Re: [Texascavers] Mexico travel related
I will continue to post Mexico travel info on CaveTex and encourage others to do so. And I will post it on FB as well. Wide distribution is good. --Ediger - Visit our website: http://texascavers.com To unsubscribe, e-mail: texascavers-unsubscr...@texascavers.com For additional commands, e-mail: texascavers-h...@texascavers.com
[Texascavers] Fwd: Sequoia-Kings Canyon Cave Program vacancy
�Hola! There will be an opening today in the USA jobs website for a cave technician in Sequoia-Kings Canyon. You can read more about it in Joel Despain's email. It's a beautiful park, with lots of unexplored karst. For anyone interested, good luck! - Fofo Original Message Subject: SEKI Cave Program vacancy Hello All: The Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks cave technician position formerly held by Ben Tobin will open today on the USA jobs website. Please share this announcement far and wide. All applicants please be very careful to fully complete the application. It is easy to miss something and every part of the application is important for rating candidates. Note that this term position is scheduled for four years of renewal and may possibly again become a permanent job in the future. The position is base-funded at 6 months per year, but project funds are also likely to fund the position for part of the year for at least the next several years. Also please note that the area around the park has rather expensive housing compared to most of the country, and candidates may want to carefully contemplate their financial situation before accepting this position. The only other significant caveat is that the air quality here is very poor for particulates and ozone. Otherwise this is an amazing and wonderful park and a fine place to work. Best of luck to all candidates! Joel Joel Despain Cave Specialist for Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks 47050 Generals Highway Three Rivers, CA 93271 559 565-3717 joel_desp...@nps.gov - Forwarded by Joel Despain/SEKI/NPS on 02/01/2011 08:43 AM - Subject Vacancy Announcement Opening: 02/01/2011 Closing: 02/14/2011 Physical Science Technician GS-1311-07 TERM Subject to Furlough NTE 13 months All Sources and Merit Promotion Eric Abbott Human Resources Specialist Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks O - 559-565-3753 F - 559-565-4247 - Visit our website: http://texascavers.com To unsubscribe, e-mail: texascavers-unsubscr...@texascavers.com For additional commands, e-mail: texascavers-h...@texascavers.com
[Texascavers] special for you ;)
for your better life ;) http://informaticasam.com/pills.html - Visit our website: http://texascavers.com To unsubscribe, e-mail: texascavers-unsubscr...@texascavers.com For additional commands, e-mail: texascavers-h...@texascavers.com
[Texascavers] Sanctum 3-D effects bus is touring the nation, in Gainesville, FL today
(per Florida caving post) I visited the Universal Sanctum site but failed to find a bus tour schedule. Anybody heard about this coming to Texas? Roger Moore
[Texascavers] Re: Honey Creek
Wow! That's almost the same number of people we had at the Honey Creek 20-year anniversary in 2000! (84 was the official count then, but they didn't all go caving. See Texas Caver 45(5) p. 125-126, Sept./Oct. 2000.) Good show! Mark Minton At 04:21 PM 2/1/2011, Kurt L. Menking wrote: My hats off to Ellie for getting the word out and motivating cavers from all over the state to come out to Honeycreek cave this weekend. Don Brusard and Kitty, and others helped run the tractor to get everyone in and out safely. It was largely a cat hearding exercise Saturday morning, but once everyone was in the cave everything seemed to go smoothly. We had 83 people go caving in Honeycreek Saturday. 83 people signed the log sheet, and 82 people signed out. The one who didn't sign out was hunted down by cell phone and tongue lashed appropriately. We also had at least 3-6 surface people out during the day, so we had very close to 90 folks on the property. I don't know the exact numbers but about 60 folks did through trips. Half went in at the spring, and half went in at the shaft. The groups were staggered and while there were a few bottle necks here and there they were not a big deal. One group did the through trip in 2 hours and 45 minutes. And one of those guys had only one flipper (he was the one setting the blistering pace). Another large group did the trip up the QA to the pretty walking section. And Ed, Mallory, Ellie, and others did the push to the end of the Mile Crawl passage. All in all a great weekend. I'm not sure we had this many people in the cave at TCR. I know lots of photos were taken, so some of you need to send Mark your pics with a trip report. It was an epic weekend. Kurt Please reply to mmin...@caver.net Permanent email address is mmin...@illinoisalumni.org - Visit our website: http://texascavers.com To unsubscribe, e-mail: texascavers-unsubscr...@texascavers.com For additional commands, e-mail: texascavers-h...@texascavers.com
