National Park Service and Programs U.S. Department of the Interior Inside Earth

Lily pad speleothems in the Hall of the Flying Monkeys, one of the recent discoveries in the Oz area of , Carlsbad Caverns National Park. NPS Photo by James Hunter. Contents A Word from WASO Program Overview ...... 2 Preliminary NPS Cave and Karst Summaries ...... 4 Reports from the Field Return to Oz ...... 6 Carbidimites in Wind Cave ...... 8 Park Updates BUFF, CAVE ...... 9 CORO ...... 11 GRCA, GRBA ...... 12 JECA ...... 13 LABE ...... 14 OZAR ...... 15 TICA ...... 16 WICA ...... 17

Newsletter of the Cave and Karst Programs • Volume 16 Number 2

Calendar A Word from WASO Submitted By Dale Pate

March 2014 Significant progress has been made on 15-22nd 16th International Symposium several fronts since the Spring 2013 In- on Vulcanospeleology, Puerto Ayora, side Earth was published. Travel for Galápagos Islands, Ecuador, http:// www.vulcanospeleology.org/ Technical Assistance Requests from symposia.html NPS park units and a National Natural Landmark kept me busy beginning in June 2014 April. I have summarized these requests 5-15th Karst Without Boundaries hydrol- below. Additionally, summaries for 30 ogy conference and field seminar, cave and karst park units were complet- Croatia http://diktas.iwlearn.org/ ed by Limaris Soto during this time as July 2014 . To learn more about this project, 14-18th National Speleological Society please review her article in this issue of (NSS) Convention at the new NSS Inside Earth. As we learn more about Headquarters, Huntsville, Alabama cave and karst resources found within http://nss2014.caves.org/ NPS units, we hope to identify critical October 2014 needs, develop project proposals with Dale Pate, NPS National Cave and Karst Pro- gram Coordinator 19-22nd Geological Society of America park input, and seek funding to better Annual Meeting, Vancouver, British understand and protect our sensitive created placed large rocks, boulders, and Columbia, Canada cave and karst resources. other debris over and into many of the www.geosociety.org/meetings/2014/ openings to prevent livestock from falling March/April 2015 Grand Canyon-Parashant Na- into the earth cracks. Written recom- 29-2nd George Wright Society Confer- tional Monument mendations for monument actions con- ence, Oakland, California http:// cerning the return to more natural condi- www.georgewright.org/ Created in 2000, this new monument is tions for these features will be forwarded

rugged and remote. Administratively, in the near future. July 2015 13-17th NSS Convention, Waynesville, the monument is operated by both the Missouri https://www.facebook.com/ National Park Service and Bureau of Golden Gate National Recrea- NSSConvention2015 Land Management. I was invited to ac- tional Area company a trip to a monument cave led November 2015 by Eathan McIntyre and several re- Famous for Alcatraz and spectacular 1-4th Geological Society of America An- search paleontologists to recon several views of the Golden Gate Bridge and San nual Meeting , Baltimore, Maryland http://www.geosociety.org/ sites within the cave. Recommendations Francisco, Golden Gate NRA also con- meetings/2015/ included completing a Cave and Karst tains numerous sea . I was invited to Management Plan and some minor visit to get a sense of the cave resources, July 2016 changes to protocols when entering the overall natural setting, and the very 17-23rd NSS 75th Anniversary Conven- monument caves. complex management issues. I also was tion in Ely, Nevadahttps:// www.facebook.com/nss75th asked to provide guidance on infor- Wupatki National Monument mation needs and to be a liaison with local cavers that already know and have Known for its pre-historic structures information on cave areas within Golden Submit Entries for the Calendar to and ties to native cultures, Wupatki NM Gate NRA. My visit generated considera- [email protected] also contains significant earth cracks ble interest from local cavers, staff at and sinks. These features are found in Golden Gate NRA, and from resource the 250 million year old Permian Kaibab staff at nearby Point Reyes National Sea- limestone which outcrops over a large shore. portion of the monument. Air move- ment in and around these features di- rectly connect to stories found in the Hopi Culture concerning the source of Mitchell Caverns Natural Pre- all winds and the Wind God, Yaponcha. serve (National Natural Land- Past practices before the monument was mark)

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closure had been routinely picking up debris as it fell onto the floors.

In the Upcoming Year

Looking forward, my plan is to begin a more intensive look at park units with karst-related needs. In particular, I would like to look at, but not limited to:

• recharge basins and flow paths

• potential contaminant sources

• endemic ecosystem species and dynam- ics

Many times, NPS park units do not con- tain the entire karst system. Park manag- ers not only need to know the resources within their boundaries but what factors and resources outside the park unit boundaries may affect the resources they Two lower entrances to Mitchell Caverns. The tour route goes through the opening on the manage. I welcome ideas and thoughts right. NPS Photo by Dale Pate. on potential projects that we should con- sider. If so inclined, please email me at Part of the California State Parks system assessing the areas for potential rockfall [email protected]. located within Providence Mountains problems before reopening the cave to State Recreation Area (PMSRA), Mitch- the public. The entrance area showed ell Caverns was closed in the spring of that various animals had been active 2011 due to state budgets cuts. Located over the last two years and knocked within Mojave National Preserve, the small rocks and other debris onto the preserve and cave are fairly remote and trail. The blasted portion within the initially had no one living on the premis- cave showed that the tunneling had ac- es. This led to surface buildings being tually cut through an area of clay inter- heavily vandalized along with the remov- bedded with thin layers of flowstone. al of thousands of feet of electrical cable The blasting had shattered much of the in February 2012. The cave itself lost exposed clay and flowstone. It appears some electrical cable but did not appear the was blasted through an exist- to have been vandalized beyond the theft ing tunnel that had been naturally filled of cable. After the vandalism, the State of with the interbedded clay and flow- California hired a caretaker and began stone. With a solid limestone roof and a the repair of facilities with the goal of well-made concrete floor, only pieces of reopening PMSRA and Mitchell Caverns. dried cracked pieces of clay and flow- With the cave being closed for more than stone were tumbling out of the filled two years, the entrance area and a 15-foot passage onto the trail. There was no blasted tunnel in the middle of the cave evidence to indicate a problem from had debris that had fallen onto the trail. collapse, but rather the debris found on Through the NPS Pacific West Region the floor had slowly built up over two National Natural Landmark Program years as pieces of dried clay or broken Coordinator, the facility manager for flowstone fell out of the walls. Evident- Mitchell Caverns requested assistance in ly, the guides and caretakers before the

