INTRODUCTION / SUMMARY
(1) AMERICAN CAVING ACCIDENTS
COMMITTEE
(2) AAAS REP- BIOLOGY
(3) AAAS REP-GEOLOGY & GEOGRAPHY
(4) AGI DELEGATE
(5) U.S. EXPLORATION COMMITTEE
(6) INTERNATIONAL EXPLORATION COMMITTEE
(7) RESEARCH ADVISORY COMMITTEE
(8) SPELEO DIGEST
(9) SPECIAL PUBLICATIONS COMMITTEE
(10) JOURNAL OF CAVE AND KARST STUDIES
(11) NSS NEWS
(12) MEMBERS MANUAL
(13) BIENNUAL REPORT
(14) PERMISSION TO REPRINT
B-1 Summary of proposed Cooperative
Agreement with NCKRI
B-2 Book Promotions
There are thirteen committees in the Department of the Executive Vice President (EVP). A fourteenth item has been added here to cover permissions to reprint from NSS publications.
Progress:
Malcolm Field has been appointed interim Editor of The Journal
and is nominated for confirmation, replacing Louise Hose. Louise
has stepped down after eight years during which time she brought
the level of the The Journal up to a standard never before seen.
The NEWS is still being published on time and within budget. ACA
was ready for publication, but has been held up to add 2003
reports and will be published by April. This idea, by Bill
Putnam, saved several thousand dollars in the new budget. The
Taming of the Slough and On Cave Conservation and
Restoration are scheduled to be printed this spring and
should be ready for convention sales. Permission was given to
Gustavo Quesada, President of the Anthros Costa Rica Grotto, to
translate our brochures into Spanish. He will send copies of the
translations to the NSS.
Plans:
Enter into a Cooperative Agreement with NCKRI to publish the The
Journal as a Joint Venture with the NSS with NCKRI providing 50%
of the publication and distribution costs.
Problems:
Several committees are very concerned about budget cuts.
Respectfully submitted,
Don Paquette speleo@reliable-net.net
Bill Putnam (Chairman)
1865 Eagle Summit Ct
Lawrenceville GA 30043-6669
Phone: 770-822-0003
Fax: 770-682-5536
E-mail: putnam@scci.org
Committee Members:
Richard Breisch
Diane Cousineau
George Dasher
John Gookin
Kris Green
Dave Hughes
Buddy Lane
Anmar Mirza
John Punches
Progress:
The 2002 and 2003 reports have been combined and are being
published in a double issue. By doing so, we save the entire cost
of an ACA issue (about $10,000) in the 2005 budget. ACA was up to
date after the last issue, which was just published last summer,
and the publication of the 2003 reports in this issue will put us
about 9 months ahead. I expect to be finished editing and
preparing the 2003 reports by the end of February, to complete
the proofreading and review in March, and to publish the issue by
the end of March for April distribution.
The quote for this issue of ACA is $9,833 for a press run of 11,000 copies, broken down as follows:
Printing: $6,050
Labeling & Mailing Services: $620
Postage: $3163 (estimated by EBSCO based on last issue counts
& current rates)
In addition, I estimate about $300 for miscellaneous production expenses including photo processing, cover layout & design charges, FedEx charges for the manuscript & proof copies, and shipping the bookstore copies to Huntsville. The expected total cost is $10,200. This will vary a little based on the exact postage, which depends on the number of US and foreign members on the mailing list at the time of mailing, but the actual cost should be within $100 of this figure. We can buy the extras from the overrun for the bookstore for $0.65 each. The quote is for 11,000 copies, which should leave us with about 200-300 copies for the bookstore, but we will probably wind up buying the overrun, since we have done that with the other ones. We could buy up to 769 extras (assuming there are that many and that we want them - we did last time) and still remain within the budgeted $10,700.
As requested, I have provided PDF copies of ACA 94-95, ACA 96-98, and ACA 99-01 to Stephanie. These are all the issues I have produced to date. I will be sure to send her the final PDF of ACA 02-03 when it is printed.
Plans:
Publish double issue of ACA covering 2002 and 2003 for April 2004
distribution. Publish the 2004 reports in the Simmer of 2005 (in
the 2006 budget year).
Problems:
None.
