Jim Jacobs
The big news: we have some new officers, all of whom have worked very hard for the NNG, even when they held no title. Our new President is Brian R. Braye. Brian has previously served as Secretary, and functions as co-editor of the "News". He has also chaired various committees, such as the "T-shirt/patch" committee and designed the NNG logo. Julie Angel is now Vice President. Julie was Treasurer last year, and participates in nearly all grotto functions. Beth Reinke has moved from Vice-President to Treasurer, and is likewise very active. Tonja Fraser is the only person who is holding office for the first time. Since joining the NNG about three years ago, Tonja has proved to be interested, enthusiastic and a very hard worker. She, like the other officers has participated in the Mammoth Cave field camps, and currently chairs the grotto meeting program committee. I *know* that's a lot of work! Kevin Rasmus and I did it for the first few years. Norm Rogers retains his position as Member-at-Large (of the Executive Board).
We're in good hands!
At this juncture it's appropriate to send out a *huge* vote of thanks to outgoing President, John Marquart. For us, Dr. Marquart was the right man in the right position at the right time. His energy, drive, academic credentials and networking expertise made the final chapter of the Blackball Mine gating project possible. I know that I've mentioned this in previous columns, but the enormity of the task--bringing together all of these various government and private agencies and getting them to talk to each other--just boggles the mind. Thanks again, John for all that you have done.
For the first time in the grotto's history, I won't be filling any office. Hopefully, my schedule will begin to free up in the near future, so that I'll be able to begin participating again.
At the Annual Public meeting on FRIDAY, JANUARY 23, Steve Taylor will present a slide program, "Caves and Caving in the Midwest". Of course, this fine program will be followed by a trip to Tobin's Pizza. BRING PICTURES!
IN THIS ISSUE:
STEVE TAYLOR describes an exploring trip through a Florida karst area.
BETH REINKE reports on a presentation that she did for the younger set.
JO SCHAPER gives us advice on not disturbing bats during their hibernation.
In attendance: Julie Angel, Brian Braye, Dennis Campbell, Tonja Fraser, John Marquart, Scott Meeker, Earl Neller, Beth Reinke, John Schirle, Tim Sickbert, Lara Storm, Len Storm, Steve Taylor, Phil Von De Bur and John Walther. The meeting was called to order by president John Marquart at 7:11 pm.
OFFICER REPORTS:
A correction was made to the minutes of the October 1997 meeting as printed in the November 1997 Near Normal News. Although not present at the October 1997 meeting, NNG participants at the Oct Mammoth restoration weekend included Norm Rogers, Chris Dinesen, Greg Phillips and Beth Reinke. The corrected minutes were approved. Treasurer, Julie Angel reported a current balance of $351.74 in the NNG account. Julie noted that NNG patch sales comprise $135 of the total balance and a $40 bill for our PO box rental still needs to be paid. The treasurer's report was accepted. Julie also reminded us that dues for 1998 are now being accepted and noted that those who have joined the grotto since Aug 1, 1997 are not required to pay dues for 1998. A motion was made and accepted to reimburse the treasurer for the costs incurred to copy the treasurer's reports distributed at the monthly meetings.
OLD BUSINESS:
The election of officers for 1998 took place. Ballot counters, Len and Lara Storm, reported a unanimous decision in favor of the proposed slate. 1998 officers are: President - Brian Braye, Vice President - Julie Angel, Secretary - Tonja Fraser, Treasurer - Beth Reinke, Member at Large - Norm Rogers.
John Marquart reminded us that one of the first things the new executive committee would be doing is reviewing the NNG by-laws for changes/additions.
No additional information was available on the vertical training course being planned for the spring of 1998 (Rich Bell is coordinating this). No additional information on legal advice regarding the waiver of liability forms was available (Mark Belding is looking into this).
NEW BUSINESS:
Julie Angel suggested that the grotto print up generic business cards for use by members in their interactions with the public. She circulated a card being used by the Mark Twain Grotto. Brian Braye will look into printing costs.
It was suggested that it may be time for another run of NNG T-shirts/Sweat-shirts. Brian Braye will look into the cost/logistics of this.
Brian Braye reported that he had several plaster casts (from Don Coons) of a cougar track found in the Black Ball Mine. They are for sale at $5 each.
