| Smittle Cave September 6th |
Roy Gold, Jack Rosenkoetter, Max White and Charley Young | Roy Gold, Jack Rosenkoetter, Max White and Charley Young guided a group of Royal Rangers through Smittle Cave (Wright Co). Most of the group trekked through the Meander Passage, Water Passage, Upper Dingle Way, Waterfall Room and beyond. |
| Sequiota Cave September 7th |
Melvin Johnson | Melvin Johnson participated in an aborted educational trip into Sequiota Cave (Greene Co) for a school group. The trip was cut short due to the presence of a relatively large group of gray bats—either a transient group on their way to wintering quarters or a group that has arrived prematurely to Sequiota, their wintering cave. This and previous trips to the cave have been held as part of the Springfield-Greene County Park Board’s Outdoor Initiatives educational program. |
| September 7th | Jon Beard, Bill and Bonnie Heim, Charity Hertzler, Gabe and Kasi Rodgers and Jerry Vineyard | Jon Beard, Bill and Bonnie Heim, Charity Hertzler, Gabe and Kasi Rodgers and Jerry Vineyard presented a two-hour program to the Christian County Historical Society and members of the public. The subjects were Garrison Cave #2 (Christian Co) and the conservation of that cave through best management practices in the recharge area around Elk Valley. The purpose of the presentation was to continue the effort to preserve the cave’s extensive ecosystem—it is the largest known habitat for the bristly cave crayfish and other species. The area around the City of Ozark, which includes the Elk Valley area, is rapidly being urbanized, and the ecosystem is possibly being threatened by the changes on the surface. |
| Fitton Cave September 9th |
Roy Gold, Jon Beard, Zach Copeland, Brian Goeppner, Lloyd Morrison, Luke Rengstorf and Charley Young |
Roy Gold, Jon Beard, Zach Copeland, Brian Goeppner, Lloyd Morrison, Luke Rengstorf and Charley Young took hundreds of photographs in the Helictite Passage of Fitton Cave (Newton Co, AR) to thoroughly document many of the features in this relatively remote section of the cave. Amazingly, the group was able to keep Charley from taking a lot of pictures before they reached the Helictite Passage. |
| Fitton Cave September 12th |
Jack Rosenkoetter | Jack Rosenkoetter assisted with an MSU electronic elevation survey project in the East Passage of Fitton Cave (Newton Co, AR) with Luke Rengstorf and others. |
| Onyx Cave September 13th |
Jon Beard and Bob Taylor | Jon Beard and Bob Taylor of SPG, Bob Nicolussi and Kris Butler of MSM, Pic Walenta of KCAG and Klaus Liedenfrost of the U.S. Forest Service relocated about 25 large flat blocks of sandstone from the entrance room of Onyx Cave (Pulaski Co) to the final three of four cave stream crossings. The purpose of this hard labor was to make easy, stable stepping stones at these crossings. The crossings have become quagmires several feet wide because they contain deep mud. The stones actually protrude out of the water, making for narrow attractive places to cross the stream. They also picked up some minor amounts of trash missed on previous restoration trips. After the completion of the project, the group strolled the rest of the way to the end of the Left Passage. |
| Tumbling Creek Cave September 13th |
Dr. Doug Gouzie | Dr. Doug Gouzie took 10 students from his MSU speleology class to Tumbling Creek Cave (Taney Co) for a guided educational class in the cave. |
| Smittle Cave September 16th |
Charley Young, Jon Beard and Zach Copeland |
Charley Young, Jon Beard and Zach Copeland removed muddy handprints on formations above the stream in the Ball Diamond area in Smittle Cave (Wright Co), then proceeded to the Water Passage to remove profuse graffiti names, initials and crude sculptures from hundreds of feet of clay walls. They used their gloved hands to smooth out the etched graffiti, then patted the surface to create a rough texture. Other parts of the cave were visited up to the Waterfall Room. Biota seen along the way included a grotto salamander in the Meander Passage, a cave salamander, some pickerel frogs and some pipistrelles. |