[PBSS] Fw: [SWR] WNS confirmed in Indiana
- Original Message - From: jennifer bigredfo...@yahoo.com To: nmbat_working_gr...@googlegroups.com; s...@caver.net Sent: Tuesday, February 01, 2011 6:27 PM Subject: [SWR] WNS confirmed in Indiana Here's the press release - just out: DNR NEWS Indiana Department of Natural Resources 402 W. Washington St. W255 B Indianapolis, IN 46204-2748 Phone: (317) 232-4200 For immediate release: Feb. 1, 2011 Bat tests positive for white-nosed fungus The Indiana Department of Natural Resources and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service have received confirmation that a bat found in a southern Indiana cave has tested positive for the fungus that causes white-nose syndrome. The case is the state’s first for the WNS fungus, believed to be responsible for the deaths of more than one million bats in the eastern United States. Researchers doing biennial bat counts at Endless Cave in Washington County discovered two little brown bats on Jan. 23 that exhibited the white fungus characteristic of WNS. One of the bats was euthanized and sent to the U.S. Geological Survey’s National Wildlife Health Center in Madison, Wisconsin, which later confirmed the presence of the WNS-associated fungus. Additional bats with signs of WNS were discovered during routine bat count surveys at other caves. “We knew WNS was likely to reach Indiana caves this year, and we have been working closely with biologists from the DNR to prepare for this as well as we could,” said Tom Melius, the Service’s Midwest Regional Director. “Nonetheless, it is devastating to actually confirm the presence of the fungus and witness the symptoms of WNS in bats. While there is currently no cure and no treatment for this disease, we will put all our energies into contributing to the ongoing efforts to understand and combat WNS.” The fungus has been discovered in Connecticut, Delaware, Maryland, Massachusetts, Missouri, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Vermont, Virginia, West Virginia and the provinces of Ontario and Quebec, Canada. Researchers associate WNS with a newly identified fungus, Geomyces destructans, which thrives in the cold and humid conditions characteristic of caves and mines used by hibernating bats. Experts believe WNS is transmitted primarily from bat to bat, but they also caution it may be transmitted by humans inadvertently carrying fungal spores from cave to cave on their clothing and caving gear. The DNR closed public access to all caves on state-managed properties two years ago, including Endless Cave in the Cave River Valley Natural Area managed by the DNR Division of State Parks Reservoirs as part of Spring Mill State Park. “We will continue to keep all of our caves closed, and we are urging private cave owners to either not allow access to their caves or require visitors to follow USFWS decontamination procedures,” DNR deputy director John Davis said. “The whole effort is to slow the spread and have movement of the disease not be exacerbated by human interference.” Physical signs associated with WNS are a white fungus on the bat’s nose, wings, ears or tail membrane. Bats afflicted with WNS often exhibit unusual behavior in winter, including clustering near hibernacula entrances. Affected bats also may leave their hibernacula during the day and may be observed flying or clinging to rocks outside or on nearby buildings. Dead or dying bats are often found on the ground near affected areas. For more information about white-nose syndrome, visit www.dnr.in.gov/batdisease and www.fws.gov/whitenosesyndrome -30- Media contact: Phil Bloom, DNR Division of Communications, 317-232-4003 or pbl...@dnr.in.gov Georgia Parham, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, 812-334-4261 x 1203 or georgia_par...@fws.gov ___ SWR mailing list s...@caver.net http://caver.net/mailman/listinfo/swr_caver.net ___ PBSS mailing list p...@caver.net http://caver.net/mailman/listinfo/pbss_caver.net
[SWR] WNS confirmed in Indiana
Here's the press release - just out: DNR NEWS Indiana Department of Natural Resources 402 W. Washington St. W255 B Indianapolis, IN 46204-2748 Phone: (317) 232-4200 For immediate release: Feb. 1, 2011 Bat tests positive for white-nosed fungus The Indiana Department of Natural Resources and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service have received confirmation that a bat found in a southern Indiana cave has tested positive for the fungus that causes white-nose syndrome. The case is the state’s first for the WNS fungus, believed to be responsible for the deaths of more than one million bats in the eastern United States. Researchers doing biennial bat counts at Endless Cave in Washington County discovered two little brown bats on Jan. 23 that exhibited the white fungus characteristic of