry
Eastern Illinois University, Charleston, IL 61920
In this article I will give data concerning the populations of endangeredIndiana bat (Myotis sodalis) in the 11 states which still seem to havepopulations: Alabama, Arkansas, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Missouri, NewYork, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Virginia, and West Virginia. I will also attemptto use the limited data that I possess to predict whether each state is showinggains or losses in these populations.
The 1960s and 1970s saw huge losses with populations starting in thehundreds of thousands, dropping to near extinction. For example, Mari Murphywrote in an article "Restoring Coach Cave" (Kentucky)[1]: "HundredDome (cave in SW Kentucky), was once the winter home for 100,000 Indiana bats(Myotis sodalis), now one of America's endangered bats. By 1975, however, theirnumbers had plummeted to about 4,500, and in the winter of 1993, biologistsfound only 17. What happened?" The article goes on to describe how apoorly designed gate was installed to keep unpaying visitors out of thiscommercial cave. The altered the air flow and temperature within destroyed thebats. Indiana bats can only survive the winter by hibernating at 40 to 60C (390to 430F)[2]; colder, they freeze, and warmer, they do not become torpid enoughfor body fat reserves to last out the winter. With such a narrow range oftolerance, there aren't many suitable hibernacula[2].
In this article, I will be less concerned with these catastrophic losses of20 to 30 years ago, but rather only with where are we now and where are wegoing in the near future.
In 1994, I wrote "PART-I-THE PROBLEM"[2] of this series in which Isummarized many of the physical and social characteristics of the Indiana batand reasons that it is listed as a federally endangered species. At that time,I promised "PART-II-STATE-BY-STATE TRENDS" (this article). Iapologize for the delay in coming out with Part II. This was largely caused bythe scarcity of data from which to draw conclusions. A significant amount ofpopulation data has now become available, thanks mainly to the 1995 draftrevision of the "Recovery Plan for the Indiana Bat" by the U.S. Fishand Wildlife Service[3]. While this plan has not yet been finalized, it servedas a valuable resource material.
Bats are very much in the news these days and the public is being made awarethat these mammals make important contributions to our human welfare on earthby being the primary natural controllers of insect populations and also bybeing the main pollinators of important plants in many parts of the world.People, like myself and my neighbors, are paying our respects to thesefriends-of-man by hanging bat houses in our yards. These are modest efforts atgood will, but the major problems that endanger bats, unfortunately, stillexist. In 1993, Merlin Tuttle, founder and executive director of BatConservation International (BCI) stated in an article titled "Crisis for America'sBats"[4]: "Some 40 percent of U.S. bat species are federallyendangered or are official candidates for such status". In 1994, PamelaSelbert wrote an article for the journal "American Forests"[5]entitled "Lockout for Bats" about the protective gating of bat cavesin Daniel Boone National Forest, Kentucky. In this article, she quotes JohnMacGregor, an endangered-species specialist, as follows: "The problem hereis that we're looking at the extinction of at least one bat species- theVirginia big-ear - within the next 10 or 15 years if something isn't done tosave the only two major remaining populations....Next to go could be theIndiana bat." Here in Illinois, where I live, we do not have Virginiabig-ear bats, but we do have Indiana bats. My caving colleagues of the NearNormal Grotto of the National Speleological Society and I (1996 President) areactively participating with BCI and the Illinois Department of NaturalResources to do our part to save the Indiana bats here. I am sure that many ofyou who read my article are doing likewise in your own locals and I applaud youeffort.
Many things endanger bats: natural flooding and collapse of caves and mines,poisoning by pesticides and pollutants, loss of habitat by human landdevelopment, etc. The major threat to the Indiana bat is, however, itsvenerability during hibernation. They pack into dense clusters on the ceilingsof caves and mines (as many as 300 per square foot)[6]. How easy it is forvandals to destroy them by the thousands, as has happened in the past. But eventhe well meaning cave explorer, who "loves bats", can destroy them byjust disturbing their sleep and robbing them of the energy storage of theirbodies which is barely enough for them to survive the long winter[2]. As much asI dislike being told that I can't enter a cave or mine, I have come to acceptthe concept that closure of these must be enforced during hibernation months(usually September through April).