| Giboney Cave September 16th |
Dr. Doug Gouzie | Dr. Gouzie gave 15 students from his MSU speleology class a field trip to Giboney Cave of Doling Park (Greene Co). |
| Smittle Cave September 19th |
Max White, Charley Young, Jeff Young and Victor Young | Max White, Charley Young, Jeff Young and Victor Young spent the day in the entrance passage, Formation Passage and Breakdown Passage of Smittle Cave (Wright Co). |
Virgin Cave, |
Jack Rosenkoetter, Zach Copeland, Roy Gold, Tom Morton, Jon Beard, Leo Thompson and Charley Young | Jack Rosenkoetter, Zach Copeland, Roy Gold, Tom Morton, Jon Beard, Leo Thompson and Charley Young took the landowner of Virgin Cave (Christian Co) on a trip through his cave. Actually, it began with a brief visit to nearby Smiths Cave, a cave blasting open by a previous landowner. The group then spent the rest of the day in Virgin Cave, a 1,500-foot decorated cave mapped by Bob Taylor in the 1970s. Pool levels were up from previous visits years ago. Salamanders counted: 15 redbacked, eight cave, one dark-sided, four slimy. Three of the slimies were guarding clutched of eggs in one side passage. Roy and Charley took many photos of speleothems, including large "elephant ear" draperies, boxwork and cave critters. After exiting the cave, the landowner showed them Woodys Cave, a small cave located hundreds of feet south of Virgin Cave. Roy obtained GPS coordinates for all cave entrances. The owner wants to install a bat-friendly cave gate at Virgin Cave. |
| Steins Creek Cave September 21st |
Jon Beard and Zach Copeland and Bob Taylor | Jon Beard and Zach Copeland assisted Bob Taylor in the continuing survey of Steins Creek Cave (Wright Co). After five survey shots were laid out, Bob stayed behind to sketch, while Zach and Jon trekked ahead, removing graffiti carved in clay as they went (approx.imately 100 names). After reaching the end of the clay canyon section, they reached a breakdown area on the left, exploring it to its end. They then explored another breakdown determined passage on the right for about 300 feet to its end. Both areas end in terminal breakdown. They saw one grotto salamander, a few pipistrelles, and also collected and removed beer cans and other trash. The cave is approximately 1,200 feet in length. |
| Watkins Cave September 27th |
Jon Beard, Bonnie Curnock, Roy Gold, Bill Heim, Tom Morton, Gabe and Kasi Rodgers |
Jon Beard, Bonnie Curnock, Roy Gold, Bill Heim, Tom Morton, Gabe and Kasi Rodgers and Jack Rosenkoetter guided approximately 100 kids and adults on educational trips through Watkins Cave (Greene Co) as part of the Great Outdoors Day sponsored by the Missouri Department of Conservation. Biota noted were four pipistrelles, a few pickerel frogs, and a couple of earthworms. |
| Spring Cave September 27th |
Zach Copeland | Zach Copeland participated in the survey of a spring cave in Shannon County involving upper and lower levels. |
| Lowell Cave September 28th |
Roy Gold, Jon Beard, and Bob Taylor |
Roy Gold (lead tape) and Jon Beard (back tape) assisted Bob Taylor in the continuing survey of upstream Lowell Cave (Wright Co). While Bob sketched, Jon and Roy removed graffiti along the way, most of it from the 1990s. Cave critters seen were a few pipistrelles, a few pickerel frogs and an epigean aquatic amphipod. |
| Branson Cave September 28th |
Zach Copeland | Zach Copeland assisted Spike Crews and Bob Osburn in the mapping of a side passage in Branson Cave (Shannon Co). They surveyed approximately 250 feet. |
| Round Spring Cavern September 28th |
Dr. Doug Gouzie | Thirteen members of Dr. Doug Gouzie’s speleology class were given an educational field trip to Round Spring Cavern (Shannon Co) by Scott House. |