Kathleen Lavoie
101 Hudson Hall
Plattsburgh State University of New York
Plattsburgh, NY 12901
Work: 518-564-3150
Home: 518-562-1154
Fax: 518-564-3152
E-mail: lavoekh@plattsburgh.edu
Progress:
An article describing the history of the relationship of
NSS as an affiliate to the American Association for the
Advncement of Science has been drafted. The paper by Lavoie and
Chess will be submitted to the NSS News soon. The intent is to
strenghten ties between the two organizations.
I continue to work with NCKRI on issues related to biospeleology. I consulted with Mammoth Cave National Park on their Long-Term Ecological Monitoring Protocols (February 2004).
Plans:
The NSS/AAAS article will be submitted soon. I plan on
contacting the NSS Webmaster about making the AAAS a more
primnent link on the NSS webpage.
Problems:
None
Daniel L Chess
19 Tavano Road
Ossining NY 10562
Home: 914-945-2479 tieline 862
E-mail: DLCHESS@us.ibm.com
Progress:
Attended the 2004 AAAS Annual Meeting, and the Geology
Business Meeting in Seattle,WA on February 12th - 16th. Geology
symposia were very few at this year's meeting . Volunteered again
to be a proposal reviewer for Geology, Environmental and
Geography related sessions. The 2005 meeting will be in
Washington DC.
Plans:
I was considering organizing a session on "Caves as
Portals to the Past," to include 5 speakers on the value of
cave deposits. Cave deposits are special niche environments that
can contain large sequences of undisturbed deposits to include
paleosediments, minerals, bone and archeological materials.
Problems:
None
Harvey R. DuChene
7216 East Bentley Circle
Englewood CO 80112
Home: 303-694-3472
Work: 303-292-0949 ex 101
Fax: 303-292-3901
E-mail: hduchene@earthlink.net
American Geological Institute Representative's Report
Progress:
The last AGI meetings were held in November during the
Geological Society of America meetings. Joan Mylroie attended in
my place. No action items for NSS resulted from the meetings.
I recently received AGI’s annual request for an update on the number of stipulated members for NSS. I checked with Gale McCoy who said the Geology and Geography Section currently has 42 active members, which is what I reported to AGI. There is no change in the stipulated member count from last year, and therefore, the dues will remain the same.
Problems:
There are no AGI-related problems specific to NSS.
However, I chair an AGI committee (not related to NSS) on the
status of Geology in our National Parks. I recently was made
aware by members of the National Park Service that the current
administration in Washington, D.C. is looking at outsourcing many
functions currently handled by NPS. This includes matters related
to the management of caves. I also learned that NPS has no money
in its 2005 budget for geology projects in parks, and money from
other sources, such as the Geological Society of America GeoCorps
Program is diminishing. GeoCorps partly funds placement of
geoscientists in National Parks, as well as providing screening
of candidates for NPS. NPS is required to provide partial
matching money to fund the projects. Obviously, if NPS has no
money for geological projects, it cannot provide the funds to
match the GeoCorps contribution. A ramification of this is that
NPS will be looking for more help from volunteer organizations,
which that the NSS has an opportunity to make even greater
contributions to geology and speleology in the Nationa Park
system. I will keep the Board and Executive Committee apprised of
developments.
Plans:
I am tentatively planning to attend the next AGI
meetings in April to be held in conjunction with the annual
meeting of the American Association of Petroleum Geologists. My
attendance will depend on my work schedule.
C. William (Bill) Steele, NSS 8072, Chairman
1716 Glen Valley Dr
Irving, TX 75061
Home: 972-785-2422
E-mail: speleosteele@aol.com
Committee Members:
Dave Black, NSS 15419, Indiana
Don Broussard, NSS 9514, Texas
Jim Chester, NSS 6946, Montana
Scott Davis, NSS 15937, Arizona
Tom Shifflett. NSS 14207, Virginia
Jim Smith, NSS 14529, Georgia
Progress:
Two Sara Corrie Fund grants awarded in last quarter:
Esso Grotto, located at the junction of Kentucky, West Virginia,
and Ohio, for $250 for a GPS unit.
The Karst Research Group at the University of South Florida, for $250 for a digital camera.
Plans:
Continue as have been.