Inside Earth • Vol. 16 No. 2 • Fall 2013 3

A Word from WASO Preliminary NPS Cave and Karst Summaries the Parks reports is the identification of threats and opportunities for each unit in Submitted by Limaris Soto The order in which cave and karst sum- regards to cave/karst resources. Results Over the last eight months, I have been mary reports are created follows the show that some of the threats affecting working for the NPS Cave and Karst Pro- queue in which Foundation and State of the units include: vandalism, decline in gram to develop preliminary cave and the Parks reports have been and will be water quantity/quality, disturbance of karst summaries for all NPS park units created. To this point, 30 summary re- archeological materials, rockfall hazards, containing these types of resources. ports have been completed and include and potential for activity, These synopses are important in an effort the following parks: among others. Based on the collected to identify and understand cave and karst data thus far, we found that 60% (18 of 30 Abraham Lincoln Birthplace NHS resources within NPS units and include park units) show signs of surface/ Antietam NB discussions on geology, archeology/ groundwater contamination, 43% (13 of Cape Hatteras NS cultural resources, biology, hydrology, 30 park units) appear to be in need, or Cape Lookout NS paleontology, hazards, threats, potential would benefit from a cave inventory, and Cedar Breaks NM studies, the significance of resources, and 20% (6 of 30 park units) contain caves/ Chickamauga & Chattanooga NMP current monitoring activities. The infor- karst species officially listed on the En- Colorado NM mation collected will be used to: dangered Species List, with MACA hav- Crater Lake NP ing 3 listed species. • identify any gaps or information needs Craters of the Moon NM and PRES for the long-term protection and conser- Delaware Water Gap NRA So far I have reviewed 50 parks and of vation of these fragile and sensitive re- El Malpais NM those 30 were found to have caves or sources Fort Union NM karst and had a summary written. The • justify funding needs Glacier NP NPS National Cave and Karst Program • keep management informed Great Smoky Mountains NP has a goal to review all units and com- Harpers Ferry NHP plete summaries for those that are found In addition, the summaries will be also Hopewell Furnace NHS to contain cave or karst features in the used to provide better and more accurate Kalaupapa NHP preliminary information search. These information for upcoming Foundation Kaloko-Honokōhau NHP summaries will provide a better under- and State of the Parks documents. The Lake Mead NRA standing of park resources and provide a NPS National Leadership Council (NLC) Mammoth Cave NP reference and record of the information is committed to completing foundation Mesa Verde NP for the national program. Then the inten- documents for all NPS units by 2016 as Mount Rainier NP tion will be to use the completed sum- part of the Park Planning and Facilities Pecos NHP maries to identify critical cave and karst and Lands Directorate park planning Pinnacles NM related needs for parks from a national portfolios. For more information on Pipe Springs NM perspective. This will aid the NPS Na- foundation documents and park plan- Pu’uhonua O Hōnaunau NHP tional Cave and Karst Program in catego- ning, go to the InsideNPS summary post- Russell Cave NM rizing projects and funding needs. Addi- ed at “New Direction Set for Park Plan- Saguaro NP tionally, we would like to explore the ning Program”, visit the NPS intranet Santa Monica Mountains NRA concept of ‘Karst Significance’. At this SharePoint site at http://share.nps.gov/ Valley Forge NHP time, ‘Karst Significance’ isn’t defined PP-GMP, or contact Patrick Gregerson and doesn’t have specified metrics, but at 202-354-6972. The State of the Parks is These summaries are mostly derived one of our long-term goals is to be able to part of the Inventory & Monitoring Divi- from web engine searches and infor- identify and assign priorities to karst are- sion and intends to show the status and mation that is generally available on- as based on these metrics. The process of condition of park resources. For more line. In a few instances information has calculating the karst significance could be about the State of the Park Reports visit been obtained by doing interlibrary enabled by using GIS to better quantify their website at http://www.nps.gov/ loans or contacting the parks. It is an the number of karst features in parks stateoftheparks/. The Geologic Re- eventual goal to have these summaries through mapping and spatial analysis. We sources Division is helping parks provide available on the NPS Cave and Karst recognize that these are forwarding geologic pertinent information for these website, http://www.nature.nps.gov/ thinking goals but we believe these pre- national level reports, including cave and geology/caves/. liminary summaries will provide a base karst resource management and con- for planning upcoming cave and karst cerns. An important part of the summaries that projects. assist in the completion of the State of

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A Word from WASO NPS Units with Cave and Karst Summary Reports

If you are interested in obtaining more information or have any questions or comments about cave and karst summar- ies for parks, please contact me at Pie chart displaying Cave and Karst Classification [email protected] or Dale of 30 Parks with Completed Reports Pate at [email protected].

Based on the information collected so far, we have con- cluded that a total of 1,082 caves are known from the 30 studied units. Mammoth Cave NP (MACA) and Cra- ters of the Moon NM and PRES (CRMO) have the larg- est number of known caves so far at 400 solution caves and 344 basaltic lava tubes, respectively. In addition, 37% (11 of the 30 park units) have solution caves. Fur- thermore, 23% (7 of the 30 park units) have areas of limestone or other carbonates but no known caves. These 7 parks units are: Antietam NB, Cape Hatteras NS, Cape Lookout NS, Delaware Water Gap NRA, Fort Union NM, Hopewell Furnace NHS, Mesa Verde NP, Pipe Springs NM, Saguaro NP, and Santa Monica Mountains NRA.

