October 6-10,2025, Ely, Nevada

Join NCKRI and Other Professionals for Coffee, Caves and Karst Conversations

Start your mornings at this year's NCKMS with Coffee & Karst, a new interactive roundtable event hosted by the National Cave & Karst Research Institute (NCKRI). On Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday, from 8AM-9AM, grab a cup of coffee and join fellow cave and karst professionals for informal discussions on the real-world challenges facing our community.

Have a challenge you're facing? Share it with us in advance or bring it to the session. Chances are, someone else has dealt with it and has insights to share!

Several tables will be set up each day, and each table will focus on specific topics. We'll keep the coffee flowing until your questions find answers! (And yes, of course there will be doughnuts!!)

Topics may include issues like:

• Mitigating cave damage after wildfires
• Repairing broken cave formations
• How to install a new lighting system
• Managing public access in sensitive areas
• ...or anything you bring to the tables!

Whether you're a new cave manager or a seasoned expert, NCKRI's Coffee & Karst is a space to exchange ideas, troubleshoot tough problems, and build connections. These sessions are built on the idea that some of the best solutions may not come from formal presentations, but from conversations among peers. This event is designed to be casual, inclusive, and participant-driven. Whether you come with a question or an answer (or both), you'll be helping build a stronger, more connected cave and karst management community.

We hope to see you there!

August 31- September 4, 2026 Neuchâtel, Switzerland

Eurokarst is the European bi-annual conference on The hydrogeology of Karst and Carbonate Reservoirs. It offers an international forum for professional exchanges and scientific debate between practitioners and academic researchers.

The conference also hosts the meeting of the Karst Commission of the International Association of Hydrogeology.

Important Deadlines:

• 15 January 2026 : submit your abstract
• 15 June 2026 : Submit your paper (optional)
• 31 August 2026 : start of the conference

Global Union of Bat Diversity Networks (GBatNet) is hosting 2027 International Year of the Bats!  Please help create a logo that will be used to inspire and represent this exciting year celebrating bats globally!

This is the first phase of the logo contest, so artwork in any stage of conceptualization is welcome. The finalists will be picked by the GBatNet SciComm Working Group and the winner will be chosen through a poll on social media.

The goal is to have a logo that is versatile, includes the text "International Year of the Bats," and captures the global scale of this event. For more inspiration and best practices for logo design, check out this blog.

Logo Contest Submission Link

Carlsbad Caverns National Park announces commercial use authorization program for guided caving. Commercial use authorizations are a permitting tool used by the National Park Service to allow private business to be conducted within a national park for a calendar year.

Carlsbad Caverns National Park will accept applications for 2026 Guided Caving CUAs beginning July 1, 2025.

Details and applications can be found on: https://www.nps.gov/cave/getinvolved/commercial-use-authorizations.htm

You may reach out to the park CUA Coordinator at cave_cua@nps.gov with any questions. 

Aria Mildice and Matthew Kaspar Join the NCKRI Team!

On July 14th, Matthew Kaspar and Aria Mildice joined the NCKRI team as professional interns.

Matthew joins us from Midwestern State University where he received a Masters in Geosciences with a focus in hydrogeology and groundwater. He is excited to investigate aquifer vulnerability, by dye tracing and monitoring stream discharge.

Aria has ten years of experience working for the National Park Service and US Forest Service in cave and natural resource management. Aria is looking forward to working with NPS cave parks and cave managers on Technical Assistance Requests (TARS) spanning a wide scope of cave and karst projects.

Presenting at the UTeach STEM Education Summit

Education Program Manager, Devra Willingham, joined teachers during the UTeach Alumni Virtual Summit to share cave education resources, and the value of incorporating cave science in the classroom.