Problems:
None
Joel Despain
HCR 89 Box 211
Three Rivers CA 93271
Day: 559-565-3717
Evening: 559-561-4972
E-mail: joeldespain@wildmail.com
Committee members:
Carol Vesely
Kevin Downey
Cyndie Walck
Rebecca Jones
Progress:
Waiting for the new fiscal year for more funds to award
to worthwhile cave projects.
Plans:
To continue to seeks funds to further endow the grant
program. Sources may include remaining funding from the Gunung
Buda Project, individual donors, and an appeal in the NSS News
Problems:
The fund was sadly under-funded this year. Grants were
small and at least three groups were turned down for grants. We
hope to see our current budget at least maintained and will
continue to work to further endow the fund.
Donald A. McFarlane
Associate Professor,
W. M. Keck Science Center, The Claremont Colleges
925 North Mills Avenue, Claremont, CA 91711-5916 USA
Phone: 909 607 2564
Fax: 909 621 8588
E-mail: dmcfarla@jsd.claremont.edu
web page: http://jsd.claremont.edu/faculty/mcfarlane/index.htm
Extinct Mammals of the West Indies Website:
http://jsd.claremont.edu/bio/extinct/extinctmammals/
National Speleological Society Research Advisory Committee:
http://jsd.claremont.edu/bio/nss/
Committee Members:
Joyce Lundberg PhD
Joe Troester PhD
William White PhD
Donald Davis
No report received. I believe Don McFarlane is out of the country.
Scott Fee
PO Box 380473
Birmingham AL 35238-0473
Home: 205-914-7487
E-mail: scottfee@caves.org
Progress:
A special reprint of 50 copies of the 1958 Speleo Digest
was offered about a month before Christmas. We sold 35 copies
within two weeks at $75 per copy. The Committee feels this book
has now reached market saturation and will not suggest further
reprints.
A special reprint of the 1989 Speleo Digest is in the works and is expected to be available for convention.
Multiple Internet based ads have been circulated in hopes of identifying an editorial team for the 2003 Speleo Digest.
All the 2003 newsletters have been collected and are ready to be assigned.
Plans:
Find a qualified volunteer to lead the 2003 team and
complete the 1989 Reprint.
Problems:
The size of the project intimidates most potential
candidates.
2001 Digest
Editorial Team
Mark & James Adler (Editors)
Tom Rea - Layout
Julie Morgan - Proofreader
Progress:
The selection is complete (based on the materials we have been
given). We have scanned approximately 2/3 of the articles,
clipart, and accompanying graphics. This has all been burned to a
CD.
Plans:
We plan to have the rest of the materials scanned in the very
near future (I'll be out of town until early March, but will
begin finishing the scanning then).
Problems:
Tom has indicated that, due to many other commitments, he is
unsure about when he will actually be able to complete the
layout.
David McClurg
104 Graves Ct
Vallejo CA 94591
Phone and Fax: 707 642-5528
dmcclurg@planeteria.net
or dmcclurg@value.net
Tom Rea (Committee Member) (tomrea@ccrtc.com)
Gale McCoy (Committee Member) (tmathey@concentric.net)
Janet McClurg (Committee Member) (dmcclurg@planeteria.net)
BOOKS IN PROGRESS
The Taming
of the Slough––
The Exploration of Peacock Springs
Sheck Exley
Edited and Expanded by Sandra Poucher
(In Capital Plan)
Progress:
We have now completed final revisions on the cover and
the 16-page color section and have received approval for them
from the editor. There are also a number of pages in the text
section that the editor has revised. These changes have been made
and corrected pdf files are now in the approval process by the
editor.
In February, we sent complete galleys (layouts of the covers, color section, and text) to eight publications, one or more of which we hope will review this book, because of its broad general interest. Note that these publications only will review books before publication. They will not review a book after it has been printed. A review in any of these publications is extremely valuable and can produce sales of hundreds and even thousands of copies to libraries, school libraries, distributors, wholesalers, and retail bookstores.
The package sent by this committee to these eight publications included the galleys in a binder with the covers and spine visible in clear plastic pockets on the binder, a news-about-new-books write-up describing the book, a cover letter individually addressed to the new title editor at each publication, and the catalog sheet describing all NSS books prepared for this purpose by this committee. For other items in the promotional plan for this book, see below in Attachment B-2, Book Promotions.