Now for the statistics. Federal bat population data is usually given by state,county, and cave or mine name. However, I do not wish to go into this amount ofdetail for two reasons. First, the amount of data entered would be cumbersomeand second, such data tends to give specifics about locations at which thevulnerable bats reside. That much information is not necessary to view the datafor general trends. For these reasons, I have chosen to divide each state intonine sectors. Each is divided horizontally into three regions: north (N),central (C), and south (S) and into three regions vertically: east (E), central(C), and west (W). A given sector is then labeled by the two delineators, suchas NE for north-east, SC for south-central, and simply C for central-central. Iattempted to classify each county as lying within a given sector. The morerectangular states, like Indiana, lend themselves well to this approach, whilestates like Kentucky, which is wide in the east and narrow in the west, posemore of a problem. For this reason, my the sector locations can, at best, betreated as approximate.
In the following table, I amtabulating by state and sector, the number of hibernacula studied, the mostrecent population counts of the Indiana bat (with years when the counts wheremade), earlier counts before the most recent ones when populations seems tomaximize (with years when the counts where made), and my best estimate of howpopulations are changing as of 1995. Of these data, the recent count is themost reliable indication of where the population stands as of now (althoughsome count data are not very current). The column "EARLIER PEAK" isintended to show some trend as to growth or loss from then to now, but must betaken with a gain of salt. It simply adds maximum counts at different locationsoften taken during different years. The Indiana bat is known to changelocations of hibernacula from year to year and even within a given year so thatthis type of statistics would tend to magnify the total populations. Therefore,a comparison of the columns "RECENT COUNT" and "EARLIERPEAK" may be expected to exaggerate losses and underestimate gains.Finally, the column "ESTIMATED 1995 ANNUAL CHANGES" is the mostquestionable. I have tried to look at data for each cave or mine and estimatehow much change might be expected to be occurring as of 1995. Sometimes, I amtrying to get current changes based upon changes that occurred over a decade ormore. I will take a disclaimer, that my statistics are based on the data that Ihave available and with better data I could do better. None the less, I believethat the overall conclusions are worth consideration as showing overall trendsfor a sector and the state as a whole.
* References used are "Recovery Plan for the Indiana Bat"[3],[7],[8],
"Lockout for Bats"[5], "1993 Indiana Bat Census Results"(in
Indiana)[9], "The Biological Resources of Illinois Caves and Other
Subterranean Environments"[10], and person communications[11].
TRENDS BY STATE:
Alabama-Small population of 399 with status uncertain. Last count (1977) isdated and needs reexamination.
Arkansas-Small population of 3,700 appears to be losing about 597 per yearor 16% per year. Colonies need protection and continual monitoring.
Illinois-Small population of 5,052 with relative stability. Protectionprojects are underway.
Indiana-Significant population of 176,561 showing large gains of 6,335/year.Well documented biennial reports from 1981[9]. Protection projects need tocontinue.
Kentucky-Significant population of 55,795 showing losses of 1,813/year. Thisstate suffered catastrophic losses in 1960s and 1970s and seems to still havesevere losses. Needs continual monitoring and continued effort towardprotection, some of which are underway.
Missouri-Significant population of 169,727 with severe losses of 11,728/year.A major hibernaculum (Pilot Knob Mine in SE) with 140,000 Indiana bats has notbeen monitored since 1978. Present status is unknown since it is unstable anddangerous to enter. If it collapses, all these bats may be lost[12] - Missouriis working toward the survival of the Indiana bat, but current losses indicatethat more work is necessary.
New York-Moderate population of 14,180 with significant gain of 1,484/year.Earlier reports had stated that the Indiana bat was extinct east ofIndiana/Kentucky. The reestablishment or rediscovery of eastern colonies isgood news.
