[Texascavers] FW: Join Us for World Speleology: The International Union of Speleology and the NSS. Presenter: George Vein

[Geary Schindel]

FYI,

Forwarded for Debbie Spoons

Geary Schindel


Cavers
Have you ever wondered about international caving projects and how to be a part 
of them?? Our next webinar will be given by George Veni, the President of the 
International Union of Speleology (UIS). George will explain the UIS, its 
mission and how you can be involved!


Please forward this email to your friends and anyone that may be interested, 
and join us for our next great webinar.



Cave safely,
Debbie Spoons
NSS Webinar Chair




World Speleology: The International Union of Speleology (UIS) and the NSS. 
Presenter: George Vein President of the UIS
Join us for a webinar on Sep 18, 2018 at 8:00 PM CDT, which is, 9PM EDT/ 7PM 
MDT/ 6PM PDT. Please check your time zone for the correct starting time.
Register now!


Cavers know about caving opportunities and needs in their area. Many have a 
pretty good idea of what’s happening nationally, but what about caving at the 
global level?
Does it even affect you?
Can you get involved, and if so, how?

The International Union of Speleology (abbreviated “UIS”) is essentially the 
United Nations of caving. It is composed of 54 member nations, working together 
to advance cave and karst research and management, and especially exploration, 
which makes everything else possible. The NSS represents the US to the UIS.

This webinar will give you the basic background on the UIS and focus on its 
many projects around the world, how they merge with the goals of the NSS, and 
how you can join them—even without leaving home.
For a pre-webinar preview of the UIS, visit 
www.uis-speleo.org.

George Veni is a long-time caver and lifetime NSS member who has been active in 
many NSS and regional caving projects. For nearly the past 12 years he has been 
best known as the Executive Director of the National Cave and Karst Research 
Institute, (NCKRI). Since 2002 he has served on the UIS Bureau (governing 
board), first as an Adjunct Secretary, and then eight years as the Vice 
President of Administration. For the past year George has served as the only, 
UIS President from the USA.

This webinar, and all webinars are recorded and stored on the NSS website, 
www.caves.org for later viewing and downloading.
The opinions and views in this webinar are not necessarily those of the NSS.
After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information 
about joining the webinar.
View System 
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Re: [Texascavers] [SWR CAVERS] Jim Evatt nailed it.: Our beloved Rio Grande

[Pete Lindsley]

Thanks, Matthew. Back a few decades ago when in Dallas trying to plan kayak and 
raft trips 600 miles away in St. Elena Canyon, it was difficult to determine 
how much water would be in the river. All you could go on was the BBNP phone 
call that gave you the depth of the water at one place in the river. I 
understand the primary water input upstream from the St. Elena launch point was 
from the Rio Conchos in Mexico. The USGS now has numerous stations that are 
useful to track water flow but I’m not sure Mexico has anything similar. 
“Rivercast” is the name of an iPhone app that lets you monitor a few staging 
stations that may also be seen on Jen’s URL. There might be similar apps for 
those of the Droid persuasion.

 - Pete

On Sep 17, 2018, at 1:23 PM, Ormsby, Matthew A  
wrote:

Rob, 
 
I wasn’t going to post anything but I think there’s a tremendous misconception 
about the Rio Grande in Texas. Probably the one thing I do more often than cave 
is paddle rivers so I have some perspective of West Texas waterways that’s 
unique. A month ago I took a group of scouts upstream into Santa Elena Canyon 
on a canoe assisted hike. If you call Big Bend, it’s usually advertised as 
such. In sections of the canyon the water was no more than 2 inches deep. The 
canyon is a pool and drop just like the Pecos and Devil’s River so it pools up, 
gets deep and drops over a ledge that’s usually fairly shallow. I’ve paddled 
the entire Big Bend From Santa Elena all the way through Boquilla’s on several 
different trips at different times of the year and in different years. When the 
Rio Grande is deep in Texas, it’s because of rain in Texas and Mexico, not from 
water coming from New Mexico (generally speaking). The West Gulf RFC website 
displays river gauges that demonstrate as much if you check them often and know 
what you’re looking at. The Rio below Santa Elena gets deeper due to numerous 
hot springs and creeks but they are dependent on rainfall as well. A decade ago 
a Mexican dam crested and the entire Big Bend was flooded, again, not from New 
Mexico and snowmelt but from the Rio Conchos and a hurricane that filled their 
lake. What should be noted is Lake Amistad gets its water from the Rio Grande 
AND the Pecos River AND the Devil’s River.
 
Now take everything I’ve said about the Rio Grande and put the name Pecos in 
its place, Texas gets virtually NO water coming down the Pecos River. Most of 
it is impounded upstream ending in Red Bluff lake on the boarder. If you’ve 
driven from Monahans to Pecos it’s not uncommon to see it dry on both sides of 
the highway. The Pecos and Devils have numerous springs that add tremendous 
volume during their last 60 miles (46 for the devils), completely dependent on 
rainfall. Right now, all 3 rivers are at high volumes due to the amount of rain 
we’ve had over the past several weeks south of I-10. I’m itching to take my 
boats out because the best trips are riding the tail ends of flash floods. The 
rivers can gain 30 feet in height in the lower canyons in under an hour but 
they usually drop to normal levels within days.
 