Inside Earth • Vol. 16 No. 2 • Fall 2013 5

Reports From the Field and pits. This marked the single biggest

day of survey footage in Lech since the Return to Oz ten rock where Art and Simeon left off. discovery of the Far East branch in 1989. Using traditional free and aid climbing Submitted by Shawn Thomas, Cave Tech- After midnight, with both teams out of methods, Derek and James made slow nician, Carlsbad Caverns National Park food, out of water, and even running out but steady progress up the dome of survey paper, but nowhere near out of throughout the week. Dealing with The 2012 discovery of the “Oz” section of cave to survey, the hard but necessary poor quality rock, the climbers often Lechuguilla Cave, a significant upper lev- decision was made to return to camp, relied on hooks for protection or found el extension to the cave, was accom- which marked the conclusion of survey pockets that would accept gear after plished via a 400+ foot technical dome for the 2012 expedition. The team en- removing clay and rotten rock with climb known as the Kansas Twister. This joyed an impromptu celebration in camp hammers and nut tools. Despite the dome was first seen in 2007 when John at 4 a.m., recounting the discoveries. Lyles pioneered a survey route beyond a challenges of the dome, the commit- ment to the climb and inventive climb- tight squeeze that opened into Emerald It was tough to wait an entire year for the ing techniques ultimately proved suc- City, named for the green minerals found return to Oz. The much anticipated fol- within the thick, white gyp- low-up expedition took sum deposits that coat this place over the last week of area. Beyond Emerald City lay May, 2013. A team of 12 cav- a steep talus slope containing a ers spent eight days in the massive amount of material Deep Seas Camp to explore being sourced from the tall leads in Oz and pursue addi- Kansas Twister dome. James tional cartographic goals in Hunter led climbs in 2007 and the Far West. The 2013 team 2008, making progress above roster included several re- the talus slope but ultimately turning members from the being stopped by featureless, 2012 expedition – Derek Bris- overhanging walls. From this tol (expedition leader), James point, in 2009 John used a Hunter, John Lyles, Shawn homemade apparatus consist- Thomas, Abby Tobin, and ing of a slingshot coupled with Adam Weaver – as well as a reel of monofilament in the Highly decorated pool in the Hall of the Flying Monkeys, Lechuguilla Stan Allison, Andy Arm- hopes of draping a rope over Cave, New Mexico. NPS Photo by John Lyles. strong, Dan Austin, Jason cessful. On the fifth day of climbing, at a natural bridge 90’ above the top of the Ballensky, Pete Johnson, and Rene the very end of the day, Derek and talus slope. This attempt failed, and an- Ohms. Five of the team members hap- James topped out and, along with sur- other year passed before a team of Art pened to be NPS cave resource employ- veyors Brian Kendrick and Roger Har- Fortini, Bonny Armstrong, and Daniel ees from Carlsbad Caverns National Park ris, crawled along the edge of another Chailloux succeeded with a similar meth- (Allison and Thomas), Jewel Cave Na- talus slope to reach a large black void od and used pull cords to anchor an 11 tional Monument (Austin and Ohms), that swallowed their lights and echoed mm static climbing rope from the bridge. and Timpanogos Cave National Monu- their voices – the explorers were look- Using this rope, Art, along with Simeon ment (Armstrong). Since the focus of the ing up into Munchkinland, the 2nd larg- Warner, ascended to the top of the 2013 expedition was to explore leads in est known room in the cave. bridge, hoping to continue the climb. the Oz section of the cave, two teams Finding rotten rock walls leading up traveled to Oz during each of the six sur- The following day, the last survey day of from the bridge, Art and Simeon aban- vey days. The third team was sent to oth- the trip, two teams ascended the Kansas doned the dome. er areas of the Far West branch each day Twister to officially begin the survey of to continue work on Keel Hall and Zan- Oz. One team (Derek, James, John In 2012, on an expedition led by Derek zibar quadrangle goals. Bristol, Derek and James Hunter teamed Lyles, and Adam Weaver) surveyed over 2700’ in Munchkinland and the bore- to attempt the dome, trading climbing Among the most notable passages sur- hole beyond, while another team leads and being assisted by other team veyed in Oz during the expedition was (Shawn Thomas, Brian Kendrick, Abby members rotating belay and survey du- the Hall of the Flying Monkeys, named Tobin) surveryed over 800’ in large side ties. The climbers began at the bridge, for the abundant broken formations that passages that led to additional domes immediately having to deal with the rot- have fallen and been cemented into un-

6 Inside Earth • Vol. 16 No. 2 • Fall 2013

Reports from the Field derlying flowstone. Given the Oz theme, the explorers pictured the Wicked Witch’s flying monkeys circling about in this passage, careening into stalactites and sending them crashing to the ground. This area is among the most decorated and fragile in the cave, with numerous pools and pool deposits (see the cover photo for this issue of Inside Earth) among the extensive flowstone and countless colorful formations, somewhat reminiscent of the Nirvana area of the Near East. One of the amazing aspects of Lechuguilla Cave is the juxtaposition of such clean, pristine sections with areas that are among the slimiest and grittiest of any cave passage in the Guadalupe Mountains. A lead in the Hall of Flying Monkeys, for example, connected into an upper fissure passage coated in some of the thickest corrosion residue deposits James Hunter in the newly discovered Wizard’s Elevator pit in Lechuguilla Cave, Carlsbad (or ferro-manganese deposits, FMDs) Caverns National Park. NPS Photo by Derek Bristol. known in the cave. Surveying these pas- Another vertical lead in Oz was Yellow- caused them to speculate on the possibil- sages in dirty mode, explorers were stone Falls, a dome-pit with a yellow ity of an unknown surface connection slimed with FMDs, requiring them to flowstone cascade that was discovered above Yellowstone Falls. This year, a spend extra time cleaning before chang- on the previous year’s expedition. The climbing team successfully accessed the ing into clean clothes in order to travel discovery team had felt cool, dry air passage above this dome, and over a cou- back through the decorated section with- descending from the dome. This air- ple of return trips, the area was surveyed out causing impact. flow was unlike any they had experi- to completion, with the exception of two enced elsewhere in Lechuguilla and leads that are too delicate to enter. The In a different area of Oz, explorers dropped a virgin pit named the Wizard’s Elevator. This lead turned out to be a series of pits in a fissure complex that reminded the team of a steeper version of the Great White Way, which is located on the travel route to the Deep Seas Camp in the Western Branch. Over three survey days, the teams that explored the Wizard’s Elevator rigged several drops and surveyed down multiple pitches, ex- tending the pit to almost 500’ in depth. The deeper areas of the pit contain gyp- sum crusts and rillenkarren along the walls, as well as calcite rafts and mammi- laries in places. Surprisingly though, the pit eventually ended abruptly and did not connect to any lower levels of cave pas- sage, despite the pit extending down to nearly the same elevation as the cave de- velopment at the base of the Kansas Twister. A lead climb in the Oz area of Lechuguilla Cave led to a beautifully decorated chamber found and named Tatooine. Andy Armstrong is the caver on rope. NPS Photo by Derek Bristol.