Pennsylvania-Small population of 270 with uncertain status. Needsreexamination.
Tennessee-Moderate population of 16,580 with uncertain status. No countswere found before 1983. More frequent counts are needed.
Virginia-Small population of 1,840 with current small gain of 74/year.However, the population seems stable only in the SE. Other sectors sufferedmajor losses in the 1980s.
West Virginia-Small population of 1,840 with a gain of 144/year mostly inthe CE and SE sectors. Most recent data was for 1991. More recent data isneeded statewide.
Nationally-Overall population of 449,875 with serious loss of more than6000/year (1.5% of the total population). More data are needed and more actionneeds to be taken.
Once again, these conclusions are those of this author only and are basedsolely upon the limited data sets of population counts that are available me atthe time of its writing. It was necessary to perform extrapolations of data toattempt to arrive at the conclusions of trends. With better data, these trendswould be better clarified. It is not my intention to berate the effortscurrently underway or planned in any locale. I only wish to show what Iconsider to be a serious problem which needs our continued attention. Yourcomments are welcome by mail or email (MARQUART@UIUC.EDU).
REFERENCES:
[1] Murphy, Mari 1993. "Restoring Coach Cave" in Bats, Vol. 11,No. 3, Fall 1993, pp. 3-5.
[2] Marquart, J.R. 1994. "The Endangered Indiana Bat (Myotis sodalis) -Part I - The Problem", in Cave Conservationist, Vol. 13, No. 5, December1, 1994, pp. 3-7. (Note, I will gladly send reprints of Part I to those wishingit either by mail or by email.)
[3] U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Department of Interior. 1995."Recovery Plan for the Indiana Bat" (draft revision), U.S. GovernmentPrinting Office, Washington, D.C.
[4] Tuttle, M.D. 1993. "Crisis for America's Bats" in Bats, Vol.11, No. 2, Summer 1993, pp. 6-9.
[5] Selbert, Pamela. 1994. "Lockout for Bats" in American Forest,vol. 100, March/April 1994, pp. 45-47.
[6] Gardner, J.E. and Saugey, D.A. 1989. "The Bats of Illinois" inField Museum of Natural History Bulletin, January 1989, Chicago, IL, pp. 6-15.
[7] U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Department of Interior. 1976."Recovery Plan for the Indiana Bat", U.S. Government Printing Office,Washington, D.C.
[8] U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Department of Interior. 1983."Recovery Plan for the Indiana Bat", U.S. Government Printing Office,Washington, D.C.
[9] Dunlap, K. 1993. "1993 Indiana Bat Census Results" in 1993Speleo Digest, pp. 437-442.
[10] Webb, D.W., Taylor, S.J., and Krejca, J.K. 1993. "The BiologicalResources of Illinois Caves and Other Subterranean Environments",Technical Report 1993 (8) Illinois Natural History Survey Center forBiodiversity, (ILENR/RE-EH-94/06).
[11] Glass, W.D., Natural Heritage Biologist for Illinois Department ofResources. 1995. personal communications.
[12] Thorn, Janet. 1988. "Conservation Dispatches" in NSS News,March 1988, pp. 73-75. (cites item from Meramec Caver, November 1987).