5 years ago my brother and I paddled the devils river on the tail end of a 
flash flood all the way into Amistad. It’s a 46 mile trip with 12 miles of lake 
paddling (really hard into the wind paddling). Well, we got to mile 34 and 
started our canoe assisted hike because Amistad was so low the lake, which 
should have backfilled to that point, was 20 feet low. We walked our canoe 10 
miles in a foot or less of water until we made it into the lake. Amistad has 
since mostly filled due to rain south of I-10. 
 
And I guess that’s the point, when Amistad is full, it’s because of rain in 
South West Texas. If Texas is in drought Amistad is directly affected. That 
water is very consistently released from Amistad downstream to Falcon Lake and 
from Falcon to the gulf. A very small amount is coming from the Rio Grande 
North of Presidio and the water that Texas is fighting for is mostly consumed 
by farmers South of El Paso to Esperanza.
 
Southwest Paddler maintains a website which highlights paddling the Rio Grande 
and other Texas rivers that many might find interesting.
 
Matthew
 
From: swrcav...@googlegroups.com  
mailto:swrcav...@googlegroups.com>> On Behalf Of 
Robert Wood
Sent: Monday, September 17, 2018 1:30 PM
To: Dwight Deal mailto:dirt...@comcast.net>>
Cc: John Corcoran III mailto:john_j_corcoran_...@msn.com>>; Lee Skinner mailto:skin...@thuntek.net>>; Evatt mailto:nmca...@centurylink.net>>; Cave Texas mailto:texascavers@texascavers.com>>; Cave NM mailto:swrcav...@googlegroups.com>>
Subject: Re: [SWR CAVERS] Jim Evatt nailed it.: Our beloved Rio Grande
 
Thanks, Dwight,
 
I am so glad to be getting info from you on the down stream side. 
 
Not sure if this is accurate but I heard that water is going over the spillway 
at Amistad Reservoir. and then flowing on out into the Gulf. Any accuracy in 
this? I Google E

[Texascavers] Southern New Mexico offers a testing ground for Trump’s vision for energy dominance

[Lee H. Skinner]

The following paragraphs are from the article at:

https://www.hcn.org/articles/energy-the-countrys-busiest-oil-and-gas-office-has-a-plan-for-more-drilling

...

The BLM’s Carlsbad field office, which oversees this three-county 
region, is the busiest in the nation for oil and gas drilling. It’s also 
a landscape of deserts, grasslands, small mountain ranges and 
spectacular underground caves. One of the first major resource 
management plans in the country to be released under the Trump 
administration, it paves the way for more drilling.


...

Caption: Carlsbad Caverns National Park is an expansive network of caves 
that has yet to be completely explored. The caves could be affected by 
proposed drilling in the area.
 

Carlsbad Caverns National Park is an expansive network of caves that has 
yet to be completely explored. The caves near the park could be affected 
by proposed drilling in the area.

Aric Brown/Flickr CC

Jim Goodbar, a cave and karst specialist employed by the BLM in New 
Mexico for 38 years before retiring in January, worked on the resource 
plan under the new presidential administration. During that time, he 
noticed priorities shift in line with Trump’s energy-first vision. 
“There was definitely a sense that everybody was thinking, we wished 
we’d gotten it approved prior to the change of the guard,” Goodbar said. 
The former employee also told /HCN/ he’s concerned the draft RMP uses 
2014 data about water and mineral resources. “Since then, there have 
been major (oil) discoveries, and the numbers of wells and sizes of the 
pads have changed quite dramatically,” Goodbar said. “So that could be a 
lot more environmental impact than they would actually be reporting.”


...

Tension between conservationists and industry in the Carlsbad region 
also extends deep underground. Carlsbad Caverns National Park, first 
designated in 1923 as a monument, protects over 100 miles of caves that 
formed millions years ago and have yet to be fully explored. “The cave 
and karst resources ripple out far beyond the boundary of the park,” 
said Jerry Otero of the National Park Conservation Association. The cave 
networks are connected to aquifers, which could be contaminated if 
drilled into for oil and gas, Otero said. "It’s very likely groundwater 
would be impacted and there is a possibility that caves and underground 
structures connected to the cave systems within the park could be 
penetrated and contaminated,” if certain areas near the park are 
leased, added Ernie Atencio, NPCA’s New Mexico senior program manager.



Lee Skinner



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[Texascavers] TCMA Silent Art Auction at TCR

[Denise P]

Howdy! Seeking art donations for the TCMA silent auction at TCR. The auction 
will start Saturday morning and end some time that afternoon/evening. Details 
to come.