Inside Earth • Vol. 16 No. 2 • Fall 2013 7

Reports from the Field Carbidimites in Wind Cave survey designation chosen for the climb Submitted By Marc Ohms, Physical Sci- they were named Carbidimites. Since was OB, and after setting station OB1, ence Technician, Wind Cave National then they have been reported in a hand- explorers couldn’t resist breaking from Park ful of caves around the world, but still the Wizard of Oz theme and naming the remain a very rare occurrence. Carbide area Kenobi. A second lead climb later in Carbide lamps were (and some still do) is calcium carbide and upon reacting with the week accessed a highly decorated used by cavers for many years as a pri- water forms calcium hydroxide. When chamber that was named Tatooine. mary light source. The operation of the carbon dioxide in the air reacts with the While no new entrances were found lamp is quite simple. Carbide mixed calcium hydroxide, calcite is precipitated. above Yellowstone Falls, the survey data with water produces acetylene gas, The calcium hydroxide gas bubbles con- shows this area to be among the highest which is then burned for light. This tinually form after the dumping, and in the cave – the high point of Oz is only involves putting the calcium carbide in move to the top of the dump, where cal- 19 feet below the elevation of Lechuguil- the lower chamber of the lamp and wa- cite is then precipitated. This continues la’s entrance and 44 feet below the high ter into the upper reservoir. A valve is as long as gas is being produced. (Hill point of the cave. The location of Oz used to control the rate at which the and Forti 1997) relatively close to the surface suggests water is allowed to drip into the cham- that a surface connection is still plausible. ber containing the calcium carbide. By During the summer of 2012 MaryBeth controlling the rate of water flow, the and the author discovered a small Over the course of the week, over two production of acetylene gas is con- carbide dump containing over a dozen miles of cave passage was surveyed and trolled. This in turn, controls the flow carbidimites within the Historic Section documented, including over 10,000’ of rate of the gas and the size of the flame of Wind Cave. This is the first report of virgin cave, the majority of which was at the burner, (and thus the amount of this formation in South Dakota and only discovered in Oz. This marks the most light it produces). the seventh in the US. productive weeklong expedition in Lechuguilla in decades. The new discov- Once the carbide is used it turns into a References eries were bittersweet, though, as most white/grey powdery ash. It was com- Hill, Carol, and Paolo Forti. 1997. Cave leads in Oz were surveyed to completion, monplace “back in the day” for cavers Minerals of the World, second edition. and no major new breakouts occurred. to simply dump this spent ash in the Some leads still remain though (mostly cave. It was also common for them to high leads), and teams will continue concentrate this dumping at given loca- working in this area in 2014. tions, perhaps at common rest stops or the like. These dumps are known simp- References ly as carbide dumps and can still be seen today in many caves. Allison, Stan. 2012. Park Updates: Carls- bad Caverns National Park. Inside Earth: A unique formation has been given birth NPS Cave and Karst Programs Newslet- by this random dumping of carbide in ter, Volume 15 Number 2. caves. First reported by the Iowa Grot- to in 1959 from a cave in Wisconsin, Bristol, Derek. 2013. Lechuguilla Cave Far West Expedition Report: May 25 – June 1, 2013. Unpublished report, Carls- bad Caverns National Park, Carlsbad, NM.

Bristol, Derek and John Lyles. 2013. Lechuguilla Cave: The Discovery of Oz. NSS News, May 2013.

Lyles, John and Derek Bristol. 2012. The Some of the carbidimites discovered during the sum- Discovery of Oz. Rocky Mountain Cav- mer of 2012 in the Historic ing, Spring 2012. Section of Wind Cave in Wind Cave. NPS Photos by Marc Ohms.

8 Inside Earth • Vol. 16 No. 2 • Fall 2013

Park Updates ______to a total vertical extent of 40.5 ft. Addi- ades. Most of the survey work was ac- Buffalo tionally, efforts have continued con- complished in the Oz area that had been National River cerning the resurvey of Fitton Cave in discovered in 2012. See Shawn Thomas’ ______both the Bat Passage and the Tennouri in-depth article on the Oz discoveries Submitted by Kayla Sapkota and Scott areas. Data checking yielded significant elsewhere in this issue of Inside Earth. House improvements in loop closure in the Bat • Cathy Borer & Art Fortini co-led a six- Passage, and continued resurvey yielded person Western Branch expedition June 1,846.1 ft in Tennouri this year. 13-20, 2013. Their expedition accom- Monitoring and survey has been on- plished 0.70 miles of survey, including going in Big Hollow for a little over a 0.40 miles of new survey. The high point year now. To date, the following caves (literally) of the trip was working on The have been located, monitored, and Other Bear climb in the Neverland area. mapped: Big Hollow Cave (34.9 ft), Big This climb was initiated with a slingshot Hollow Pit (in progress), Big Mouth to get a pilot line and then a rope over a Cave (80.8 ft), Broken Stone Cave (159.6 stalagmite. Spicy aid climbing got the ft), Chimney Cave, Leatherwood Sink team higher in the dome, but they ran out (62.1 ft), Pretty Well (in progress), and of time before they were able to complete Winding Staircase Cave #1 (in progress). the climb.

______Carlsbad Cavern Carlsbad Caverns • In June, 2013, Ed Klausner spent a week in the park to lead resurvey efforts in National Park Carlsbad Cavern. Ed spent several days ______Submitted by Stan Allison and Shawn surveying and proofing areas of the Big Volunteers that helped with the resurvey of Thomas Room for his quad map and also did Fitton Cave in Buffalo National River. Stand- ing from left to right: Jenn Ellis, Ethan Brown, some work in the Lower Cave section of Bryant Galloway, Jeffrey Bridgman, Kayla Cave Exploration, Survey & Carlsbad Cavern. Sapkota; Seated: Mike Screiber. Photo by CRF. The year 2013 was an eventful time for Cartography • Derek Bristol continued work on his Guadalupe Room Complex map over the cave monitoring and survey. Crews from Lechuguilla Cave the focused Fourth of July. The highlight was discov- Since the last Inside Earth update, there their efforts in four main areas---Big ering and climbing the 120 foot tall have been three Lechuguilla Cave ex- Creek, Broadwater Hollow, Big Hollow, Spooky Chimney in the Grand Ballroom ploration expeditions. Lechuguilla and Upper Buffalo River float objectives. area. The Spooky Chimney was an ex- Cave is now 138.2 miles in length. posed climb that led to large walking pas- The future of the natural resources in the sage that was left continuing into unex- • Hazel Barton led a six-person expedi- Big Creek area have been a hot topic of plored leads at the end of the trip. tion to the Southwest Branch May 6-12, conversation in Arkansas and the sur- 2013. Hazel’s expedition succeeded in rounding states due to the introduction • Ed Klausner, Scott House and Derek surveying 1.07 miles of passage, includ- of a Concentrated Animal Feeding Oper- Bristol of the Cave Research Foundation ing 0.46 miles of new survey. Most ation on the creek. Efforts to document (CRF) led multiple survey teams in late work was done in the Voids area in sup- and survey caves in this area have been a October. Ed Klausner continued work port of Hazel’s cartography project. large focus this summer. Teams complet- on his Carlsbad Cavern, Big Room and Lower Cave maps. Scott House contin- ed biological monitoring and survey of • Derek Bristol led a twelve-person ex- ued work on his Main Corridor map. Jawbone Cave (565.1 ft) and have begun pedition to the Western Branch May 25- Derek Bristol continued working in the the survey of Tom Barnes Cave June 1, 2013. An exceptional total of 2.06 Guadalupe Room Complex including (currently at 1,024.9 ft). miles of cave was surveyed including additional survey in the Spooky Chimney 1.93 miles of new survey. This is the In the Broadwater Hollow area, a vertical area which almost connected to Hall of most cave surveyed in Lechuguilla Cave team visited a reported lead known as the White Giant but was blocked by sedi- on a single expedition in recent dec- Blood Root Pit, surveying the 58.7 ft cave ment and breakdown fill. Leads still con-