| TABLE OF INDIANA BAT POPULATIONS - CURRENT, PAST, AND PROJECTED* | |||||
| STATE | SECTOR | # SITES | RECENT COUNT(YEARS) | EARLIER PEAK(YEARS) | ESTIMATED 1995 ANNUAL CHANGES |
| AL | NE | 1 | 300(1977) | NA | NA |
| AL | STATE | 1 | 300 | NA | NA |
| AR | NC | 7 | 920('93-'95) | 1710('84-'90) | -11 |
| AR | NW | 5 | 2850('92-'95) | 12600('84-'90) | -586 |
| AR | STATE | 12 | 3770 | 14310 | -596 |
| IL | NC | 1 | 532(1995) | 655(1993) | 30 |
| IL | SE | 3 | 610(1992) | NA | NA |
| IL | SW | 2 | 3910('91-'92) | 400(1987) | -55 |
| IL | STATE | 6 | 5052 | ? | -25 |
| IN | SC | 20 | 134954('89-'90) | 166794('75-93) | 8094 |
| IN | SW | 4 | 41607('93-'95) | 42329('89-'93) | -1759 |
| IN | STATE | 24 | 176561 | 209123 | 6335 |
| KY | NE | 1 | 31400(1995) | 140000('62-'75) | -430 |
| KY | NC | 2 | 865('86-'87) | 3680(1963) | NA |
| KY | NW | 1 | 30(1990) | 180(1988) | 0 |
| KY | CE | 17 | 10090('88-'94) | 12940('79-"91) | -350 |
| KY | C | 7 | 9180('87-"95) | 28940('60-'89) | -1194 |
| KY | SE | 4 | 3900('87-'94) | 10870('87-'90) | -259 |
| KY | SC | 1 | 20(1990) | 100(1987) | 0 |
| KY | SW | 1 | 310(1990) | 400(1981) | -10 |
| KY | STATE | 34 | 55795 | 297110 | -1813 |
| MO | CE | 2 | 330(1995) | 18840('75-'79) | -330 |
| MO | C | 2 | 400(1995) | 350('92-'93) | NA |
| MO | SE | 7 | 157986('75-'91) | 205160('59-91) | -4857 |
| MO | SC | 11 | 9831('85-'95) | 170530('62-"87) | -6510 |
| MO | SW | 3 | 1180('85-'95) | 1900('78-'93) | -31 |
| MO | STATE | 25 | 169727 | 396780 | -11728 |
| NY | NE | 1 | 3040(1990) | 2180(1989) | 860 |
| NY | NC | 2 | 4820(1990) | 5090('84-'87) | 199 |
| NY | CE | 1 | 290(1989) | 170(1988) | 120 |
| NY | SE | 1 | 5930(1990) | 5630(1989) | 300 |
| NY | ? | 1 | 100(1991) | 90(1989) | 5 |
| NY | STATE | 6 | 14180 | 18700 | 1484 |
| PA | C | 1 | 270(1987) | NA | NA |
| PA | STATE | 1 | 270 | NA | NA |
| TN | NE | 6 | 7810('85-'86) | NA | NA |
| TN | NC | 1 | 1190(1986) | NA | NA |
| TN | NW | 1 | 460(1991) | 280(1990) | 180 |
| TN | CE | 2 | 7110('85-'86) | NA | NA |
| TN | C | 1 | 10(1991) | 3000(1983) | 0 |
| TN | STATE | 11 | 16580 | NA | NA |
| VA | SE | 2 | 1350(1987) | 720(1982) | 74 |
| VA | SW | 1 | 270(1985) | 650(1984) | 0 |
| VA | ? | 2 | 220(1990) | 4090('86-87) | 0 |
| VA | STATE | 5 | 1840 | 5460 | 74 |
| WV | NE | 2 | 200(1991) | 220('83-'89) | -21 |
| WV | CE | 1 | 5470(1991) | 5140(1989) | 165 |
| WV | SE | 1 | 130(1990) | 80(1980) | 2 |
| WV | STATE | 4 | 5800 | 5440 | 144 |
| NATIONAL | 129 | 449875 | 942438 | -6126 | |
Mark Richardson
psy40008@frank.mtsu.edu
Dear Dr. Biner,
I've caved the big room, dropped large breakdown blocks on unworthy caveweenies, stolen Power Bars from starving children half my size, complained tothe NSS about the language of cavers, used a 900 foot Jesus as a scaling poleand stuffed beserk cave rats into my pants in an attempt to impress women withmore tattoos than I, but nothing could have prepared me for the disturbingevents of last weekend. I was ridgewalking on the Grassy Cove quad looking forSand Hill Cave, when suddenly I noticed that I had come out onto a road thatwas not listed on the topo. Needless to say I was quite concerned about where Imight be, but was surprised to notice a small cabin by the edge of the forest.A woman was out in the yard of the cabin and, when she saw me, asked if I wouldcome in and bust up a schifferaux for her. Well, I felt right sorry for her andwent into the yard, although damned if I even knew what a schifferaux was oreven how to bust one up. The woman went back into the house after giving me anaxe, and not wanting to offend her I looked for something to bust up. The onlything in the yard besides an old truck that was already busted and wouldn'trun, was an armoire, so I busted that up and went on my way. Lets see, wherewas I, oh yes- after that I went with some of the Georgia Tech boyz to find alittle-known pit that was on the Survey although it had never been entered oreven located although it was rumored to be over 300 feet deep and quite