WNS. One of the bats was euthanized and sent to the U.S. Geological Survey’s National Wildlife Health Center in Madison, Wisconsin, which later confirmed the presence of the WNS-associated fungus. Additional bats with signs of WNS were discovered during routine bat count surveys at other caves. “We knew WNS was likely to reach Indiana caves this year, and we have been working closely with biologists from the DNR to prepare for this as well as we could,” said Tom Melius, the Service’s Midwest Regional Director. “Nonetheless, it is devastating to actually confirm the presence of the fungus and witness the symptoms of WNS in bats. While there is currently no cure and no treatment for this disease, we will put all our energies into contributing to the ongoing efforts to understand and combat WNS.” The fungus has been discovered in Connecticut, Delaware, Maryland, Massachusetts, Missouri, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Vermont, Virginia, West Virginia and the provinces of Ontario and Quebec, Canada. Researchers associate WNS with a newly identified fungus, Geomyces destructans, which thrives in the cold and humid conditions characteristic of caves and mines used by hibernating bats. Experts believe WNS is transmitted primarily from bat to bat, but they also caution it may be transmitted by humans inadvertently carrying fungal spores from cave to cave on their clothing and caving gear. The DNR closed public access to all caves on state-managed properties two years ago, including Endless Cave in the Cave River Valley Natural Area managed by the DNR Division of State Parks Reservoirs as part of Spring Mill State Park. “We will continue to keep all of our caves closed, and we are urging private cave owners to either not allow access to their caves or require visitors to follow USFWS decontamination procedures,” DNR deputy director John Davis said. “The whole effort is to slow the spread and have movement of the disease not be exacerbated by human interference.” Physical signs associated with WNS are a white fungus on the bat’s nose, wings, ears or tail membrane. Bats afflicted with WNS often exhibit unusual behavior in winter, including clustering near hibernacula entrances. Affected bats also may leave their hibernacula during the day and may be observed flying or clinging to rocks outside or on nearby buildings. Dead or dying bats are often found on the ground near affected areas. For more information about white-nose syndrome, visit www.dnr.in.gov/batdisease and www.fws.gov/whitenosesyndrome -30- Media contact: Phil Bloom, DNR Division of Communications, 317-232-4003 or pbl...@dnr.in.gov Georgia Parham, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, 812-334-4261 x 1203 or georgia_par...@fws.gov ___ SWR mailing list s...@caver.net http://caver.net/mailman/listinfo/swr_caver.net
[Texascavers] Fwd: [SWR] WNS confirmed in Indiana
From: jennifer bigredfo...@yahoo.com Date: February 1, 2011 6:27:04 PM CST To: nmbat_working_gr...@googlegroups.com, s...@caver.net Subject: [SWR] WNS confirmed in Indiana Here's the press release - just out: DNR NEWS Indiana Department of Natural Resources 402 W. Washington St. W255 B Indianapolis, IN 46204-2748 Phone: (317) 232-4200 For immediate release: Feb. 1, 2011 Bat tests positive for white-nosed fungus The Indiana Department of Natural Resources and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service have received confirmation that a bat found in a southern Indiana cave has tested positive for the fungus that causes white-nose syndrome. The case is the state’s first for the WNS fungus, believed to be responsible for the deaths of more than one million bats in the eastern United States. Researchers doing biennial bat counts at Endless Cave in Washington County discovered two little brown bats on Jan. 23 that exhibited the white fungus characteristic of WNS. One of the bats was euthanized and sent to the U.S. Geological Survey’s National Wildlife Health Center in Madison, Wisconsin, which later confirmed the presence of the WNS-associated fungus. Additional bats with signs of WNS were discovered during routine bat count surveys at other caves. “We knew WNS was likely to reach Indiana caves this year, and we have been working closely with biologists from the DNR to prepare for this as well as we could,” said Tom Melius, the Service’s Midwest Regional Director. “Nonetheless, it is devastating to actually confirm the presence of the fungus and witness the symptoms of WNS in bats. While there is currently no cure and no treatment for this disease, we will put all our energies into contributing to the ongoing efforts to understand and combat WNS.” The fungus has been discovered in Connecticut, Delaware, Maryland, Massachusetts, Missouri, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Vermont, Virginia, West Virginia and the provinces of Ontario and Quebec, Canada. Researchers associate WNS with a