Cavers,
I would like to thank the 15 volunteers who came out to help clear brush and pick up trash at the Texas Cave Management Association Ezells Cave Preserve in San Marcos on Saturday, December 8, 2012. Your five hours of labor removed thick brush, briars, and small trees inside the main compound and made a good start to remove the many invasive species (trees) living on the lower slopes of the property. Our hearty thanks go out to Vivian Loftin whose help in identifying non-native plants and applying stump killer (Roundup) made our job much easier. Three large bags of trash were removed from the lower slopes. Volunteers included Allan Cobb, Justin Cooper, Benjamin Hutchins, Vivian Loftin, Wade McDaniel, Ryan Monjaras, Jennifer Oakley, Jill Orr, Linda Palit, Ann Scott, Chris Thibodaux, Diane Young, and Sam Young. A huge thanks goes out to Allan Wise, neighbor to the north, who not only rolled up his sleeves to help, but worked as hard and as long as the rest of the crew. We could not have made such progress without all of you. After the work session, several cavers and neighbors were able to visit the cave. A special thanks to Ben Hutchins for showing the way. All invasive species have now been removed from inside the chain-link compound. There are many more Ligustrum (privet), Chinese tallow, Chinaberry, and Agave on the lower slopes which still remain and must be removed. So please stand by for another call for volunteers this spring. The TCMA cannot manage our properties without the on-going assistance of volunteers in preserves. And I hope those who went caving enjoyed the TCMA preserve. Ron Ralph, Manager Ezells Cave Preserve