virgin.As you know most of the really deep pits in TAG have yet to be discovered andmore are forming even as we speak. Zowie! You're probably wondering where I'mgoing with all of this and I wouldn't blame you if you were so I'll get to thepoint. Muddy ropes. Yea that's what I said, muddy ropes. The Georgia Tech Boyzwanted to use the Tech Outing Club rope which would have been OK by me exceptfor the fact that it was a 300 foot ski rope. I had to walk all the way back tothe truck to get my new PMI Phosphor glow-in-the-dark rope with little batsbraided into the sheath. It's really pretty. While I was rigging a backup ontoa tree those GT Boyz scooped the pit and left, and that's when I noticed thatmy rope was totally trashed. Well when I got home the wife wouldn't let mebring it into the house and I couldn't bear to leave it out side in such asorry state (no, I don't live in North Carolina) so I waited until she was asleepand snuck it into the bathroom. Just as I was about to put it into the tub tosoak, she knocked at the door, ostensibly to use the bathroom. Knowing that shewould kill me if she found 300 feet of muddy, stinky rope in the house, I toldher the toilet was stopped up and commenced to flush it down the toilet a fewfeet at a time. After 35 flushes I got to the end and tied off to a pipe underthe sink and let her in. Luckily she didn't notice a thing and trundled back tobed unaware. The next day she went to work and I started pulling the rope outof the plumbing. Amazingly it came out spic and span! It was just like a newrope! I had discovered an unsung rope washer right in my own house. That's whenthe trouble started. I had pulled out all but 75 feet or so when I heard ascream come from next door. I ran over to see what the problem was and foundthat my neighbor's daughter had been running a bath when some kind of snake hadcome out of the tap. When I got there she and her folks were flipping throughHerbert Zim's Big Book of Snakes trying to find what kind of snake had bat-likemarkings and if it was poisonous. I volunteered to go in and get it and foundthat the water had been left running and most of the 300 feet of rope waswashed back into the tub. I decided that the only thing to do was to pull itback out that side, throw it out the bathroom window, and tell them theirdaughter needed to check into drug rehab. Pull as I might however, I could notget it out of the tap! It seemed to now be caught on something in my bathroom.I told the neighbors I was going home to get a gun and not to go in there, andran back next door to my bathroom where I found my wife, very angry anddistraught. It seems that our cat had discovered the tail end of the rope disappearinginto the toilet, tried to pull it back out, become wrapped up in it, and beenyanked halfway down the commode when I had pulled on it from the other side.Thinking quickly she yanked kitty back out, cut the rope, and called her lawyerto start divorce proceedings. Fine. At least I still had 225 feet of nearly newPMI in my neighbors bathtub. When I got back next door however, I found that inmy absence the neighbors had squirted lighter fluid all over the"snake" and lit it on fire. I just sat down and cried. Where did I gowrong? Signed,
Ropeless in Sewannee
Dear Ropeless,
Obviously you neglected to check to see if your apartment had a directconnection with the septic tank. It sounds like your pipes run over to yourneighbors unit before they go underground. The "draino" method ofrope washing was widely used until several years ago when speleo-vendorsdiscovered that they could transport hose-type rope washers to caving eventseasier than they could take toilets. Bidets were also used for a time by Frenchcavers, but they found that after a few washings the rope would tend to chafetheir petzels. In the future don't bother washing your ropes. Just rememberthat although internal abrasion may be at work, if you don't bounce too muchwhile you climb the sheath will still hold if the core should fail.