Your donation of hand made or special art would be oh so greatly appreciated. 
Arts, crafts, photos, jewelry, textiles; ooh, I am getting excited! Extra love 
for cave and bat themes. We are focusing on quality rather than quantity! 
Prolly limit it to 15 or so items depending on how donations go.

Your patronage at the event would be greatly appreciated as well. Cash, check, 
or credit card accepted!

Help TCMA protect and buy caves! Looking forward to seeing you there!

Thanks!

-Denise
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[Texascavers] The Wonderful Rio

[Dwight Deal]

The Wonderful Rio

This is interesting.  The bottom line is that there never was as much water in 
the river as was assumed initially when the amount of water was allocated to 
various states.  Water wants are increasing. Law suits are proliferating. And 
it seems to be raining less in the watershed.

Another question is "Why would a caver be interested in all this?"

First of all, most of us are basically explorers with a great appreciation of 
nature.  Caves are just one handy way to follow those instincts.  The canyons 
of West Texas are still poorly explored, especially by those of us who are not 
locals.  They are remote, beautiful, and awe-inspiring.  We are curious.  Why 
and how did a major river find its way, a ribbon oasis, across a great arid, 
mostly desert, region?  Some of us are also conservationists and the 
degradation of conditions along the river are of direct interest and concern. 
Some of us are also very involved with that water and the control of it. In the 
West water control is Power and Wealth.  It is a lot more than just having 
enough water to drink.

There is a much more significant aspect of this discussion for a caver. For 
many miles the Rio Grande has exposed thousands of feet of good, soluble 
limestone.  Not far away are some of the most beautiful, complex, and 
interesting caves in the world. When we moved to the Big Bend in 1967 we 
immediately recognized this, along with the fact that almost nothing was known 
about the cave potential of the area. We said "OH WOW!!".  And started cave 
hunting.

Over the years some of America's best cavers have been hunting, and have come 
up with very little in the way of cave resources.  Why?  Caves do not seem to 
be there in spite of lots of great limestone.  The history of groundwater flow 
must be the reason, and the history of the master drainage, the Rio Grande, 
must play a role in that.  Perhaps by understanding why there are not a lot of 
great caves along the canyons of the Big Bend we will be able to understand 
where they really are.  Academically, as a geomorphologist and hydrologist, I 
want to understand this cause and relationship, and how this landscape came to 
be.  Caves, it seems, should be a much more important part of this landscape 
than they are.

When I was still actively teaching, I used to say that a discussion with 
different "experts" about a lot of things in the Big Bend-was similar to the 
fable of the blind men describing an elephant.  That is especially true of 
water in the Rio Grande. It depends on what part of the critter you are holding 
on to.  I realize that may apply to me as well.  Discussion is encouraged.

I am not up to date on many things, especially the legal water wars between 
California, Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico, Texas and, on the international 
level, between the US and Mexico.  FYI my experiences are mostly along the Rio 
Grande and Rio Conchos below El Paso to Amistad reservoir. I lived and worked 
in the Big Bend for about 20 years after we moved there in 1967. Then I was 
gone for about 20 years, and for the last 10 have been a winter visitor with a 
cabin in Terlingua.  A lot of things have changed in 50 years. I did spend 
several years in the 60s working on the ancient history of the Gila River 
headwaters and Rio Grande through New Mexico, with John Hawley as my mentor.

Rob:  What is your involvement with all this?   Yes, there is a huge delta 
(mostly out of sight below today's sea level) that goes back millions of years 
at the mouth of the Rio in the Gulf.  The delta is a big garbage dump that 
records the upstream erosional history.  The petroleum companies have a lot of 
detail that I tried to use to unravel the ancient history of erosion and river 
development through the Chihuahuan Desert.  That history is the focus of my 
1978 article I referenced in a previous post.  The ancestral Pecos seems to 
have been the master stream until the Rio Conchos - Rio Grande spilled across 
the desert southwest.  This integration dumped a lot of sediment that 
originated from volcanic rocks to the west into the delta in the gulf.  Sorry, 
you New Mexicans, the Rio Grande upstream from the Big Bend is but the tail of 
the dog.  It may be longer in miles to the headwaters in Colorado than to 
headwaters of the Rio Conchos, but New Mexico and Colorado has supplied less 
than 30% of the downstream flow.  The dog itself is born in the Sierra Madre 
west of Chihuahua City.  The northern tail has been running hard to keep up!

There is a large reservoir downstream below Amistad, Falcon Reservoir.  It was 
completed in 1954 and can hold about four thousand acre-feet, about twice as 
large as Elephant Butte in NM or La Boquilla on the Cohchos.  Amistad was 
completed in 1968 and holds about  5 1/2 thousand acre-feet.  I think there are 
also smaller diversion dams as well. So today, as Geary points out, water 
released from Amistad is impounded again downstream and diverted for irrigatio