Wednesday, March 7, 2001


The meeting was called to order by Kevin Feltz, acting Chairman (Bob
Lerch was in the Devil's Ice Box as we convened), at 7:11 P.M.


15 member were present.


Treasurer's Report: $1271.37 in the coffers.


Foresight Editor's Report: Patti is working on the 2001 (1) issue. She
needs trip reports for the second and third quarters, so please get
those to her if you have any or can write any. Jesse Bebb is helping
her on this issue, and is handling advertising for the newsletter.


Webmeister's Report: Mike O'Laughlin proposed that we could have a
restricted area on the web site to allow Chouteau members access to
special information. It may also be possible to add a Guestbook to
allow site visitors to leave comments.


Cave Reports: Dave Webster reported on the Cathedral Cave cleanup trip,
which 6 Grotto members took part in. They removed a lot of old wiring
from the cave. Jo Schaper is planning another cleanup trip there in the
fall. Bob Lerch and his mapping crew (Andy Lerch, Joe Dom, Jesse Bebb,
Patti Williamson and Toby Dogwiler) added another 525 feet and 26
stations in Hunter's Cave on March 3 and 4. Jesse visited the Devil's
Ice Box on March 4.


Upcoming Cave Trips: Patti Williamson has organized a March 17 and 18
trip to Meramec State Park. There will be a permit visit to Jagged
Canyon Cave and perhaps others on Saturday. On Sunday the plan is to
team up with members of the Stygian Grotto in a restoration trip in
Fisher Cave (reattaching formations). Anybody interested in attending
should contact Patti (445-7187) by this Friday, March 9, so that she
can let the Stygian folks know. If you are going only on Sunday, please
be at Fisher Cave at 10 A.M. Patti is also planning a July 2000 special
wild cave tour of Fisher Cave. 16 people are needed on that trip.


Conservation Issues: Bill Elliott spoke about a recent Internet auction
of Native American artifacts looted from a cave in LaClede County,
Missouri. The violation took place on private land, not covered by the
Missouri Cave Resources Protection Act or by Federal legislation. Bill
would like us and other cavers to work on strengthening legislation to
protect cave resources on private lands. There was an interesting
discussion about how, as much as private land owners might not like
people who plunder their caves, they don't want government intervening
in their lives either. It is a dilemma. If you have ideas or opinions
about this issue, please share them with Bill.


Cave Gating Workshop: Bill announced there will be a five day cave
gating workshop at Lake Ozark State Park this June. This will be
offered on a tuition basis, but limited support will be available for a
few promising cave-gaters to attend free of tuition. Ask Bill for
details. Bill also talked about the upcoming effort to gate Great
Spirit Cave, described as an outstanding natural and cultural resource
site. Bill would like to round up Grotto members' help in clearing log
debris from the cave gate at Boone Cave, possibly in August or early
September. Stay tuned.


The meeting was adjourned at 8:13 P.M.


Program: Roxie Campbell, Chief Naturalist of the Rock Bridge Memorial
State Park, presented a slide show on the effects of the 1993 flood on
the Devil's Ice Box, and talked about the Park's efforts in
interpretation and conservation of the karst resources.


Respectfully submitted,


Joe Hobbs, Secretary