April began with SPG’s annual bio inventory and restoration trip into Greene County’s Sequiota Cave, a cave that is closed much of the year due to endangered species habitat.  This trip was multi-faceted this year due to the siltation event over the previous winter.  While Eric Hertzler led a transect bio inventory, Melvin Johnson manned a display booth outside of the cave to answer questions from the public about caves and what was being done in the cave.  Other SPG members conducted a resource assessment of the badly silted East Passage and main passage.  These passages were silted by a fine, brick-red silt with the consistency of pudding, covering the stream bottom up to two feet high.  Photographs were taken of specific areas to compare with photos that will be taken in future years.

Jon Beard assisted Bob Harvey in the macro photography of springtails and spiders, both cave-dependent species that are very small and blind.

Melvin Johnson continued the public outreach education in Giboney Cave for teachers and students on April 3^rd, 5^th, 12^th, 15^th, 19^th and 29^th.  Altogether, 781 elementary school teachers and students were guided through the cave to learn about caves.

On April 7^th, Bob Taylor continued his survey work in Ash Grove Cave while being assisted by Roy Gold, Jack Rosenkoetter and the Youngs Charley, Jeff and Sarah.  Bob also mapped a newly reported cave in Dickerson Park Zoo in Greene County on the 21^st.  The entrance looks like a donut hole and leads to about 35 feet of narrow passage, some of it walking passage.  Bob was assisted by Roy Gold and Charley Young in the survey of Paxton Cave, which was completed on April 28th.

SPG along with MDC staff and volunteers performed major graffiti removal in the north half of Watkins Cave in Greene County, a cave managed by the MDC as part of its Bois D’Arc Conservation Area.  It will take more than one day to remove all of the ugly spray paint from this cave, but this damage will eventually be removed.

At the request of a landowner, Jon Beard, Roy Gold and Bob Taylor checked Jamesville Spring Cave in Christian County.  The cave is mostly tight, involving a watercrawl and some tight, awkward dry crawling, but its entrance environs and cascading spring branch are especially scenic.  While in the area, the group checked a few other cave locations.

A spring season cannot go by of course without SPG members visiting Smittle Cave of Wright County.  Evan Christiansen, Kasi Johnson and Gabe Rodgers and friend Jason Stephens visited the cave on the 18^th.  The cave was also visited on the 21^st by Roy Gold, Jack Rosenkoetter, Leo Thompson and Charley Young when they hosted five members of the Colorado Grotto.  Greg Glazner, Ryan Howard, Barb Smith, Jim Wilson and Skip Withrow were also treated to Railroad and Skaggs Caves in Pulaski County the day before.  Their hosts that day were Jon Beard, Roy, Lloyd Morrison, Jack, Leo and Charley.  On the 24^th, Charley and Jeff Young spent the day in Smittle Cave doing a lot of photography in the first section of cave.

Michael Carter was assisted by Max White in Michael’s survey work in Crooked Crawlway Cave in Douglas County.  They also assisted CRF mappers in Turnbull Cave nearby.

On April 28^th and 29^th, Jon Beard, Michael Carter, Bonnie Curnock, Jason Hardinger, Jack Rosenkoetter and his brother Jim and Max White of SPG as well as MMV and MVG cavers Serena Crisp, the Hummel Family of Angie, Emile, Paul and Paul the 3^rd, Tony Rickett, Scott Steiner and Matt Tenny performed restoration on the Ballroom of Fisher Cave in Meramec State Park.  Work included reattaching stalagmites, cleaning over 100 square feet of flowstone floor and retrieving and cleaning broken pieces from a cave stream.

On April 29^th, Bill and Bonnie Heim replaced the vandalized door on the entrance to the MCKC’s Crystal Caverns in Barry County.  As Bill explained, removal of the old door and jamb took three hours—two for the work on the door and one fighting off ticks!