Dr. Biner
Next time- Good excuses to use other peoples survey instruments so your owndon't get trashed.
December 1, 1995
Called to order at 7:25 by Vice President John Marquart. Present: JohnMarquart, Brian Valentine, Mark Valentine, Len Storm, Lara Storm, Chris Bell,Beth Reinke, Tim Sickbert, Marty Jacobs, Jim Jacobs, Mark Belding, Julie Angel,Kevin Rasmus, Tonja Fraser, Norm Rogers.
The treasurer's report was read by Jim Jacobs and approved.
John M. summarized recent activities of the Illinois Speleological Survey,noting that a clean-up of Keller Cave has been scheduled for Saturday, March 9,1996, which will be followed by an ISS meeting in Waterloo. Dump trucks andhoists are being arranged. Those of us who have visited Keller know well theneed for this project. The trash which we now have to dodge includes wheels,tires, a baby buggy, a stove and a washing machine. The latter plugged theusual entrance that we used.
John M. updated us on the Blackball Mine project. He has talked recently toDan Taylor of BCI. Roy Powers will direct the gating project. He has nowvisited the site, but his visit came at the last minute and no NNG members wereable to accompany him. The gating is scheduled to begin in May or June, andwill take at least one or two weeks. Weekend help will be welcome. John M.stated that it will be really good experience. Zimmerman Mine (across thecreek) is also a potential gating project.
Brian V. is interested in creating a WEB page for the grotto.
Brian Braye was not present, so there was no report on decals or patches.
Mark Belding moved that the slate of candidates for grotto offices presentedby the nominating committee be elected as proposed. Chris Bell seconded.Approval was unanimous.
Trips to Illinois Caverns were announced by Jim Jacobs (Dec. 9), and MarkValentine (Dec. 16).
Discussion was held on the January public meeting: Kevin R. will contact themedia, Brian B. and Jim J. will design and distribute a flyer, and mail extracopies to others for further distribution. Beth R. will coordinaterefreshments. Any and all are welcome to bring gear, books and pictures fordisplay.
Mark B. discussed building a cave radio for fixing points on the surface topoints underground. He has been in contact with Frank Reid, and intends tobuild one, and author a NNN article on the project, hopefully by the Februarymeeting. Adjourned.
Respectfully submited,
Jim Jacobs
Scott Powers
Dispatch Environment Reporter
reprinted from:
The Columbus (Ohio) Dispatch, Nov. 20, 1995
In some of the deepest, darkest reaches of the Earth, cave insects, fish,shrimp, crawfish and other creatures live remarkable lives without light orsurface air. But many are dying because of pollution generated on the surface.Horton Hobbs III, chairman of the Biology Department at Wittenberg University,said he is alarmed that pollution, siltation and other man-made messes aretrickling into the underworld. The pollution is threatening some rare andsensitive cave creatures and demonstrating the depth of environmental problems,said Hobbs, a cave explorer and expert on cave life.
"Many people say, `Oh, caves, big deal,' " he said. "But ifyou are looking at quality of ground water in an area, caves are a pretty goodbarometer." Hobbs has seen the effects in exotic locations such as Bermudaand Costa Rica and closer to home in Indiana and Ohio, which have hundreds of caves.Many support strange creatures such as eyeless fish. He said problems rangefrom near-devastation of life in caves to increasing traces of pesticides andfertilizers in cave pools - contamination that could yet take a toll. "Myfeeling is that every cave is affected to some degree," Hobbs said."I can't think of any cave I've ever been in, other than a very few, thathaven't shown some sort of human impact."