Steve Taylor reported that the comment period for placing the IL Cave Amphipod on the endangered species list was over. He also noted that he took the photo accompanying the Pantagraph article about the amphipod, but that the photo wasn't of the amphipod in question.
Tonja Fraser asked for the membership's help in coming up with program ideas.
Brian Braye reported that the meeting dates for 1998 have been set and confirmed. The November 1998 meeting will be held in December due to conflicts with the Thanksgiving holiday. It was suggested that we send a "Thank You/Christmas Card" to the bank for letting us use their meeting facilities. Brian will take care of this.
TRIP REPORTS:
Steve Taylor reported on a trip to Mystery Cave, MO - 16 people, two groups, cold! Julie Angel reported on a trip to Ralls County, MO with several members of the Mark Twain grotto - potential virgin cave, neat fossils, vertical practice. Lara Storm reported on a CRF trip in KY - a trip in the Austin entrance and the 25 year reunion of the Mammoth Cave connection team! Julie Angel and Steve Taylor reported on the December meeting of the IL Karst Working Group. One of the main topics of discussion at the meeting was a recent accident at IL caverns and the need for more formal call-out procedures there. Julie Angel reported on a recent incident where a fireman resuscitated a bat at a house fire. John Walther reported on an early Nov trip to IL Caverns - saw bats in the lunchroom. Dennis Campbell reported on two "rookie" trips to IL Caverns. Beth Reinke reported on a cave talk she gave to a 5th grade class in Carmel, CA.
ANNOUNCEMENTS:
Steve Taylor reported that the Fall issue of IL Audubon Magazine has several interesting articles on IL caves. He circulated a copy of the magazine for those interested in obtaining a copy.
Tonja Fraser and Lara Storm will be caving with Don Coons in Hawaii (Hilo area) in late Dec/early Jan.
Articles and photos for the January Near Normal News are due Friday Jan 9, 1998.
Members requested information on the Mammoth Cave restoration weekend planned for Jan 30-Feb 2. Norm Rogers is the contact person for this.
Tonja Fraser asked if anyone had received a letter regarding something called "resource watch" or "cave watch". No one present had received a letter.
The next meeting will be Friday January 23rd. This will be our annual "public meeting". Steve Taylor will present the program. Brian Braye, Jim Jacobs and Julie Angel will coordinate publicity for the meeting. Tonja Fraser and Beth Reinke will organize refreshments.
It was suggested that members make use of the web site in announcing trips. Announcements can be emailed to Len Storm (cfles@eiu.edu) and he will post them. It was also suggested that the web page address be listed in each issue of the Near Normal News.
Beth Reinke passed out updated member rosters to those who needed one.
The business meeting was adjourned at 8:11 pm.
We enjoyed cake provided by Julie Angel to thank John for his 2 years of service as President. Dennis Campbell presented the program: a slide show and talk about a caving expedition to New Guinea.
Respectfully submitted,
Beth Reinke, Treasurer-elect
EXPLORATION: WAKULLA COUNTY, FLORIDA KARST
by Steve Taylor
In December of 1997, I had the good fortune to be invited to spend ten days of the season's holiday with my father at his friend's cabin, located in an isolated enclave of private land within the sprawling acreage of northern Florida's St. Marks National Wildlife Refuge. On the agenda were bug collecting (I had secured the appropriate permit in advance), bird watching, canoeing, hiking, and visiting springs. Because of the shallowness of the aquifer and the proximity to sea level (less than 25 feet throughout the whole area), there are no air filled caves in this area (as far as I know, which is not very far). But the surface karst (epikarst) is well developed in two layers of limestone, and the area sports a number of springs and some subaqueous caves which are well known
in cave diving circles.
I left Chicago-O'Hare amid swirling snow flurries, landing in Panama City, Florida under overcast skies. The following day, we drove to the St. Marks NWR headquarters to pick up my collecting permit, and do some bird watching. While at the refuge headquarters, I picked up a few topo maps of the area. It was a miserable cold, rainy day, thankfully the worst of the whole trip. A few birds could be seen hunkered down in the salt marshes - Great Egret, White Ibis, and Great and Little Blue Herons. That evening in the cabin, I poured over the newly acquired topo maps, entering the coordinates of several springs into the GPS (global positioning system) receiver I had brought along.
