Colorado Cave Survey: 19 May 2001 The 19 May 2001 meeting of the Colorado Cave Survey was held in "the Bedroom" of upper Fairy Cave. The meeting was well attended, with representatives present from most of the Colorado Grottos, the BLM (Kay Hopkins), the USFS (Bill Kight), and the NPS (Ronal Kerbo), as well as a number of interested cavers. The following are notes which I recorded during the meeting - please contact me if you have any corrections - Stuart Marlatt. Old Business o Groaning Cave - Waivers There was an extended discussion regarding the waiver issue. All present were in general agreement with the plan to completely purge the waiver list and require new waivers from all cavers wishing to enter Groaning; the group also agreed to allow the old waivers to be valid through this year. There was some debate regarding the advisability of including a statement on the new waivers exempting the Cave Survey from any liability; currently, a statement exists which exempts the USFS from any liability, but the Colorado Cave Survey is not directly mentioned on the form. Bill Kight suggested talking to the USFS legal office; Ronal Kerbo mentioned that we should show the waiver to Joel Stevens (the NSS legal advisor). Bill Kight was asked if the USFS wanted copies of the waivers. He declined, but asked that we maintain files in case any events occur that would require them to be available. - Visitation Larry Fish has completed an in-depth analysis of visitation trends during the period 1980-2000. It was noted that following a steady decline from 1994 to 1997, the number of visitors and trips have increased markedly in the past 4 years. Most of this increase appears to be due to an increase in Timberline Grotto cavers visiting the Groaning. Stuart Marlatt noted that this report would be placed on the Cave Survey webpage. - Route Markers The issue of route markers was once again raised, with some discussion about whether placing markers at junctions along the main tourist trails is more likely to reduce damage to the cave by minimizing wandering or to increase damage by easing route finding and thus increasing the chance of inexperienced cavers leading trips into the cave. This has been an ongoing debate, but despite long discussions, including online queries on the NSS bulletin board, there was not consensus. The main tourist routes have been marked historically by survey flags at the main junctions; many of these have been lost over time. A consensus vote recommended replacing the survey markers. In most cases, it will be impossible to find the original locations, so the new markers should be labeled "Location Approximate." - MOU Bill Kight will send us a new Memorandum of Understanding / Volunteer Agreement form. o Lasunder Cave - Management Plan Kay Hopkins (BLM) discusses the current situation. She is working on defining a management plan for the cave, pending the results of an Dennis Laird's inventory study. This research has been ongoing for over two years, and is close to being complete. A management plan should be drafted by early 2002; the cave is closed until that time. Fred Luizer noted that the BLM has an obligation to cavers who helped to install the gate - many of these were promised a chance to see the cave, but have never been allowed to do so. Dennis Laird said that he has tried to involve many of those cavers in his inventory work, but has had some problems. There was an extended discussion regarding what the management plan should cover. Fred Luizer indicated that the location of the cave and the relatively fragile nature of the formations therein should warrant a restrictive plan. Donald Davis noted that the cave has several high-potential leads, and that any management plan should allow for aggressive exploration (including digging and or explosives if necessary). o Fly and Marble Caves Rick Rhinehart described the current state. Dave Blackwell, the new owner is from Arkansas and has some caving experience. He will be here in late June and would like to visit the caves.. He would like to devise a management plan with visitation options for the general public. He has some worries about liability. There was some talk about the Cave Survey taking a leading role in managing the caves. o Cave Creek Cavern Fred Luizer and Randy Reck are planning on visiting the cave next week (26 May 2001) to ascertain access issues. They will coordinate a trip with Don Cosby (District Ranger, Pike NF). o Lost Mascot Cave Bill Kight is not enthusiastic about gating the cave. He is not convinced that cavers can properly manage a gate here, and would rather wait until there is clear evidence of problems before proceeding. New Business o Dinosaur National Monument Caves Rick Rhinehart discussed caves in the Dinosaur Nat'l Monument. An expedition there circa 1985 discovered several significant, if short, caves, including Cave of the Logs and Stateline Cave. He would like to re-negotiate access to this area with the National Park Service. Ronal Kerbo asked that Rick email a formal request for access, and he can help facilitate contact with the local superintendents. o National Park Service Issues Ronal Kerbo distributed a set of handouts describing new NPS cave and karst management policies. He noted that the NPS is now addressing for the first time, karst management specifically. He also noted that the National Cave and Karst Institute will be a cooperative effort of the NPS, BLM, and USFS. [For an interesting discussion on the NCKI, see the Congressional record at: http://commdocs.house.gov/committees/resources/hii46853.000/hii46853_0f.htm] o Bureau of Land Management Issues Kay Hopkins addressed the group and asked for assistance with identifying significant caves which might be affected by oil and gas drilling. She would like a list of caves on BLM land to be emailed to here. Several caves were mentioned, including Specter, Cave of the Windows, Lasunder, and Twenty Pound Tick. There was some debate regarding whether Cave of the Clouds was on BLM land. o Next Meeting The date of the next meeting is TBD; probably sometime in the early autumn.