In northern Alabama's Shelta Cave, which Hobbs has studied since the 1970s,a combination of poor management and the widespread use of termite pesticideson the surface proved devastating. In an effort to close the cave to casualhuman contact, the owners erected iron gates at the entrance. Bats that livedthere didn't like the gates and left. When the bat droppings ceased, creaturesthat relied on them suffered. Undoubtedly adding to the problem wascontamination from a termite pesticide found in the cave pools, Hobbs said. Thepopulations of many creatures plummeted. An endangered species of blind shrimp,once plentiful in the cave, apparently has vanished. "This was one of themost biologically diverse caves in the world," he said.
The Pless Cave in Indiana - another site Hobbs has studied - fell victimapparently to leaking underground tanks at a service station nearby. Life inKentucky's Hidden River Cave all but died because of pollution linked to asurface river, Hobbs said. Efforts have been made to clean up the river, hesaid, and the cave is recovering. The pollution isn't always dramatic - nordoes it need to be to have an effect, Hobbs said. Much of the geology of Ohioincludes karsts - formations of limestone that are prone to underground tunnelsthat channel water. Karsts also are prone to sinkholes, which often can floodcaves with sediment from heavily tilled farms, as well as with fertilizers,pesticides and other surface-applied chemicals. "If you do it on thesurface, sooner or later it will express itself beneath the surface,"Hobbs said.
Toby Dogwiler, one of Hobbs' students, is studying sinkholes in a karst inDelaware County. The senior geology major from Zanesville is tracking theunderground flow of phosphates, nitrates and other chemicals associated withfertilizers. He said he hopes his work provides useful information before developmentpressures in the area become too strong. "We have found some differentorganisms in some of the small caves out there," said Dogwiler, 21."I don't know if they're strictly troglobites (creatures that spend theirlives underground), but that needs to be evaluated and documented." TomPoulson, a biology professor at the University of Illinois-Chicago and thechief scientist for the Cave Research Foundation, said more people arerealizing that what is bad for caves is bad for surface dwellers. Contaminatedcave water means contaminated ground water. If caves silt up, area farmersundoubtedly will lose more sediment than desired. Green strips around creeksand sinkholes can help, Poulson said, as can careful management of sewagetreatment, feedlot waste and agricultural and urban chemicals. The problemfaced by troglobites is that many are highly sensitive to pollution, Hobbssaid. They have evolved to rely on narrow ranges of nutrient and oxygen contentin the water in caves, and those levels can be disrupted quickly by siltationand surface chemicals. They also tend to be low-energy, long-lived creaturesthat continue to accumulate small amounts of pollution without passing it,until it kills them.
Many caves host creatures found nowhere else in the world. A cave in RossCounty, Ohio, is home to a pseudo-scorpion called "Chthonius hobbsi",named after Hobbs. The total population has been counted in the 20s, he said.Other Ohio caves are the only known habitats for two types of cave beetles andone type of aquatic pill bug. None has known populations greater than the 20s."It wouldn't take much to destroy them," Hobbs said.
Jim Kennedy
jkennedy@batcon.org
On Saturday, Nov. 25, long-time caver Dale Ibberson of York Grotto wasinjured during a resurvey trip in Laurel Caverns, a commercial cave justoutside of Uniontown, PA. Laurel Caverns has about 2.5 miles of passages and isthe deepest cave in Pa. at 464 feet. Dale and Jay Reich (also of York) were inthe section above Petit Falls, approximately 1800 feet from the nearestentrance. According to Dale, they had just reconnoitered the section of cavethey were about to resurvey. He was taking the tape out to set a station andstepped down in an area he was just at. The only problem was that what hethought was a one foot step down to a rock turned out to be about two or threefeet. As he fell he turned sideways and landed with his hip hitting a rock. Hecould not stand, and realized and evacuation was necessary. Some (paying)tourist spelunkers came by and Reich convinced them to stay with Ibberson whilehe went to the Visitors Center. There he found caver/employee John Chenger whocalled Patty Kennedy (caver/wilderness EMT/ER-NCRC staff) who intitiated alimited callout to local cavers. Chenger left for Ibberson, taking a small teamto carry in a prepacked Ferno-Washington litter, IRT (Initial Response Team)kit, and field phones, all of which were on hand for such situations.