Plans:
By the time this report is published, we expect to
have received the go ahead on all the final corrections made by
the editor. If this is the case, we will prepare the corrected
pdf files for the printer so production on the job can proceed.
Barring unforeseen problems, 2,000 printed books should be delivered to the NSS bookstore in May. A quantity of 1000 copies will also be delivered in May to the NSS Cave Diving Section bookstore in Florida.
Problems:
None known of at this time.
Techniques of Cave Conservation and Restoration
Jim Werker and Val Hildreth-Werker, Editors
(In Capital Plan)
Progress:
All materials except for a few final illustrations have been
received for this book. Layouts for about 45% of the book have
been completed. The remainder are in preparation now. As required
by a Board Motion, copies of the final layouts will be sent to
the executive committee for review.
Plans:
We expect to complete the layouts of the book in March or
April and will send copies––as required by a Board
Motion––to the executive committee for review. We will
also send galleys and other descriptive materials to five
selected journals in the hope of pre-publication reviews.
(However, we should recognize that this book doesn’t have
the kind of broad general interest that a cave diving book
commands.) Again, barring unseen problems, we should have printed
copies delivered to the NSS bookstore in time for sale at the
2004 convention.
Problems:
None known at this time.
NCRC Rescue Seminar Manual
Members of the NCRC
(Not In Capital Plan)
Progress:
A completed draft of the Cave Rescue Manual has been given to
Anmar Mirza, Chairman of the 2004 National Weeklong Seminar, for
final review. He will provide photocopies of the book to this
years class for a beta test.
Plans
After the seminar, corrections and edits will be made, and it
will be forwarded to the Special Publications Committee for
layout and preparation for on-demand publication.
Problems:
None
Promotional Items
Recently completed promotional items prepared by this committee include:
• Membership renewal flyer, December 2003.
• Catalog sheet describing NSS books
• Promotional flyer for Hidden World of Caves, by Ron Kerbo. This was created for use at the October 2003 meeting of National Caves Association in Redding, California. This flyer was attached to a free copy of the Kerbo book that was given to all attendees. This flyer and a copy of the book were also mailed to non-attending NCA members, who have gift shops and buy books to sell to visitors.
The following is from Norm Thompson:
On Caves and Cameras
Norm Thompson
(In Capital Plan)
I have written a replacement chapter on Digital Imaging to replace the chapter that was pulled by John Woods. Have been going back and forth with Dave Bunnell to get his review and a few additions. That phase is pretty much done. Will now review with a couple of other reviewers. Still need to pick out photos to illustrate the chapter. Bunnell and I are in the middle of that. Bunnell will provide those.
My replacement chapter is shorter than Woods' so I need to change most of the page numbers in the index, but at least I don't have to change all the chapter cross-references scattered throughout the book since chapter numbers are unchanged. All in all, this probably added a 2-month delay to the book.
On printers: I have gotten a quote from a Hong Kong printer that is dramatically better than any of the U.S. printers. I am getting a second quote from another Hong Kong printer. Both printers come highly recommended by a perfectionist publisher that I have contacts at here in Colorado. One of them was recently used by Joel Despain and Dave Bunnell on a book on the caves of Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks. I will almost certainly go with one of these two printers. Excellent quality at an unbeatable price
As to when, which I am sure the Board is very interested in, I would say that probability of having books at Convention this summer is slim. Wish I didn't have to say that. But probability of having the book out sometime in the summer is high.
With notes from retired Editor, Louise Hose (LH)
Malcolm Field (Interim Editor) (MF)
National Center for Environmental Assessment (8623D)
Office of Research and Development
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
1200 Pennsylvania Ave NW
Washington, DC 20460-0001
Work: 202-564-3279
Home: 301-349-5712
E-Mail: field.malcolm@epa.gov
James A. Pisarowicz (Production Editor)
Wind Cave National Park
South Dakota 57747
Home: 605-673-5582
Work: 605-745-4600
E-Mail: pisarowi@gwtc.net
BOARD OF EDITORS:
Steven Taylor (Life Sciences)
Julian Lewis (Conservation)
Paul Burger (Exploration)
Greg McDonald (Paleontology)
Ira D. Sasowsky (Earth Sciences/Journal Index)
Marion O. Smith (Social Sciences)
Patty Jo Watson (Anthropology)
Ernst Kastning (Book Reviews)
ADVISORY BOARD:
Malcolm Field
Chris Groves
Dave Jagnow
Donald McFarlane
William White
Progress:
(LH) - Volume 65, number 3 (December 2003) was mailed in late
January. The issue was slightly delayed due to problems with the
year-end indexing and does not signal an overall slip in the
schedule. Work is well underway on the April issue.