The next day (Christmas) was much nicer, and we canoed a segment of
the Wakulla River. This river is of speleological interest, as it receives nearly all of its water from Wakulla Spring - a huge rise pool which puts out an average of 391 cubic feet of water per second (max outflow 1910 cfs). This, of course, results in a beautifully floatable (albeit rather short) river, peppered with a variety of waterfowl, fish, gators, and an occasional manatee (the latter, unfortunately, was not seen on this trip). Along the way, we canoed up a side channel to a spring that was not indicated on the top map, but which released enough water for us to turn the canoe around in the rise pool. This was the first of several springs encountered that smelled of rotten eggs - an indication that the water was ladened with sulfates (and likely also high levels of chloride) and probably came up from fairly deep beneath the ground. Unlike Wakulla Spring, which is the resurgence of a shallow aquifer and is home to many large and beautiful fish, there were only a few guppy-sized fish at this spring. We speculated that perhaps low oxygen levels, high(ish) temperatures and/or undesirable chemical characteristics excluded most
animals from this habitat.
The next day featured a surface hike, in search of a spring that my father had unsuccessfully tried to find a few days before my arrival. We had sought more information at the refuge headquarters and at a state park, and were now equipped with a variety of misinformation: "You can't miss it, just follow the blue trail blazes on the trees," said one refuge employee. A state park employee, who had considerable canoeing experience, indicated that she had spotted the largest 'gator she'd ever seen at the spring (Shepherd Spring), and that it only had one eye. She had canoed up towards the spring from Shepherd Spring Creek (from its' mouth in a saltwater bay), then (aided by someone who already knew the route) bushwhacked up to the spring. Armed with all of this info, and the gps receiver, we tromped through the dry upland (relatively, we were only 15 ft above sea level) woods for several hours without seeing any blue blazes or gators. We found a swamp, and a beautiful palm forest, but no spring.
Losing hope and stamina, we gave up and began the hike back. Shortly, we noticed a small trail leading off through the underbrush. Perhaps twenty yards down the trial we found an orange blaze on a tree, then a couple of blue blazes, then the spring. This spring, with a rise pool some 25 feet across, was quite beautiful, and sported a variety of fish, easily seen through the clear waters. Chain Pickerel, Bass, Sunfish, and even a Blue Crab (which must have wandered upstream from the bay). Fortunately, we didn't see the one-eyed monster-gator. Among other things, I marveled at the fact that such a large spring (with a sizable creek flowing from it) was not indicated on the topo map. In Illinois, this spring would probably warrant it's own state park!
The next day, cold and overcast, we went up to Wakulla Spring (now a state park) to view the rise pool. A steady rain accompanied us, obscuring our view of the animal life underwater. Still, the immensity of the spring was a pleasure to behold. The shops in the park were a disappointment, as they carried very little stuff that actually told you anything about the spring. Instead they were stocked with all sorts of tacky plastic tourist crap. There was no interpretive center to speak of. I did see an outdated map of the cave from which the spring arises. The cave was surveyed by cave divers, including such notables as Bill Stone, Noal Sloan, and the late Sheck Exley. There was also a Pleistocene pachyderm leg bone, but not any information about it or the other discoveries made in the cave.
We left the park in the rain, and drove to a large sinkhole I'd seen on the topo map. 'Cherokee Sink' was a large sinkhole pond. Unlike sinkhole ponds in the Midwest, this one was not formed by the plugging of a sinkhole, but existed because it was deep enough to go down to the water table (close to sea level). This was one of the few spots I saw a natural outcropping of limestone. A variety of beer cans and other debris gave evidence that this spot sees a lot of Friday/Saturday night action.
We left the pleasure hole that is Cherokee Sink, and drove over to check out two springs marked on the top maps. Newport Spring was rather large (the rise pool being some 30-40 feet across), but was little more than an ugly roadside attraction with more than its share of garbage.
