Western Regional 2025 | September 26-28 | Three Rivers, CA
Hosted in 2025 by the San Joaquin Valley and Mother Lode Grottos.
This is a gathering of cavers, for cavers. It is hosted for the benefit of grotto members in the Western Region of the NSS, but all cavers are welcome.
Come for organized caving trips, workshops and presentations, activities and socializing, the auction and the annual business meeting.
To register see http://www.wr2025.org After 7 September the cost goes up. At that point the meals and shirts will not be available as food and shirts need to be purchased.
See you there!
Western Regional Business Meeting Agenda (September 27, 2025)
Call to Order
Approval of Previous Meeting Minutes
Reports
Old Business
New Business
Events
Reports
- Chair (Boof Truchan)
- Vice-Chair (Eric Jorgenson)
- Treasurer’s Report (Gail McCoy)
- Editor (Joel Despain)
- Webmaster (Jaq Morrill)
- Grant Fund (Greg Hutchings)
- Training Committee (Drew Stasak)
- NSS Board of Governors (Dave Brumbaugh)
- Congress of Grottos (Gail McCoy)
- Western Cave Conservancy (Marianne Russo and Steven Johnson)
- Northwest and Craters of the Moon
- Sequoia-Kings Canyon
- New ridgewalking permit (Felipe Roz Barscevicius)
- Mineral King
- Lava Beds
- Grottos
- Cascade Grotto
- Desert Dog Troglodytes
- Diablo Grotto
- Mother Lode Grotto
- Northern Nevada Grotto
- Oregon Grotto
- Oregon High Desert Grotto
- Redwood Grotto
- San Diego Grotto
- San Francisco Bay Chapter
- San Joaquin Valley Grotto
- Shascade Caving Society
- Shasta Area Grotto
- Southern California Grotto
- Southern Nevada Grotto
- Stanislaus Speleological Society
- Willamette Valley Grotto
New Business
- Proposal: Dues increase to $15 (Gail McCoy and Boof Truchan)
- Proposal to increase yearly dues to $15 starting in 2026. At our current dues rate due to inflation and rising prices we are only able to publish one physical copy of the Western Caver per year; this increase would allow for two physical copies sent out to members per year and would allow us to vote on the yearly training scholarship proposal (see below).
- Proposal: Designated scholarship fund $600 yearly (Boof Truchan) – Only to be voted on if the above dues increase proposal passes.
- Proposal to create a designated scholarship fund that has $300 available twice yearly, the first released on January 1 and the second on July 1. Funds are available and assessed on a first-come basis with a 300 max word write-up on why you need the aid and what you will do with it. Up to $300 per application will be available. Eligible classes are all NCRC-hosted classes, VTC classes, any SPAR, any WFA, and any WFR class; classes not listed here can be proposed. Recipients are required to submit a post-training write up for publication on our website, social media, and/or newsletter. Scholarship is non-exclusive.
- Proposal: Working group for Constitution and Bylaws review + updates (Eric Jorgenson)
- Proposal to create a working group to review and update the Western Region constitution/bylaws. Non-exec members are encouraged to be in the working group. No cap on participants but aiming for 3-5 people.
- Announcement: WR-hosted rope climbing competition modeled after the Cascade Grotto vs. SFBC challenge from earlier this year. (Eric Jorgenson)
- $30 per grotto to enter; at least three grottos must participate for it to happen. The prize will be something coveted worth $75+. Extra money collected will go to the Western Region.
- Announcement: New SEKI Trustees and encouragement of project caving (Boof Truchan)
Old Business
- WR networking with grotto leadership (Eric Jorgenson)
- San Diego Grotto status (Boof Truchan)
- New order of regional meeting hosts – see below (Boof Truchan)
- Nonprofit Canva account available for grotto use (Eric Jorgenson)
- Zoom account available for grotto use (Eric Jorgenson)
Upcoming Events
- National Cave & Karst Management Symposium Oct. 6-10, 2025 at the Bristlecone Convention Center in Ely, Nevada. Hosted by the Western Cave Conservancy https://ely2025.nckms.org/
- Regional Meetings – Next Year SoCal Grotto
- 2026 – Southern California Grotto
- 2027 – SAG & Shascade
- 2028 – San Diego
- 2029 – Desert Dogs Troglodytes
- 2030 – Diablo
- 2031 – Redwood Grotto
- 2032 – Stanislaus
- 2033 – Oregon High Desert Grotto
- 2034 – Northern Nevada