(LH) - Malcolm Field has taken over the editorship of the Journal from Louise Hose, who had served in the position for eight years. Louise has transferred the pertinent files and is forwarding correspondence. Malcolm has full responsibility for the upcoming April issue.
(MF) – Drs. Arthur Palmer, Diana Northup, and John Ganter are slated to retire from the Advisory Board this year. Taken together with the current vacancy on the board and my forced retirement as well, the nine-member board is now short five members. Last month I sent out a request for names of potential candidates to serve on the board and received a good response. Currently, I am reviewing the suggestions and expect to be sending invitations letters out to selected candidates very soon.
(MF) – A draft example standardized table has been developed sent out for review. Comments received were very positive. The most significant criticism centered on the fact that some information included in the example table would be better suited in the general "Guide to Authors." This is a good point and is being considered. However, consideration is also being given to keeping this information in the example standardized table to reemphasize the importance of this information.
(MF) – To assist authors in the development of The Journal manuscripts and to assist the Associate Editors and Production Editor in manuscript review/printing draft manuscript templates in MSWord, WordPerfect, and LaTeX are being developed. This is a fairly significant undertaking so it will be quite some time before they are completed.
Plans:
(MF) – Volume 66 number 19 (April 2004) is being worked
on. To date only one manuscript has been forwarded to Jim
Pisarowicz for typesetting. Two additional Earth Science papers
have been accepted but the required signed Copyright Transfer
Agreement has not yet been received from the authors. Some
biology papers may also be ready before the April issue is sent
to the printers. I am hoping that this issue will three or four
strong articles.
(MF) – An Editorial explaining the recent changes in the Journal is being developed. The original draft has undergone two revisions and is nearing completion. It should be ready for printing in the April issue.
(MF) – I feel that in keeping with The Journal’ standing as the premier karst journal that we should encourage a wider variety of papers. Recently, I spoke with some foreign colleagues who have expressed interest in publishing in The Journal. Although these papers will not necessarily be representative of our preferred North American perspective, I feel that they will represent a valuable contribution to the scientific literature and be of interest to many of our subscribers.
Problems (and Parting Comment):
(LH) As a parting comments in this time of tight budgets and
competing demands, I would like the board to remember that the
second sentence of our Constitution states “The purpose of
this Society shall be to promote interest in and to advance in
any and all ways the study and science of Speleology…”
as the first reason for the existence of the NSS. Our refereed
journal has been the most tangible and visible evidence of the
Society’s dedication to fulfilling its self-proclaimed,
primary purpose. As the NSS adds other programs, it is imperative
that we not allow new initiatives to impair the outstanding,
fundamental programs that have defined and displayed our core
values as a Society. Speleology is our first stated purpose.
Dave Bunnell
PO Box 879
Angels Camp CA 95222
E-mail: dbunnell@caltel.com
Conservation
Jim & Val Hildreth-Werker
PO Box 207
Hillsboro NM 88042-0207
Phone: 505-895-5050
E-mail: werks@zianet.com
In the Media
Bill Klimack
15B Wilson Road
West Point NY 10996
Phone: 845-446-5336
E-mail: BKlimack@aol.com
Technology Reviews
Mike Fraley
E-mail: cheshire@prairienet.org
Science of Speleology
Greg Springer
E-mail: laramide@bedrockstreams.org
Newsletter Review
Bernie Szukalski
1224 Mira Monte Dr
Redlands CA 92373-6542
Phone: 909-798-5986
E-mail: bszukalski@esri.com
Spelean Spotlight
Bill Steele
E-mail: speleosteele@aol.com
Safety & Techniques
Anmar Mirza
Phone: 812-388-6917
E-mail: sseg@kiva.net
Progress:
As per the requirement for storing electronic copies of our
publications, I’ve just finished creating a set of DVDs for
the main office that includes all the files used to create the
NSS News since I began, with one disc per year. Other than that,
the News continues to come out on time and within budget.