Brewer Spring, located just down the road from Newport Spring, was much more interesting. A trail back into the woods lead to an odiferous small spring. There must be a lot of calcite in solution, because all of the stream bottom, and any debris which had fallen into it (leaves, etc.) was covered with a thin, white encrustation. The water smelled strongly of sulfate, and was warm enough to be bath water. A few guppy-sized fish darted about along the margins of the stream, but little other life was seen. We wandered down the springbrook, and found several more vents with the warm, strong-smelling water flowing out. It was a really pretty little spot.
The following day, we canoed out into the saltwater bay by the town of Spring Creek, in search of the fabled Spring Creek Spring. It was a cold morning, with frost on the ground. Right at the edge of the bay was a fierce upwelling, the primary vent of the eight vents which comprise Spring Creek Spring. Though the rest of the bay was quite placid, the current here was incredible. It was only with the most determined of paddling that we were able to get 'upstream' into the middle of the rise pool. It was still early in the day, and steam was rising off of the resurgence. We stopped paddling and were quickly swept away from the vent. Then we paddled up several canals which lead back into the town of Spring Creek, discovering several of the other resurgences. This spring (also not marked on the topo map!) is Florida's largest, averaging a whopping 2000 cubic feet per second!! I was impressed!
The bay by Spring Creek Spring leads up into a salt marsh, and eventually to Shepherd Spring Creek. We paddled carefully among oyster bars (it was low tide, and we were often in only a few inches of water) up to the creek, watching an otter catch fish along the way. We worked our way up Shepherd Spring Creek till it got very narrow. After two portages, we gave up the 'by sea' approach and tied off the canoe. Slogging through swampy bottomlands, we finally rediscovered Shepherd Spring itself (but again, no one-eyed alligator). Pompous and smug from our success, we tromped back to our canoe (now floating high because of the rising tide), and retraced our route.
Brewer and Newport springs flow into the St. Marks River, and that river was the focus of our attentions the next day. The interesting karst features of the St. Marks River, unfortunately, lay in the next county to the north, outside of the cruising range of our adventures. There, the St. Marks disappears beneath the earth for about a mile before rising again to the surface through a series of resurgences in the vicinity of Natural Bridge Spring (averaging 109 cubic feet per second). It also receives a large quantity of water from St. Marks Spring (averaging 517 cubic feet per second). I didn't get to see any of this stuff, and don't quite understand the relationships among the springs and the resurgence. Knowledge of the above features gave the river a nice karsty feeling, which pleased me, and we paddled happily up the river. Several places along the river we saw low outcroppings of limestone bedrock, and one spot was totally bedrock bottomed. We had the good fortune to come within 5 feet of a young otter along the shore. After canoeing, we spent the rest of the day driving through rural black slums and rich white beach-front mansions - depressing statements on the human condition. The next day we canoed a creek which I cannot justify taking about, as it had no karst related features, and the following day I flew back to Chicago. My bird list for the vaction was 35 species long, and I got some of the bugs I was looking for as well. I saw lots of things unrelated to caving, including people, boats, and one incredible sunset. While none of this trip was really caving, it WAS karst related. I learned a lot about low elevation karst, and can recommend similar adventures to other cavers.
Jo Schaper
[First published in "The Meramec Caver"]
Just as sure as November brings woods' travelers and hunters in blaze orange in these parts, the Batphone has been ringing at the Schaper/Vale house. (I just wonder what it is like at BCI this time of year.) And with each call comes more information dispersed to some inquiring mind. It goes with the territory when your husband is known statewide for his bat programs.
The first call came from Matt Marciano. A couple Sundays ago, he called to report a cave on private land where he had found an increased number of colonial bats over previous trips he had made there during the last seven years. He described the bats as being in a part of the cave where they were previously unknown, and in several distinct groups, not just a bat here or there. He noted that he and his party had left the cave upon discovering them, and a day later was now in a quandary over what to do.
"I feel like I should tell somebody, but if I do, the cave will probably be closed. It's a really neat cave," he said, or words to that effect.
"Why don't you call the landowner first," I suggested. "By talking with the landowner, you can tell him something about his cave, and express your concerns as a caver, that, while you wouldn't mind a seasonal closure, you don't want to see the cave locked up year round. That way, there's a chance that everybody wins--the bats, the cavers, the landowner."
Matt seemed dubious, but he took the phone number we gave him. "I'll think about it," he said. Twenty five minutes later, he called back.
