| November 2025 Minutes | | Meeting was held on November 04, 2025 | | Minutes recorded by: Brian Alger |
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| Attending | - Brian Alger (Host)
- Susan Alger (Host)
- Lee Ann Dean
- Matthew Plett
- Darcy Phillips
- Nicole Alton
- Tim Kohtz
- Tammy Tucker
- William Tucker
- Pierson Miller
- Ryan Marshall (Zoom)
- Taylor Kuiken (Zoom)
| | Old Business | - Covered last month's minutes
- Ralph Canyon Dig - Still on hold and will most likely until the government shutdown is resolved.
- The Carlsbad Bureau of Land Management will be opening up Endless Cave to guided trips by authorized trip leaders only. The offices are currently closed so no further progress has been made here.
- Mike Mansur's speleothem repair trip has been cancelled for November.
| | New Business | - Brian gave a Treasury Report. We have $940.19 in the account.
- Lee Ann attended a Cave Research Foundation a meeting in Springfield where everything CRF discussed. In particular the National Park Service and the Cave Research Foundation. The agreement laid out the groundwork for a partnership to allow "scientific research, cartography, projects, and interpretive activities related to NPS-managed cave and karst features in order to support NPS management objectives."
- Tim and Lee Ann will have a trip report from the Fall Southwestern Regional published in the Southwestern Cavers newsletter.
- Lee Ann submitted an application to participate in a research project at White Sands National Park focused on studying local shelter caves.
- Federal land agencies are limiting the use of photos in their data because of GPS information embedded in image files.
- Matthew stressed the value of personally engaging local representatives on cave and karst issues, noting that relationships are more effective than emails.
- The group discussed maintaining an online option for meetings. Zoom is currently used, but the free version limits sessions to 40 minutes, and an annual unlimited plan costs $159.90. Since at least one member attends remotely each month, the consensus was to continue offering a virtual option. Due to the cost, Microsoft Teams will be explored as a possible alternative.
| | Trip Reports | - Lee Ann reported on her trip to Cave Tree Cave, which proved difficult to find but was eventually located. The next day, she joined a guided tour of nearby petroglyphs and pictographs.
- Matthew gave a trip report on his visit to Cottonwood Cave. It’s a beautiful cave, though the hike back was challenging. The next day, he also joined the guided tour to see the petroglyphs and pictographs.
- Ryan reported that he and Levi visited some piping cave in Palo Duro Canyon.
- Pierson reported that he and Ryan discovered several new vertical caves during their YESO trip, including one named Earthquake Cave.
| | Upcoming Trips | - Project Yeso - Upcoming trips are scheduled for Nov 14-16, Dec 12-14 & Jan 9-11.
- Blowing Crack Cave - This project is still pending. Brian will see if he can borrow the jackhammer and find a good date for the trip.
- SWR Winter Tech - This technical meeting of the Southwestern Region will be held December 6-7 and is being hosted by the Sandia Grotto.
- Pierson gave a trip report on his visit to Hell Below Cave with a group of Arizona cavers. On his way out, he found a phone that had been dropped during the previous day’s trip.
| | Grotto Elections | - Officer elections will be held next month. The Lubbock Area Grotto must have at least three officers who are also NSS members. Susan proposed that LAG sponsor anyone interested in holding a position who is not currently an NSS member and needs assistance. The proposal was put to a vote and approved.
| | Next Meeting | - December 2, 2025
- 7:00 PM
- The Tuckers have offered to host the December meeting at their home. They asked that everyone bring a Christmas-themed snack to share.
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