Plans:
Continue as usual while trying to accomodate the upcoming budget
decrease. I will be cutting pages to help stay within budget and
will occasionally be running the color on the inside cover
instead of in a center section, which saves some money as well.
To potentially gain more ad revenue, we are instituting some
smaller display ad sizes.
Problems:
The Conservation issue was delayed a month because the
conservation editors had family issues. At the very last minute I
had to cobble an issue together. We also had a problem with the
labeling on the January issue. Because of ad on the back, we
couldn’t do a standard print-on label. The mail house
didn’t follow my instructions about placing the label on the
back, and it ended up on the front. To prevent this ever
happening again, I’m instituting an ad policy that any ad on
the back of the News must allow room for the print-on label. The
EC’s unfortunate decision to reduce the News budget by
several thousand dollars will mean fewer pages in the coming
Fiscal Year. This follows 7 years of my not asking for any budget
increases other than for postage increases, and my fear is that
now cut, it will never be regained. I’ve spoken to many NSS
members about this and they have universally expressed the
sentiment that they would rather pay more dues than see the News
budget cut.
Gordon Birkhimer, NSS 42778
45372 Woodlawn Dr
California, Maryland 20619
Phone: 301-862-4619
E-mail: birkhimergl@navair.navy.mil
Committee Members:
Meredith Johnson - Proofreader
Bob Hoke - Database Manager
Melody Eady - Layout and Design
Keith Wheeland - I/O
Evelyn Bradshaw - I/O
Stephanie Searles - Members Listing
David Taylor - Survey Information
Phil Winkler - Database
Progress:
The Members Manual Committee has developed a list of 13
companies that are interested in printing and mailing the 2004
Members Manual. The companies are located in Michigan, Florida,
Wisconsin, Texas, Maryland, Alabama, New Jersey, and Florida.
Formal Requests for Prices Quotes, along with a sample 2002
Members Manual, have been sent to all 13 companies. Responses are
to be received by February 20 and a summary of the results will
be distributed by March 1. Prices are being solicited for various
page counts and for both color and black & white covers.
There will not be any additional bid cycles.
Plans:
Bob Hoke asked for the printing bids to be returned by the
20th, so we won't get them in time for your cutoff date. However,
we will put together a brief (one page) summary of the bids by
the end of February. That will include the cost of the various
page counts and the color versus b&w covers.
Problems:
None
Bert Ashbrook
107 Avonbrook Rd
Wallingford PA 19086-6001
Phone: 610-627-2378
E-mail: caveman@craftech.com
No report received.
Don Paquette
NSS EVP
3530 Moulton Rd
Martinsville IN 46151
Phone: 765-349-0211
Fax: 765-349-0356
E-mail: speleo@reliable-net.net
The following permissions/contacts/non-permissions were made for reprinting NSS copyrighted materials and release of NSS Member information:
| WHO ORG. TYPE ORGANIZATION |
REPRINT
PERMISSION STATUS |
REQUEST/REASON FOR REQUEST |
| Gustavo Quesada President of the Anthros Costa Rica Grotto of the NSS | Granted 11/22/03 | We wanted to
request the permit of the NSS to translate the new
brochures you have into Spanish. 1. NSS Information Brochure 2. Guide to Responsible Caving 3. Fragile Underground (color) 4. Bats Brochure 5. Youth Group Caving Information |
| Vladimir
Rubtsov, Research Institute on Anomalous Phenomena, Kharkov, Ukraine |
Granted 12/14/03 | Permission for reprinting the Moonshaft article from NSS News, by Dr. Horak, in the anthology of thirty best papers that appeared in RIAP Bulletin during ten years of its existence. |
| Meredith Hall Johnson | Granted 1/20/04 | Permission to reprint cave accidents from ACA for the years 1990-2000 in the History of the Virginia Region, Part 2: 1971-2000. |
| Art Palmer | Granted 2/17/04 | Permission to use Table 4 from Cavern development by thermal waters, by Stephen Egemeier, 1981, National Speleological Society Bulletin, v. 43, no. 2, p. 37, as part of a table in an article on Sulfuric Acid Speleogenesis in Encyclopedia of Caves (edited by David Culver and William White), to be published soon by Academic Press, Inc. |
2/23/04