This note is for all who attended the 2007 NSS Convention. Many of the caves featured in the 2007 NSS Convention Guidebook were on the property of the Harrison Crawford State Forest and the O'Bannon Woods State Park. There were also several caves on the Hoosier National Forest. I coordinated with the State to arrange a daily drop off of permits to save folks from driving to the drop off site, and communicated with them on the unusual flow of cavers for the week. Most of the problems with caving in the area come from spelunkers who are ill prepared, wasted, and irresponsible in their actions.
I want to thank everyone for showing the State agencies that real cavers care about our cave resources and cave responsibly. We made the decision to trust the Convention attendees with a data base of info including topos, maps and descriptions for all of our guidebook caves that I assembled especially for Convention, and am proud that everyone made us look like the great stewards that we are!! I knew you would all be trustworthy!!! This goes a long ways to show that the State's willingness to allow visitation of the caves is both appreciated and is a great asset for lovers of the outdoors and something to be proud of. Below is a note sent to me by the Park Manager: Subject: RE: Permits and such for NSS Convention NSS Convention went well, all cavers visiting the property were great and good stewards of the cave resources. many thanks Bob Sawtelle, Park Manager O'Bannon Woods State Park 7234 Old Forest Rd. SW Corydon, IN 47112 Office 812-738-8232A few of the more popular caves that are right off the road saw a constant flow of people all week, and the parking areas were in plain sight of the main route to the park offices. Any ill behavior including littering would have been noticed. Thanks for showing that we care!!!! We have many great caves withing our public lands in Indiana and we are grateful we were able to show them to all who came to Convention. Feel free to send a note to the park to thank them for their willingness to accommodate cavers. Thanks Again! Ron Adams, Caves Chair, 2007 NSS Convention
