CARTOGRAPHERS NEEDED: bat hibernacula project (19-25 June)

[jutwynne]

CARTOGRAPHERS NEEDED! Bat Hibernacula Habitat Characterization and 3D Cave Mapping Project, North Rim Grand Canyon (19-25 June 2011)

White-Nose Syndrome has resulted in an unprecedented decline in many bat species in the eastern US and Canada. This epidemic is perhaps the greatest tragedy to North American wildlife populations. With Geomyces descructans, the fungus that causes WNS moving westward, conservation biologists and land managers are bracing for this impending threat. Our objectives of this two year project are to identify bat hibernacula caves and quantify the habitat requirements of these caves. Understanding the habitat requirements of bat hibernacula will provide land managers with the information necessary to make the best management decisions.

We are seeking 2 volunteer cartographers to collect cave volume data at two known bat hibernacula on Grand Canyon’s north rim. This work is supported by the National Park Service. This work is part of a two year project to identify habitat requirements of bat hibernacula caves on north rim. Our objectives are to: (1) deploy numerous temperature and relative humidity instruments within each cave to collect hourly data for at least one year; (2) collect cave volume data to develop 3D maps of each cave; and (3) collect soil samples so we may ultimately characterize the soil microbial communities.

Schedule:

19 June Travel to Saint George, UT (hotel stay)
10-24 June Fieldwork (return night of 23 April to Saint George)
25 June Travel to respective duty stations

Volunteers will need to cover these expenses.

Accommodations and Per diem: Hotel stays on 19 and 24 June in Saint George. We will be car camping from 20 through 24 June.

Food and Water: 
All volunteers will be required to have their own food and water during this project.

Camping Equipment: 
Volunteers will need to bring their own camping equipment.

Explorers Club Flag Expedition:
This project is an EC Flag Expedition (URL: http://www.explorers.org/index.php/expe ... g_the_flag). Anyone participating in an EC flag expeditions is eligible for consideration for membership into The Explorers Club.

Please contact Jut Wynne at jut.wynne@nau.edu if interested.

[self-deleted_user]

If only I were a cartographer :( I would SO take off work to get *paid* to cave.

[Crockett]

The original post has been edited so I have removed my comment.

[tncaver]

Do you plan to intentionally introduce G. destructans into these caves?

Scenarios:
1. They already know that cavers are not transporting WNS.
2. They will demand all new caving equipment at the cartographer's expense.
3. So long as they get what they want they don't really care.

Crockett, you work for the park service don't you? Perhaps you can do a little detective work and answer your own question.

[Crockett]

The original post has been edited so I have removed my comment.

[tncaver]

I think this guy is the project lead:

http://jutwynne.com/

He looks serious and capable of answering my question.

I think there are a lot more likely scenarios than those you have listed. I think this is an awesome project without waving the WNS flag but maybe that was necessary.

I am a government employee and I have done a lot of contract work for the government. I am not employed by the park service but I can understand why that might be assumed. My volunteer "work" is primarily on public or institutional land like parks and universities.

...but you make a good point. If I have any more questions I will go to the source and not post them here.

Crockett, we (meaning Cave Chat users) would be interested in hearing what jutwynne has to say.
Thanks for your reply.