Chuck Sutherland

Stages of a cleanup Identify an illegal dump site or graffiti ridden location Secure landowner permission Build your team Build partnerships Set a date Gather volunteers Resolve legal and logistic issues Contact the media Obtain supplies Execute the cleanup Conduct a post-cleanup analysis Identify an illegal dump site or graffiti ridden location It may be that you already know a place that needs to be cleaned. If you don't talk with local officials and folks who spend time outside. Someone can point you to a place in need. Knowing where to clean is only part of the process though. You need to know whose property you would be working on. If you're in Tennessee, you can use the Tax Assessor webpage to explore who owns what. Alternately your friendly neighborhood GIS professional can help you get at this information. Secure landowner permission You'll want to reach out to the landowner early on in planning to make sure they are fine with you proceeding. ...

You're curious about caving? It's easy to understand why! Maybe you've seen photographs of caves and you're curious to see these places with your own eyes. Maybe you heard about a friend's excellent adventure through a local cave system and how challenging and rewarding it was for them. Maybe you're looking for the next extreme sport to master or maybe you're interested in learning about history, or a science that's practiced in caves. Whatever your reason, there's a great group of folks who are here to help you on the next leg of your adventure. "Don't ask where caves are. Ask where cavers are." The National Speleological Society (NSS) is the organization I belong to that is about caves and caving. There are local chapters called grottos. I am a member of a few of these across Tennessee, but the first grotto I belonged to, and the one where I focus most of my energy is the Upper Cumberland Grotto . We are based out ...

February 6th, 2020 the Upper Cumberland received a lot of rain. So much so, that it was worth a few minutes to whip up a map to help visualize how much. White and Cumberland Counties got the lion's share with 4.30 and 4.21 inches of rain on average across each county, respectively. A more detailed breakdown of the rain is below, along with some dramatic images and videos taken mostly at Rock Island State Park in Warren and White Counties. Using lidar to estimate normal and flood stage conditions witnessed yesterday, I suspect the water was nearly 30' above its normal stage. Normal stage is approximately 651' FASL, and the cliff edges being nearly inundated are at 681' FASL. All Flickr Photo and Videos: https://www.flickr.com/photos/chucksutherland/albums/72157713005510572