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Hi Resto Cavers, On behalf of Resto Director Brian Hunsaker, Mammoth Cave (itself) & its NPS staff, James & Coach Caves, Rick Toomey, Charlie & Kat Bishop, Rick Olson, everyone else associated with caves and those having the conservation and restoration drive and spirit to be part of the MACA Resto Crew, we bid you: Merry Christmas! -Gary (see you at March camp) (Laurel Caverns, PA)

Hey cavers, In this morning's Chicago Tribune there's an article about a map of rabid bats in Cook County (Chicago). A screenshot of the article is attached (and it's pasted below), and the map itself can be found at shorturl.at/ijkpY It's not much, but good to see that 'bats' made Page 4 in the Trib! -Gary :) ================ Halloween-themed map tracks county’s rabid bats Nov. 1, 2023 by Alysa Guffey Chicago Tribune This Halloween, local health officials released a digital map of where bats have tested positive for rabies so residents can be more informed of the spooky animals flying in the night sky. On Tuesday, the Cook County Department of Animal and Rabies Control (ARC) released the interactive map, available at shorturl.at/ijkpY, to raise awareness about rabies prevention and encourage pet owners to vaccinate dogs and cats against the disease. Nine bats have tested positive for rabies in Cook County so far in 2023, according to the map. The nine positive tests occurred between May 11 and Sept. 30. Residents can compare the number and location of identified bats with rabies from data as far back as 2018. A significant number of the identified rapid bats were found inside homes, according to ARC Administrator Mamadou Diakhate, meaning that pets who primarily stay indoors can still be exposed to rabies. “Rabies is a completely preventable disease and is always fatal to unvaccinated pets,” said Diakhate in a news release. Rabies left untreated is also “almost always fatal to humans,” Diakhate reminded Cook County residents. The disease is transmitted through saliva and spreads when an infected animal scratches or bites another. While rapid bats can pose danger to humans and other animals, bats play a vital role in the county’s ecosystem, said Chris Anchor, senior wildlife biologist for the Forest Preserves of Cook County, in a news release. A half-ounce brown bat can eat half its body weight in insects each night. “Bats are amazing flying mammals that act as important biomonitors, helping to indicate the health of our environment,” Anchor said. ###

The announcement for November camp will be coming soon. Unfortunately, I am struggling with Eventbrite and it is not letting me publish the event. I have several emails out to support and as soon as it is up I will post the link. Sorry for the inconvenience. Brian

More photos will be posted next week, but here's the group photo for now (embedded and file attached):

I have a couple of announcements. Many of you may have noticed, and many found out having recently reached out to me, August camp is full. For the first time in my resto camp career, we have reached our capacity and can no longer accept applications. I have about four people on a waiting list, and I will reach out to them if a spot opens. For those that are signed up, it’s going to be a busy camp. Both the house and bunk house will be full, and we will need to make sure that all beds are used. For those camping or staying off site, well, this doesn’t matter :) Remember that the kitchen in the classroom will be for off limits for personal use during the week. There is a mini fridge in the bunk house and a standard fridge/freezer in the house for personal goods but remember you will be sharing with all camp attendees, please be considerate. It looks like we may have both vertical and wetsuit opportunities this camp. If either of these opportunities interest you and you have the required equipment and proficiency remember to bring your gear. I can’t wait to see you all there for what will surely be a memorable camp. Brian

Well, boys and girls, this is shaping up to be one heck of a weeklong camp! First off, I am so excited to see that we have 32 signed up and counting, with many new faces. It’s going to be a busy Maple Springs and I can’t wait. Many would like to know what projects we will be working on for the week and while we are still working out all the details, I can share the following. We will once again be working with our dear friends the James Cavers. We will however be moving our efforts from Coach, where we have been for years, to James Cave. Kevin Mulligan (he didn’t know this before right now, thanks Kevin :) will be leading a vertical group to disassemble some stairs which will be hauled out to the entrance. In addition, we will also be gathering loose wiring and lighting. As always, we will feature our weeklong lint crew with Linda and Pam once again leading the charge. While I can’t share all the details just yet, I will just say, if you have vertical gear, bring it, if you have a wetsuit, bring it. There are a couple of things in the works that should be a blast. As with all camps, things will change as we go. I have also reached out to some amazing people that have lined up some incredible educational trips and can’t wait to share more. For now, I will leave you with this random picture of a hole in the ground :) Don’t forget to bring your appetite and I can’t wait to see you at the Howdy Party at 6 PM on Sunday, August 6th.