Inside Earth • Vol. 16 No. 2 • Fall 2013 9

Park Updates

An example of Ed Klausner’s detailed work on the Big Room quadrangle of the new and in progress map for Carlsbad Cavern. tinue in this area. The highlight of the trip tour route. Dave is also working on the of Carlsbad Cavern in April 2013. They took place on Halloween night when cartography for this cave. surveyed in the elevation and location of Shawn Thomas belayed Derek Bristol up raft cones and folia in relation to other Spider Cave a short 15 foot climb in the Sacred geologic features. This work was part of Ground area of the Spirit World high In September, 2013, Paul Burger re- their study to interpret cave origin and above the Big Room. The unassuming turned to the park to continue working subsequent deposits and weathering lead soon led to a large room approxi- on leads left in the new section of Spi- characteristics. Their focus is on weath- mately 100 feet in diameter and 20 feet der Cave called Gilead that Chris Ami- ering of the cave bedrock and the chemi- tall, which was named Halloween Hall. don discovered in 2012. Paul, Stan Alli- cal evolution of the weathered material in Two leads appear to continue out of the son, and Shawn Thomas comprised the order to evaluate the nature of water flow room including a flowstone slope leading survey teams for three days of survey. and air chemistry after the major phase of to a dome lead. The flowstone slope is The team attempted to push the edge of cave development. Their study has been covered with bat skeletons. Exploration the known Gilead footprint but did not successful in identifying several late-stage and survey was stopped due to lack of make any breakouts. While most of the events following the main phase of cave time and will continue in February 2014. external leads are now rather grim, development including influxes of anoxic much internal survey remains. The water, hydrogen sulfide and possibly high Slaughter Canyon Cave highlight of the trip was finding some concentrations of carbonic acid. While In late October, 2013, Dave West of CRF 2.6 foot long gypsum needles. The the immediate goal of this study is not was in the park with Ed, Derek and Scott, teams surveyed a total of 0.22 miles of paleoclimatology they plan to collaborate but instead of working in Carlsbad Cav- passage during the week, bringing the with other researchers who can use the ern, Dave led resurvey efforts in Slaugh- cave to a new length of 5.28 miles. information for that purpose. ter Canyon Cave, a backcountry cave that Cave Research Activities • Pat Cicero led three Lechuguilla Cave is also used for primitive, helmet and day trips in May to assist Dr. Diana headlamp visitor tours. Dave spent four • Dr. Art Palmer and Peg Palmer contin- Northup with removal of her long-term days resurveying, resketching, and fixing ued their research in the Left Hand human impact study slides. Pat led trips bad loops, both on and off the flagged Tunnel and Lake of the Clouds region to all three branches of the cave including

10 Inside Earth • Vol. 16 No. 2 • Fall 2013

Park Updates

Deep Seas, Hudson Bay, Rusticles and Big Sky. Pat’s long term commitment to assisting Dr. Northup with her human impact study slide project is much appre- ciated.

• Dr. Diana Northup led a survey trip to Spider Cave in July 2013 to assist her stu- dents with their studies. Tammi Dun- can’s research was intended to determine if cave microbes produced iron-chelating compounds. She was studying sidero- phores produced in the cave and ana- lyzed samples for iron, manganese, car- bon, nitrogen and phosphorus CAS as- says by leaving inoculated agar samples in the cave. Secondary minerals were ob- tained that appeared to be purely miner- al, but actually contained many microbial communities for study utilizing SEM and genomic sequencing. Cave soil and air Stan Allison admiring 2.6 foot long gypsum needle in Spider Cave. NPS photo by Shawn temperatures were recorded during sam- Thomas. ple collection. Mathew Medina worked new wires and transformers will then be his Cave Technician duties after serving on his project to identify microbial inter- transitioned into powering the old light as Acting Cave Specialist since June 2012 actions with cave minerals in order to fixtures. This first stage of the project is when former Cave Specialist Dale Pate study microbes that masquerade as min- scheduled to take one year and will in- moved to the National Cave & Karst Co- erals. volve working in very delicate off-trail ordinator Position. Tom Bemis’ return • In May, Dave Decker, a PhD candidate cave areas in addition to scheduling from retirement ended in late July. Cur- in the Department of Earth & Planetary work around cave biota such as the rently Shawn Thomas and Stan Allison Sciences at University of New Mexico, Cave Swallows, Brazilian Free-tailed are the only Cave Resource positions in collected spar (dogtooth calcite) samples bats and the summer maternity colonies the park. The reduction of the Cave Re- from the southwest branch of Lechuguil- of Cave Myotis and Fringed Myotis that sources staff from 4 full time positions to la Cave on a day trip. Dave is using iso- inhabit the Left Hand Tunnel and Lake 2 full time positions has resulted in sig- tope and fluid inclusion analysis to date of the Clouds area. The Cave Resource nificantly less cave and karst related work the spar and link it to landform processes Office will be heavily involved in the being accomplished at Carlsbad Caverns that were occurring at the time of the project including presenting training to National Park. The park is hoping to fill spar formation. Shawn Thomas accom- all of the contractor’s employees on the Cave Specialist position in 2014. panied this research trip. how to safely travel and minimally im- ______Cavern Lighting Project pact the off-trail areas of Carlsbad Cav- ern through a presentation and an off- Coronado National This extremely significant project is in- trail trip in the cave. The second stage of Memorial tended to replace the aging 30+ year old the project which will involve replace- ______Carlsbad Cavern lighting system with ment of the current light fixtures with Submitted by Jason Mateljak and Matt new transformers, cables and eventually new mainly LED fixtures and control Stoffolano LED lights. This is the largest project boxes is not yet funded. currently taking place in the entire Inter- Coronado National Memorial contains mountain Region of the NPS. The first Cave Resources Office Staffing several caves, the largest of which is stage of the project starts in November Changes known as Coronado Cave. This is the 2013 and will involve replacing all of the only cave in the Memorial open to the Stan Allison resigned as Acting Cave public, and one of the most frequently old main wires and transformers. The Specialist in September 2013 to resume

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Park Updates

Guest Scientist position to help with cave resources as they relate to our ongoing landscape assessment and lay the ground- work for a Cave Management Plan. It will be a six month position which posted on the Geological Society of America's GeoCorp jobs page http:// www.geosociety.org/g_corps/2013/ allJobDescriptions.asp. For GRCA cave related issues contact Deanna Greco at [email protected].