"Hey, Jo, Mr. X is a really nice guy. He listened to me and took my name and number. I told him that the cavers could help if he needed information or ideas about how to manage his caves. He seemed really glad that I called, and especially glad that the bats were coming back if in the kinds of numbers I told him about. He said he was going to have one of his people look into the cave, and check out what I told him."
Bingo! While not every landowner is as conservation minded or friendly as Mr. X, most landowners who have caves of any significance are aware that they are there, and have some interest in them. Cavers with a little bit of tact, patience, and diplomacy can draw these landowners out, show them that we have as much concern about their caves as they do, and maybe even get a cave trip and a new friend out of the process.
This doesn't happen by knocking on doors and treating the landowner only as a person who happens to own the cave, with access your only objective. If you can show them, by whatever means, that you are enthusiastic about the conservation of caves generally, and his or her cave as well, you may well be invited to take a look at their treasure. That is the great prize of developing good landowner tactics, because you will have won the trust of the landowner, and not attempted to gain entry as a right, but as a privilege.
The next call came from someone who apparently knows Eugene, and knows of his expertise with bats, though we racked our brains to put a face to the name, this caver has a new project cave, which he is mapping. He noticed hibernating bats, and wanted to know what kind they were, and should he put off his mapping project until spring.
Unfortunately there was little we could tell from a secondhand description. No, the clusters weren't tightly packed, and the only characteristic he could relate was that the bats were brown--not terribly edifying, since most cave bats are some shade of brown. He could tell they weren't pipistrelles (no pink wingbones) but that was it. Positive myotine bat identification is based on differences which generally require handling the bats (not a good idea at any time).
We were able to tell him that unless the clusters were tightly packed, it was unlikely that they were endangered species. Little browns have a curious hibernating pattern where individuals are close (within a few inches) but generally not piled one on each other two or three deep unless it is an abnormally cold or drafty cave. Endangered bats also tend to roost high in ceiling pockets, if possible.
We did relate a few things to minimize disturbance to hibernating bats: --Don't look directly at them with a white light. Use a red filter if for some reason you feel compelled to examine them. Better yet, ignore them as much as you can. --Keep sources of heat (like carbides) several feet away. Hibernating bats are sensitive to changes in air temperature. --Speak in low tones around them. Don't whisper, or use a lot of "s" words. The hissing of either continues upward into the ultrasonic. --Don't jangle keys, or make other metal on metal noises around them. A sure way to wake, and just thoroughly annoy bats. It's like squeaky chalk on a blackboard to them. --The best advice is: Don't linger in the area where bats are hibernating, but move through as quietly and quickly as you can. If you find tightly clustered bats in a cave where they are not known to be, back out at once, and notify the landowner, letting him or her know that the Conservation Department, (or whichever is your state wildlife agency) might be interested in knowing this as well.
by Beth Reinke
On a recent business trip, I had the opportunity to talk to my Godson's 5th grade class at Robert Louis Stevenson grade school in Carmel, CA about caving and cave conservation. Julie Angel graciously lent me the slides she's used for similar talks.
Since a few years have passed since I've been in sync with 5th-graders, I wasn't quite sure what to expect. I asked for a few tips from my dad who is a retired teacher and school administrator. His main piece of advice: "Don't ask open-ended questions, you'll open the flood-gates and never be able to get a word in! Ask show-of -hand questions instead." I've always known my dad was a wise man!
After extricating myself from my first ill-advised open-ended question (!), we viewed the slides and talked about where caves are found, how caves are formed, cave entrances, cave passages, cave formations, cave wildlife and cave conservation. They were particularly interested in the cave formation and animal pictures. With lots of interaction with the kids, the hour flew by before I knew it!
In summary, I really enjoyed the experience and would recommend a return to 5th grade anytime!
Beth Reinke
Just a reminder that we're now accepting dues for 1998! Dues are $10.00 per year ($5.00 for students), quite a bargain! The primary use of the dues is to cover the cost of producing our top-quality newsletter, the Near Normal News. Please note that those who have joined the grotto since August 1, 1997, are not required to pay dues for 1998. Checks should be made payable to "Near Normal Grotto" and sent to Beth Reinke, 612 Creve Coeur Dr, Champaign, IL 61821. Or you can pay at the next meeting. Thanks!