--oops, the Subject line should have been the MAY Resto weekend also, after further consideration, I'd estimate the total buckets of mud were 150-200 (not 300-400)

Resto Director Brian will provide the official report, but I'd like to offer my account of what happened this past Saturday and Sunday at the 2023 May Mammoth Cave Restoration weekend. Due to asbestos remediation taking place at Maple Springs, we gratefully accepted the kind accomodations of the Cave Research Foundation at their Hamilton Valley Facilities. --thanks, CRF! After getting settled, a couple dozen of us (incl. Larry Matiz!) convened at 'El Tapatio,' the former Sahara Steakhouse which is now a Mexican cuisine restaurant located a short ways from our traditional Cave City eatery, El Mazatlan. Although Tapatio is a bit smaller, the atmosphere, service and quality of food were comparable. On Saturday morning, we met as usual for the 8:30 briefing at the MACA Visitor Center picnic area pavilion. In addition to Rick Toomey, we were joined by Chuck and Mary Schubert, Rick Olson and MACA official 'Ed' (--sorry, I forget his last name). The group heard all about our work tasks for the weekend: to scoop buckets of mud/water from the bottom of Crystal Lake, hoisting them up 70-feet to the Frozen Niagara path and transporting them out of the cave. Another team pressed the mud through mesh screens and picked coins and other objects from the muck as it was washed with water from a tank on the back of a pickup truck. While that operation got underway, a team including Brian, Chuck and your humble narrator took pump sprayers down the 'New Entrance' stairs and lightly applied a 4:1 ratio of bleach solution to any greenish algae-ified spots we came across. Along the way, Brian pointed out the amazing work that had been done at Grand Central (new pavers and benches), the re-done stairway, another re-done area where original flagstones were uncovered and integrated into the path, and some incredible work done at Lover's Leap. We ended up at Frozen Niagara, where Dave Boerma was expertly operating an industrial-strength drill being used to hoist the mud buckets. John Kirk reeled-in the buckets and Dave Seng de-harnessed the containers and staged them for transport out of the cave. The 'dirty work' down at the bottom of the hole was being done by several individuals, including supervisor Rick Toomey, but Teresa Boerma deserves special recognition for her efforts. Nice job, T! Although several individuals helped transport the buckets of mud from the work site to the Frozen Niagara entrance, Roy Van Hooser (along with Deb Nelson and John Sides) did some tireless work for this stage of the operation. After the mud buckets were brought over to the screening area, Dee Boerma, Linda Bundy and Pam Saberton got themselves plenty dirty and wet as they ran the water hose and filtered through the muck. Special mention also should be made of Missy Sides and Rick Olson, who helped identify artifacts worth saving and categorizing. Saturday's dinner was a 'pot luck' back at Hamilton Valley, which featured burgers and brats expertly grilled by chef Dave Boerma (--who also makes a mean biscuits-and-gravy). Sunday was more of the same, except we knocked-off by 12 noon due to some nasty-looking storm clouds that were rolling in. We got done just in time as the rain began falling. All in all, I'd estimate 300-400 buckets of mud were hoisted out of Crystal Lake and sifted/screened. Great job, everyone. See you in August!

May Resto Cavers, only 9 days away and I don't know about you, but I can't wait. It's shaping up to be a great camp! Just a reminder to all that we will be staying at Hamilton Valley. Previously I mentioned that we will probably be getting muddy. Well for those that are attending, here's a sneak peek of what might be in store. Can't wait to see you all at Mammoth! Brian