______Great Basin

National Park

______Submitted by Gretchen Baker

Great Basin National Park’s new park film, “Under a Desert Sky: Life in the Park Ranger Carolyn Hunt shows park visitors a preserved pseudoscorpion during a Lehman Cave tour. Photo credit: NPS photo by Gretchen Baker Great Basin”, was released this summer visited public caves in southern Arizona. and the guilty parties to finalize a resti- and includes information about cave life, The cave came under NPS management tution settlement. showing cave biologist Jean Krejca look- in 1978 with an expansion of the Memori- ing for organisms and speaking about the This vandalism monitoring and restora- al. Until the 1930’s, it was common prac- fragility of caves. The Great Basin pseu- tion effort to cover the graffiti worked tice for visitors to collect formations as doscorpion (Microcreagris grandis) is extremely well, and is a model for future souvenirs. Many hundreds of formations featured. efforts at mitigating the effects of van- were broken and removed by early cave dalism at Coronado Cave. The use of Visitors to Lehman Cave also have the explorers who did not consider the loss monitoring technology, and enlisting opportunity to view a real pseudoscorpi- to future generations. Vandalism to the the help of the public through news or- on (Microcreagris grandis; endemic to the cave continues today, primarily in the ganizations and social media enabled park) during their cave tour. A dead form of spray paint, etched graffiti, smoke the quick resolution of the case and res- pseudoscorpion has been placed in a vial damage from fires, and litter. toration of the graffiti site. that interpreters can pass around to their New technology is aiding in identifying groups. The park is investigating ways of Comparison photographs of the graffiti and prosecuting vandals. Two visitors making a longer-lasting model of the before and after mitigation can be seen vandalized the entrance of Coronado pseudoscorpion, as many visitors have in the InsideNPS incident report. Cave with etched graffiti in February made remarks about how much they en-

2013. A well-camouflaged remote wildlife ______joy seeing cave life close up. camera captured their images while in the Grand Canyon One new cave, Lone Bat Cave, was found act of vandalizing the cave. Rangers in the park by Ben Roberts. It was sur- working the case prepared a press release National Park ______veyed to a total length of 32 feet. Alt- (http://www.kvoa.com/news/vandals- Submitted by Deanna Greco hough it didn’t have much of interest ge- sought-by-coronado-park-officials/#_), ologically, it contained an interesting seeking assistance in identifying the pair. Steve Rice has moved on to a position cave fauna, including a Townsend’s bat, The press release was picked up and dis- with the USGS in New Mexico but is pseudoscorpions (a different species than tributed by local newspapers and televi- looking to stay engaged in cave manage- those in Lehman Cave), springtails, spi- sion stations and within a day, the two ment at Grand Canyon NP through re- ders, and larvae. vandals called the Memorial to confess. search. Research permits continue to be Rangers then worked with the Investiga- issued for cave related exploration and A survey of cave entrance biota using tive Service Branch, US Attorney’s Office mapping. The park hopes have a GSA wildlife cameras has been completed, and

12 Inside Earth • Vol. 16 No. 2 • Fall 2013

Park Updates results will be presented at the National area. A connection here would save cav- Cave Research Cave and Karst Management Symposium ers approximately 6 hours of round-trip Dr. Andreas Pflitsch continues his work in Carlsbad in November. travel time to these leads. to study cave airflow patterns and clima- Park staff took Dr. Larsen, the park’s Chris Pelczarski has led several trips tology. He visited the park recently in medical advisor, for a biomonitoring trip into the cave recently to push leads in November to download data from tem- in Lehman Cave to familiarize him with the Mind Blower to the South. So far, perature loggers and a sonic anemometer the cave environment and to provide him the connection to the Art Attack area that has been permanently placed at the with a better idea of what medical con- remains elusive. Chris has also been historic entrance to the cave. cerns might arise in park caves. surveying in the main part of Jewel, con- Mike Wiles has recently consolidated his ducting mop up survey, and along the ______observations into a study called far eastern edge of the Calorie section “Paleohydrology and the Origin of Jewel Jewel Cave where several promising leads exist with Cave”. He presented a paper and a talk at strong airflow. National Monument the National Cave and Karst Manage- ______Lydia Austin led three trips to a small ment Symposium at Carlsbad, NM in Submitted by Dan Austin upper level near Shady Acres in the November 2013. Mike’s study suggests a

main part of the cave recently. Prior to Cave Exploration geologically recent origin of Jewel Cave, Lydia’s trip, only one other exploration with cave development beginning just 2013 has been a productive year for ex- trip had been to this area in 1967. One prior to the surrounding landscape ploration within Jewel Cave. Volunteer lead in particular here surprised every- reaching its modern configuration. New cavers have added 4.8 miles to the length one by producing nearly 1,000 feet of information has been incorporated into a of the cave thus far, with some interesting virgin passage on these trips. The area is conceptual model that is simple and new discoveries. Jewel Cave is now 168.6 well decorated with spectacular frost- straightforward, and geomorphically miles long. work trays and massive rims, nearly 7 feet long in some plac- Ian McMillan led two four-day camp es. She named the area trips this year to the southeast section of “Hidden Loft.” Lydia’s the cave. His objectives were to survey a husband, Dan, led a good lead in the Art Attack area, check return trip to the area in leads in the TV survey beyond “The November. The objec- End,” and to continue mop up survey tive was to continue the within an hour of camp. Hopes were high survey off the end of that the area beyond the Art Attack Lydia’s discovery. The would yield some new and exciting cave team surveyed in one passage. One team had visited the area a lead for 9 hours, accu- few years before, and they left a large lead mulating 1,168 feet of to be explored for the next team. Due to survey in virgin passage the difficult nature of this part of the with ceilings up to 60 cave, it took an enthusiastic team of cav- feet tall in some places. ers and several years before a return trip The entire area is now was planned. Ian’s first camp trip found 2,047 feet long with nearly 900 feet of new passage beyond over a dozen leads left this lead. The cave continued in multiple to explore, many of directions from the end of their survey, them walking-sized. but the team had run out of time. On The proximity of these Ian’s subsequent trip, a three-person new passages to the team surveyed 2,577 feet in one day, con- elevator entrance (less tinuing the lead to the North, West and than 1 hour) has many South. After plotting up the new survey, cavers excited about it was discovered that the new passage the possibilities here. Dan Austin near a large aragonite tray discovered in September in comes within 77 feet of the Mind Blower Hidden Loft. NPS Photo by Jen Foote.