Within an hour of the accident, Ibberson's condition was assessed, he waswarmed, and packaged in the litter. The cavers (including caver paramedics) onhand (12-15) started the extrication (and had everything apparently undercontrol) when things got a little messy.
About 60 (!) firemen showed up from several different squads. They tried totake over, even wanting to stop the litter so one of them (who is also anewspaper photographer) could take pictures! They even brought in a secondlitter and more gear. No one is sure who called them out. It is obvious thatthey were not in communication with anyone actually involved with theoperation. All-in-all there seemed to be a lack of Incident Command after theoperation was underway. There was not even any type of entrance control, andsome of those firemen may be wandering around in there yet!
I am not bringing this up to criticise what happened, or to second guessdecisions made, only to provide a short accident analysis for everyone'sedification and to stress the need for cavers (especially cave rescuers) tointeract with local agencies. Dale fell a total of about four feet, but histrip was cut short and worse, he is hospitalized with a fractured pelvis. Thiscould have been any one of us.
Mike Fernandez
dzabel@interserv.com
With regard to Laurel Caverns, the scene with the local rescue squadsreminds me of the rescue at Sinking Creek cave during the last NSS conventionin Tennessee. When the accident victim literally fell at our feet, I made theexit to call for assistance. The first on the scene was the local rescue squad.I spent a lot of time trying to delay them from charging into the cave dressedin street shoes and carrying flashlights until competent help arrived. Whenthat occurred, there was an incredible tete-a-tete concerning who hadjurisdiction and who would relinquish what to whom under what circumstances(ability to safely perform the rescue was a minor point). Not to knock localrescue squads, & I realize there are certain legalities at issue, but theycan often delay or aggravate potentially life threatening situations. Talkabout turf wars!
(Reprinted from the NSS Administrative Memo - Dec., 1995)
[Administrative Memo] Editor's Note: While this may seem like a strangearticle to include in a publication targeted for people already in the NSS, Ifind that when I tell people that they should join the NSS, their firstquestion is always, "Why?" I can cite the obvious answers, but Ialways manage to leave out something. With the focus being on recruiting newmembers before the price increase, this may help you convince those fewstragglers. The following is reprinted from the NSS 1996 Catalog:
If you are interested in caves, you belong in the National SpeleologicalSociety (NSS). Founded in 1941, we are a nationwide organization with amembership of more than 12,000 men and women from all walks of life and agegroups. Our members are bound together by our love of caves and desire toprotect the underground wilderness for future generations. We are people likeyou who have joined the NSS to:
--Go caving safely and responsibly
--Help protect caves from accidental or intentional damage.
--Learn about caving activities (in the NSS News) and keep abreast ofscientific studies (in the Bulletin).
--Take part in the Society's annual convention and local events to meetother cavers, share information, enjoy fellowship, and learn more about cavesand caving.
With a broad range of expertise, we can focus on and solve caverconservation problems. Working together, we can bring political pressure onlegislators to enact cave conservation laws and ensure that the caves we useare protected for future generations.
The NSS COMMUNICATIONS NETWORK: Because the NSS exists, cavers in one statecan find out what cavers in other states are doing, and learn from theirexperiences. Members moving to new areas can locate others who are interestedin caving. Map symbols can be standardized. Groups of cave rescue experts canbe available to help in emergencies. Members can learn about possible problemswith caving equipment--before an accident happens!
LOCAL GROTTOS: The NSS is made up of individual members. In many parts ofthe country, these members have formed local grottos or chapters and regionalorganizations. These groups sponsor trips, offer training, teach and practicecave conservation, and generally provide a framework for enjoying and studyingcaves. Most grottos will welcome new members who are interested in caves andcommitted to cave conservation.
SECTIONS: Besides local grottos, the Society has many special interestgroups, called sections, which cover such topics as photography, conservation,vertical caving, geology, cave diving, and cartography. Several of thesesections publish periodic newsletters and sponsor sessions at the Society'sannual convention.