newly identified fungus, Geomyces destructans, which thrives in the cold and humid conditions characteristic of caves and mines used by hibernating bats. Experts believe WNS is transmitted primarily from bat to bat, but they also caution it may be transmitted by humans inadvertently carrying fungal spores from cave to cave on their clothing and caving gear. The DNR closed public access to all caves on state-managed properties two years ago, including Endless Cave in the Cave River Valley Natural Area managed by the DNR Division of State Parks Reservoirs as part of Spring Mill State Park. “We will continue to keep all of our caves closed, and we are urging private cave owners to either not allow access to their caves or require visitors to follow USFWS decontamination procedures,” DNR deputy director John Davis said. “The whole effort is to slow the spread and have movement of the disease not be exacerbated by human interference.” Physical signs associated with WNS are a white fungus on the bat’s nose, wings, ears or tail membrane. Bats afflicted with WNS often exhibit unusual behavior in winter, including clustering near hibernacula entrances. Affected bats also may leave their hibernacula during the day and may be observed flying or clinging to rocks outside or on nearby buildings. Dead or dying bats are often found on the ground near affected areas. For more information about white-nose syndrome, visit www.dnr.in.gov/batdisease and www.fws.gov/whitenosesyndrome -30- Media contact: Phil Bloom, DNR Division of Communications, 317-232-4003 or pbl...@dnr.in.gov Georgia Parham, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, 812-334-4261 x 1203 or georgia_par...@fws.gov ___ SWR mailing list s...@caver.net http://caver.net/mailman/listinfo/swr_caver.net UT Southwestern Medical Center The future of medicine, today. - Visit our website: http://texascavers.com To unsubscribe, e-mail: texascavers-unsubscr...@texascavers.com For additional commands, e-mail: texascavers-h...@texascavers.com
[SWR] Fwd: Sanctum review
Begin forwarded message: From: Lucas Peerman lpeer...@lcsun-news.com Date: February 1, 2011 3:59:59 PM MST To: gypca...@comcast.net gypca...@comcast.net Subject: Sanctum review Review: Spelunkers dive (and die) in ‘Sanctum’ Eds: Film opens Friday. AP Photo NYET305, NYET304, NYET303 By JAKE COYLE AP Entertainment Writer In the low-budget 3-D cave-diving adventure “Sanctum,” a little bit of rain causes a lot of death — by accident, murder and a bizarre amount of assisted suicide. Who needs those chipper Chilean miners, anyway? Eschewing such heartwarming tales, “Sanctum,” directed by Australian Alister Grierson and produced by 3-D guru James Cameron, is more interested in the savage realities of survival. A large expedition headed by grizzled Aussie explorer Frank McGuire (Richard Roxburgh) is knee-deep in mapping the mile-deep Esa’ala Caves of Papua New Guinea. Frank’s less ambitious 17-year-old son, Josh (Rhys Wakefield), along with the team’s financier daredevil Carl (Ioan Gruffudd) and his equally gung-ho girlfriend, Victoria (Alice Parkinson), have just arrived. Set deep in the jungle, the mouth of the expansive cave system (actually shot in Australia) is enormous and cylindrical. You half expect the Millennium Falcon of “Star Wars” to come shooting out with a giant worm in close pursuit. In the complex labyrinth of cavernous chambers and underground rivers beneath the surface, the danger is less alien. Maneuvering by scuba through underwater crevices as tight as those of “127 Hours,” Frank’s mantra is that “panic is the enemy.” A storm is known to be approaching, but deep underground, they’re somehow still caught unprepared when the storm develops into a cyclone, thus promising a life-threatening deluge in the caves. Taking charge is Frank, a cold fish, indeed. “There’s no God down here,” he snaps at one moment with face hardened. Elsewhere, there’s: “There are no rescue missions down here, only body recoveries!” Everyone questions his harsh leadership (particularly his more kindhearted son), but Frank is gradually borne out. He may be gruff, but he knows caves and the limitations of what can be accomplished. Those locked underground follow him, looking for the exit to the sea. The survivors are winnowed until — true to the tradition of so many such films — women and nonwhites are gradually dispatched. Some exit like “Willy Wonka” characters, neatly ruined by their foolhardiness. A claustrophobia takes hold as they make their way from one chamber to the next, squeaking through the rock and water. Many of the set pieces in the cave system and the underwater shots are beautiful, but the lack of variation begins to feel like the recent film “Buried,” which takes place entirely in a coffin. “Sanctum” is clearly in line with Cameron’s adoration of subsurface exploration, a love affair at least since “The Abyss.” “Sanctum” is meant to prove that