Inside Earth • Vol. 16 No. 2 • Fall 2013 13

Park Updates compatible with the main surface and tinctly separate caves. The bulk of the cave features. It precludes the need for caves are formed in the Basalt of Mam- direct recharge from rainfall, hydrother- moth Crater, broken down into different mal waters rising from below, or prior flow regimes. Other basalts host lesser development of a Mississippian karst. numbers of caves but also in a variety of This conceptual model is a challenge for flows. future researchers to find answers that Pro-bono research is helpful in this era of will adequately incorporate all the obser- budget cuts. Operating under an umbrel- vations. It is a good starting point for ad- la general agreement, Cave Research dressing questions that, until recently, Foundation helps resource management were not even known to exist. through a number of approved research Building on previous work, the model is projects at Lava Beds. the next logical step toward predicting A long term photo-monitoring project the location of undiscovered passages. It operates under principal investigators bolsters the park’s ability to justify exter- (PI) Peri and Bill Frantz. In FY13 new nal protection actions, such as mineral stations were established, archives were withdrawals and land exchanges. The searched, and older photos were color- early research has already been used to balanced. Numerous photographs were justify mineral withdrawals 1990 and Rene Ohms admires a gypsum beard on the added to the park’s digital files. 2008, totaling 2,825 ha (6,983 acres); and March 2013 camp trip. NPS Photo by Garrett Jorgensen a land exchange in 2000, that converted A project to complete the resurvey of the Currently, the park uses paraffin oil and 148 ha (366 acres) from private to Forest popular Cave Loop caves was continued LED lanterns on the historic tours to Service Land. The NPS is mandated to by PI Liz Wolff. Thousands of feet of sur- help minimize future impact on this part make science-based management deci- vey were completed in FY2013 in the Ovis of the cave. sions. The better the science, the more Paradise Alley System and in the very meaningful the decisions will be. Personnel popular Labyrinth Cave system. Surface surveys complete loops which are care- Cave Restoration Several changes to the park resource fully scrutinized for errors, particularly management staff have occurred within This September concluded a four-year given the magnetic nature of the rock. the last few months. In July, Rene Ohms project to remove lint and wax accumu- accepted a position as Chief of Re- Monitoring of levels is continued lations from the historic area of the cave. source Management at Devils Tower by PI Bill Devereaux. The monitoring The tour routes here were used to con- National Monument. Kelly Mathis has protocol uses established points in caves duct candlelight tours for the past 100 also departed for a job in New Mexico from which to measure ice and/or water years and wax drippings on the floor had with the Fish and Wildlife Service. They levels. Monitoring takes place in spring begun to grow mold in some places. A both will be missed greatly. Currently, and is helpful in monitoring trends in the restoration project was begun in 2010 to Blase LaSala is volunteering to help fill warming climate and its effects on the remove the foreign debris and restore the needs within the division, and he will be caves. cave to its original condition. Kelly helping out at the park until February Mathis was hired as the restoration lead, PI John Tinsley is heading up a resurvey 2014. and under his direction the project suc- of Craig Cave with hundreds of feet sur- veyed in FY13. Craig Cave is one of the ceeded in its goals. During the four years ______that the project was conducted, 60,396 Lava Beds caves established as a baseline for the pounds of lint and wax was removed park’s Inventory and Monitoring System from the cave. The project also utilized National Monument (I&M). New surveys of caves are produc- ing much more accurate maps; necessary many volunteers who spent 942 hours ______helping in the effort. It is estimated that Submitted by Scott House for field and lab use. Another project 96% of the wax was removed from the headed by Ed Klausner and Scott House Lava Beds National Monument has cave and lint removed from over 90% of is creating new maps of several other over 750 documented lava-tube en- the tour route. I&M caves. Last year Valentine Cave and trances, most of which represent dis- Pearl Caves were finished; this year work

14 Inside Earth • Vol. 16 No. 2 • Fall 2013

Park Updates will continue in Post Office and Balcony/ Boulevard Caves.

One project is in a remote area of the park, north of Hardin Butte. This is in a distinctly different unit. The host rock is the late Pleistocene Basalt of the Castles which postdates the Basalt of Mammoth Crater and erupted through it. Two dis- tinctive flow units are represented but this project involves only one, the North Castle Flow. This was a low-gradient flow and the tubes did not develop deep; most of the “tubes” are on the flat side, seemingly having spread out like wet pancake batter poured on a griddle. More than 30 caves have thus far been surveyed and inventoried and a new da- tabase created to contain the infor- mation. Scott House is the principal in- vestigator. CRF member Don Dunham stands on top of a typical cave entrance in the North Castle Flow. Photos by Scott House ______Ozark National continued traffic and how disruptive much higher this year although some of that traffic might be. One continuing these results might have been affected by Scenic Riverways concern is with fewer authorized visi- a steady rainfall pattern through the ______tors going to caves, unauthorized and spring and early summer. Submitted by Scott House intentionally disruptive traffic might be Monitoring in one large spring cave re- doing great harm – particularly with The spring, summer and fall were moder- vealed that invasive crayfish are moving cave archaeological sites. ately busy times for cave management in into the dark zones. These crayfish could the Ozark National Scenic Riverways. With the fall comes the opportunity to impact watch species such as the blind visit summer bat roosts and measure Salem cave crayfish (Cambarus hu- The OZAR cave monitoring program guano. One important cave, un-gated brichti) or the blind southern cavefish continued strong with emphasis during but in a remote area, may have a sum- (Typhlichthys subterraneus). Plans are to the winter on bat counts and attempting mer bachelor colony of more than investigate several nearby caves and try to detect traces or signs of White Nose 40,000 gray bats (M. grisescens). This to remove the invasives. Syndrome. Over eighty cave monitoring number is based on the largest of nu- trips were taken during FY2013, down Surveys of larger wet caves continued merous fresh guano piles located in the somewhat from previous years because slowly as resources and conditions per- rear of the cave and accessed only by a of budget cuts and the need to take pre- mitted. One large shallow karst spring (as vigorous trip involving much crawling cautions to prevent the spread of WNS; opposed to the huge deep-conduit and climbing, made more sporting by where in the past several caves might be springs) was finally entered and several the confusing nature of the cave. visited over a wide area, now it is not un- hundred feet mapped. This is exciting usual to be “one and done” in order to Round Spring Cavern, which is devel- because the spring drains an area of more have time to bag and decontaminate all oped for visitation, was closed this sum- than six square miles of intense karst up- gear and clothing. mer due to budget cuts; only a few envi- land, almost all of which is outside the ronmental education tours were taken. park boundaries and highly subject to While all caves are closed administrative- The unfortunate closure did give us the disturbance. ly due to WNS concerns, many of the chance to do a count of amphibians caves continue to be entered by occa- With the permission of the landowner, a along the trail; normally affected by the sional visitors. The monitoring helps property for sale adjacent to the park was presence of visitors, the numbers were identify which caves are experiencing investigated for caves. Two new caves

Inside Earth • Vol. 16 No. 2 • Fall 2013 15

Park Updates

tours from May to October, but also in- cludes RM, maintenance, and contractor use of the caves. We felt that in order to effectively manage impacts and prevent impairment, the size, frequency, and al- lowed behaviors on tours had to be ad- dressed.

