Post by Sharon Faulkner on Apr 20, 2006 19:17:02 GMT -5
Into the caves
New Mexico Tech club teaches all about these voids
by Argen Duncan
They're boldly going where no man has gone before ... even if rattlesnakes are already there.
Besides spelunking for pleasure, New Mexico Tech Caving Club members help discover, restore and research caves. Working with the federal Bureau of Land Management, the group has found seven cave or karst features in the past year alone.
Club president Kevin Stafford, a doctoral geology student in the Cave and Karst Studies Program, defined a cave as basically any void big enough for a person to enter. A karst formation is any hole or feature in rock made by that rock dissolving, he said. Stafford said the club's main focus is teaching students and community members how to deal with caves without hurting the features or themselves and how to relate to owners of private land with caves.
The club also helps map, clean and do biological inventories in different caves. The work brings tight spaces, darkness and close encounters with wildlife, including rattlesnakes. Some club members are doing graduate-level cave research. They want to create more awareness and learn about cave formation and ecosystems, he said.
Faculty adviser Deidre Hirschfeld, an associate professor in the Materials and Metallurgical Engineering Department, said most members go spelunking for recreation, but graduate students studying caves have joined recently. "And so they have a higher level of enthusiasm than recreational cavers, and we have access to caves we may not have had access to before," she said.
Mike Bilbo, Socorro's Bureau of Land Management recreation planner and cave specialist, said the caving club has volunteered with the bureau for years. He credited them with bringing to light knowledge of area caves. They've worked 986 hours for the bureau since October 2005 alone. The group has access to caves the public doesn't because of their research.
About two years ago, club members discovered the longest known cave in Socorro County, McDaniels Cave near Carrizozo. People have measured about 13,000 feet of it without finding an end. "I think, gradually, we're finding that caves in the Socorro area are not as rare as we once thought they were," Stafford said. The club has also worked on the other area points of interest: Chupadera Mesa near Bingham and Riley's Cave, about 36 miles northwest of Socorro. Bilbo said subdividing is coming to the Riley area. People need to know what resources, including caves, the land has before they exchange it, he said.
The club also checks for caves in areas scheduled for prescribed burns. This allows land managers to burn around them to avoid impacting cave life. The group has cleaned trash out of a cave and done restoration such as improving entrances and gluing stalagmites and stalactites back in place. Caves often have connections to drinking water, making trash removal important, Bilbo said. Tech cavers help with research in more distant places as well, including the Snowy River discovery in southeastern New Mexico.
The club has about 20 to 25 active members. Stafford said people unaffiliated with Tech could join meetings and activities. However, they can't vote on officers or uses of university money. How people participate depends on their experience, physical ability and comfort level. Hirschfeld said trips cater to different degrees of ability. "Where you take a beginner and where you take an experienced person are very, very different," she said.
The group has recreational caving trips when enough demand exists. Stafford said these allow beginners to move around in a cave and see if they like it or have claustrophobia. After that, new members can help with research if they want. "We're not going to make you spend 10 hours crawling through a muddy hole, mapping it, if you don't like it," Stafford said.
The club offers training and safety equipment for activities. They take Hirschfeld's Senior Girl Scout troop caving, usually once a year. The group tries to take two research or exploring trips every month, Stafford said. Members can often join graduate students on less-frequent trips to their research sites. Hirschfeld said New Mexico has many wonderful caves within a six-hour drive from Socorro, and some graduate students work out of state. "Of course, we emphasize safety and do everything the right way," she said. They are also involved with the National Speleological Society. Anyone interested in the club, or caving in general, can contact Bilbo at (505) 838-1278.
www.dchieftain.com/
New Mexico Tech club teaches all about these voids
by Argen Duncan
They're boldly going where no man has gone before ... even if rattlesnakes are already there.
Besides spelunking for pleasure, New Mexico Tech Caving Club members help discover, restore and research caves. Working with the federal Bureau of Land Management, the group has found seven cave or karst features in the past year alone.
Club president Kevin Stafford, a doctoral geology student in the Cave and Karst Studies Program, defined a cave as basically any void big enough for a person to enter. A karst formation is any hole or feature in rock made by that rock dissolving, he said. Stafford said the club's main focus is teaching students and community members how to deal with caves without hurting the features or themselves and how to relate to owners of private land with caves.
The club also helps map, clean and do biological inventories in different caves. The work brings tight spaces, darkness and close encounters with wildlife, including rattlesnakes. Some club members are doing graduate-level cave research. They want to create more awareness and learn about cave formation and ecosystems, he said.
Faculty adviser Deidre Hirschfeld, an associate professor in the Materials and Metallurgical Engineering Department, said most members go spelunking for recreation, but graduate students studying caves have joined recently. "And so they have a higher level of enthusiasm than recreational cavers, and we have access to caves we may not have had access to before," she said.
Mike Bilbo, Socorro's Bureau of Land Management recreation planner and cave specialist, said the caving club has volunteered with the bureau for years. He credited them with bringing to light knowledge of area caves. They've worked 986 hours for the bureau since October 2005 alone. The group has access to caves the public doesn't because of their research.
About two years ago, club members discovered the longest known cave in Socorro County, McDaniels Cave near Carrizozo. People have measured about 13,000 feet of it without finding an end. "I think, gradually, we're finding that caves in the Socorro area are not as rare as we once thought they were," Stafford said. The club has also worked on the other area points of interest: Chupadera Mesa near Bingham and Riley's Cave, about 36 miles northwest of Socorro. Bilbo said subdividing is coming to the Riley area. People need to know what resources, including caves, the land has before they exchange it, he said.
The club also checks for caves in areas scheduled for prescribed burns. This allows land managers to burn around them to avoid impacting cave life. The group has cleaned trash out of a cave and done restoration such as improving entrances and gluing stalagmites and stalactites back in place. Caves often have connections to drinking water, making trash removal important, Bilbo said. Tech cavers help with research in more distant places as well, including the Snowy River discovery in southeastern New Mexico.
The club has about 20 to 25 active members. Stafford said people unaffiliated with Tech could join meetings and activities. However, they can't vote on officers or uses of university money. How people participate depends on their experience, physical ability and comfort level. Hirschfeld said trips cater to different degrees of ability. "Where you take a beginner and where you take an experienced person are very, very different," she said.
The group has recreational caving trips when enough demand exists. Stafford said these allow beginners to move around in a cave and see if they like it or have claustrophobia. After that, new members can help with research if they want. "We're not going to make you spend 10 hours crawling through a muddy hole, mapping it, if you don't like it," Stafford said.
The club offers training and safety equipment for activities. They take Hirschfeld's Senior Girl Scout troop caving, usually once a year. The group tries to take two research or exploring trips every month, Stafford said. Members can often join graduate students on less-frequent trips to their research sites. Hirschfeld said New Mexico has many wonderful caves within a six-hour drive from Socorro, and some graduate students work out of state. "Of course, we emphasize safety and do everything the right way," she said. They are also involved with the National Speleological Society. Anyone interested in the club, or caving in general, can contact Bilbo at (505) 838-1278.
www.dchieftain.com/