the 3-D technology developed for his “Avatar” can be inexpensively adapted to simple genre films. As a showcase for 3-D, “Sanctum” is a failure. The depth of the images adds little to the experience, and for most of the middle of the film, is entirely forgotten. The darkness of the caves, at least, suits the darkened image of 3-D. Written by John Garvin and caver Andrew Wight, “Sanctum” claims to be “inspired by a true story.” The basis, though, is a cave trip by Wight where a perilous storm nevertheless ended in all 15 surviving. The film at least avoids that romantic lie of so many survivalist movies, that you can make it against all odds. “Sanctum” allows that heroism has its limits and that death must be accepted. Jack Kevorkian would love it. “Sanctum,” a Universal Pictures release, is rated R for language, some violence and disturbing images. Running time: 109 minutes. One and a half stars out of four. ——— Motion Picture Association of America rating definitions: G — General audiences. All ages admitted. PG — Parental guidance suggested. Some material may not be suitable for children. PG-13 — Special parental guidance strongly suggested for children under 13. Some material may be inappropriate for young children. R — Restricted. Under 17 requires accompanying parent or adult guardian. NC-17 — No one under 17 admitted. Steve Peerman Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn't do than by the ones you did. So throw off the bowlines, Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover. attributed to Mark Twain, but no record exists of his having written this. ___ SWR mailing list s...@caver.net http://caver.net/mailman/listinfo/swr_caver.net
[Texascavers] Honeycreek
My hats off to Ellie for getting the word out and motivating cavers from all over the state to come out to Honeycreek cave this weekend. Don Brusard and Kitty, and others helped run the tractor to get everyone in and out safely. It was largely a cat hearding exercise Saturday morning, but once everyone was in the cave everything seemed to go smoothly. We had 83 people go caving in Honeycreek Saturday. 83 people signed the log sheet, and 82 people signed out. The one who didn't sign out was hunted down by cell phone and tongue lashed appropriately. We also had at least 3-6 surface people out during the day, so we had very close to 90 folks on the property. I don't know the exact numbers but about 60 folks did through trips. Half went in at the spring, and half went in at the shaft. The groups were staggered and while there were a few bottle necks here and there they were not a big deal. One group did the through trip in 2 hours and 45 minutes. And one of those guys had only one flipper (he was the one setting the blistering pace). Another large group did the trip up the QA to the pretty walking section. And Ed, Mallory, Ellie, and others did the push to the end of the Mile Crawl passage. All in all a great weekend. I'm not sure we had this many people in the cave at TCR. I know lots of photos were taken, so some of you need to send Mark your pics with a trip report. It was an epic weekend. Kurt
Re: [Texascavers] Honeycreek
Great news, and congratulations to everyone involved Events like this are just what is needed to keep Texas caving (or caving anywhere) going strong. Roger Moore Greater Houston Grotto -Original Message- From: Kurt L. Menking gi...@bcad.org To: texascavers@texascavers.com texascavers@texascavers.com Sent: Tue, Feb 1, 2011 3:21 pm Subject: [Texascavers] Honeycreek My hats off to Ellie for getting the word out and motivating cavers from all over the state to come out to Honeycreek cave this weekend. Don Brusard and Kitty, and others helped run the tractor to get everyone in and out safely. It was largely a cat hearding exercise Saturday morning, but once everyone was in the cave everything seemed to go smoothly. We had 83 people go caving in Honeycreek Saturday. 83 people signed the log sheet, and 82 people signed out. The one who didn’t sign out was hunted down by cell phone and tongue lashed appropriately. We also had at least 3-6 surface people out during the day, so we had very close to 90 folks on the property. I don’t know the exact numbers but about 60 folks did through trips. Half went in at the spring, and half went in at the shaft. The groups were staggered and while there were a few bottle necks here and there they were not a big deal. One group did the through trip in 2 hours and 45 minutes. And one of those guys had only one flipper (he was the one setting the blistering pace). Another large group did the trip up the QA to the pretty walking section. And Ed, Mallory, Ellie, and others did the push to the end of the Mile Crawl passage. All in all a great weekend. I‘m not sure we had this many people in the cave at TCR. I know lots of photos were taken, so some of you need to send Mark your pics with a trip report. It was an epic weekend. Kurt