Based on measured temperature impacts, and the international occupancy stand- ard on which fire codes are based, the number of visitors on a public tour has been reduced from 20 to 16. This allows for adherence to the international occu- pancy code in our smallest tour stop, Middle Cave Lake. While the cave is not a building, it has similar issues when it comes to safety and ability to evacuate in case of an emergency. The CMP also prescribes a 15-minute gap between each tour. This provision allows the caves and Dan Lamping watches Tony Schmitt descend into a newly discovered pit near Ozark National Scenic Riverways. NPS Photo by Scott House. connecting to cool slightly be- tween tours, contributing to better over- were found including a pit that opened integration and communication be- all cave microclimate management. into several hundred feet of large pas- tween the divisions. In the resource sage. Survey and inventory work is con- management division, we see providing EPA Contaminant Testing tinuing at that site. accurate information and help to the Timpanogos Cave has been involved for interpreters as one of our greatest re- Cave maintenance continues in the form two years in a region-wide effort by the sponsibilities, and we look forward to of installing signage on certain high- EPA to look for traces of pesticides, per- continuing to work closely with our priority (well-visited) caves and main- sonal care products, and waste indicators cave guides. taining gates and locks. Lastly, several in selected national park streams, springs, CRF members attended a NCRC cave Cave Management Plan and lakes. Middle Cave Lake was chosen rescue training to keep them certified for as a sampling site in this study because The environmental assessment for Tim- any possible incidents. the tour travels directly above this body panogos Cave’s first ever cave manage- ______of water on a metal bridge. We had iden- ment plan has been completed. Final tified this lake as our most likely site for Timpanogos Cave comments were reviewed and integrat- human contamination of cave water, and ed into the document last spring, and National Monument this study has proven it. To date, we have

______the Finding of No Significant Impact found caffeine, Tri(dichloroisopropyl) has been sent to the regional office and Submitted by Andy Armstrong phosphate, bendiocarb, estrogen, and is currently awaiting the signature of the other compounds in the water in small Regional Director. This plan is innova- Division Integration quantities. Efforts are being made to de- tive in that it prescribes specific guide- termine the source of these contami- It has been a busy year at Timpanogos lines for our tour operations. At Timpa- nants. The caffeine and estrogen are as- Cave National Monument. In order to nogos Cave, we are fortunate to not sumed to be from urine. Tri deal with a lapsed position and seques- have many external threats to the cave (dichloroisopropyl) phosphate is a flame tration budget cuts, the Interpretation system. In addition, there is no active retardant found in baby products, while and Resource Management Divisions exploration at the current time. The bendiocarb is a pesticide that has been have been combined under division chief vast majority of impacts to the cave and banned from sale in the USA for over ten Cami McKinney. In addition to saving karst system come from our own opera- years! Efforts are being made to identify money, this change has allowed for better tions. This is mostly in the form of the source of these contaminants, and to

16 Inside Earth • Vol. 16 No. 2 • Fall 2013

Park Updates improve the bridge to reduce the likeli- table during the glacial and inter-glacial Management Division beginning on hood of dropped items. time periods. 11/7/13. Because Jewel Cave National Monument is sharing him with the park Restoration Camp Rod Horrocks recently gave a Power- during his scheduled furlough, Dan will Point presentation titled, “Development At the end of September, Timpanogos only be working for us one day a week of the NPS Cave Visitor Vital Signs Cave National Monument hosted our through the winter months. Monitoring Protocol” at the National second annual Restoration Camp. We Cave and Karst Management Symposi- Cave Survey & Inventory had a total of five volunteer over three um in Carlsbad, New Mexico. He is days. Work included removing lint and currently adding figures to that protocol Since the last reported length of the mud accumulations, speleothem repair, and preparing SOP’s in preparation for Wind Cave survey in Inside Earth, cavers and a thorough cleaning of the Middle the peer review process of his draft pro- have increased the surveyed length of the Cave Lake bridge. tocol. cave by 0.42 miles; establishing the cur- rent length of 141.00 miles. Our on-going ______Rod recently completed a mineral eval- cave resurvey project recently got a big Wind Cave uation of two 40-acre inholding tracts shot in the arm when our funding pro- of BLM land that the park would like posal to resurvey much of the pre-cave National Park the BLM to transfer to the NPS. These management cave survey found in the ______Wind Cave survey (primarily from the Submitted By Rodney D. Horrocks tracts are both found within the 5,500 1950-1970’s) was funded by the NRPP acre Casey property the park acquired Projects in 2011. In his evaluation, Rod recom- program for three years, beginning in mended that the subject tracts be classi- 2017. This project will hire a team of four We have started construction on the new fied for disposal under the R&PP Act seasonals for three consecutive years to airlock structure being built on the Walk- and transferred to Wind Cave National conduct the resurvey work. In Entrance of Wind Cave. After nearly 12 Park. years in the planning process, this new structure will replace the deteriorating Personnel revolving door that was built in 1991. It Dan Austin will be working as a Physical will also address several resource man- Science Technician for the Park’s Physi- agement, interpretation, maintenance, cal Science Branch of the Resource and safety issues. During the excavation for the pad, an archaeologist on site con- ducting the required monitoring work, discovered some 1890’s medicine bottle fragments and window pane glass frag- ments from the trap-door cabin entrance that was built over the current Walk-In Entrance in the late 1800’s. The new air- lock structure is being designed and built to last for 100 years.

Research

Dr. Art & Peg Palmer and Jim Paces (USGS) recently presented the results of their two-year long research project dur- ing a webinar on 10/31/13. Their presenta- tion was titled, “How to Make a Cave in 340 Million years, The Geology, Origin, and Genesis of Wind Cave”. Their dating of the wall crusts in the lower part of the cave revealed some fascinating details about the fluctuations of the paleo water The excavated pad and forms for the footings for the new airlock being built on the Walk-In Entrance of Wind Cave. NPS Photo by Rod Horrocks.

Inside Earth • Vol. 16 No. 2 • Fall 2013 17

National Park Service U.S. Department of the Interior

Cave and Karst Program Geologic Resources Division P.O.Box 25287 Denver, CO 80235-02787

EXPERIENCE YOUR AMERICA™

Inside Earth is the newsletter for the Cave and Karst Program operated out of the Geologic Resources Division of the Natural Resource Science and Stewardship Program of the Wash- ington Office in Lakewood, CO. This newslet- ter is published twice a year for staff, friends and partners across America.

Editor Andrea Croskrey

Article Contributors Dale Pate Stan Allison Limaris Soto Shawn Thomas Deanna Greco Dan Austin Marc Ohms Andy Armstrong Kayla Sapkota Rodney Horrocks Scott House

Photographers James Hunter Gretchen Baker Dale Pate Jen Foote John Lyles Garrett Jorgensen Derek Bristol Scott House Marc Ohms Rodney Horrocks Shawn Thomas

Comments? Write to: Inside Earth Geologic Resources Division P.O.Box 25287 Denver, CO 80235-02787