A Message from the Executive Director

Friends of Mammoth Cave 2021 Annual Report

I am excited to report that 2021 was an incredible bounce-back year for both the Friends of Mammoth Cave and Mammoth Cave National Park. As we gradually emerged from the pandemic haze, the Park came alive with visitors to go on cave tours and explore all that the Park has to offer. With that increase in traffic in the Lodge and the Visitor Center came increased revenue from our donation boxes, which returned to pre-pandemic levels as did our revenue in general.

The Friends of Mammoth Cave also saw a return of supporters of the “Ticket-to-Tour” program that brings thousands of students to the Park for cave tours and educational experiences. Our corporate supporters also underwrote an increased number of teacher workshops for area educators.  You can find a complete report of the Park’s Education Specialist Jennifer Shackelford’s activities in this newsletter. Mammoth Cave National Park is always among the leaders in the education category.

Through the efforts of Jennifer Shackelford and Board member Susan Feathers, the Friends group was successful in receiving a National Park Foundation grant of $15,000 that enabled us to greatly improve our operation and expand our capacity.  As a result of this funding, the Friends organization acquired a much-needed database system and populated it with all of our donors’ information and giving history. The grant also funded a professional consultant to help us implement the database and formulate a five-year fundraising plan. From that, Board member Susan Feathers produced a long-term action plan.

Funds from this grant also enabled us to redesign and print new brochures and rack cards for the FOMC group. Grant funds supported a mass mailing and a broadcast email to expand our reach. Revenue received from these projects enabled us to match a $5,000 challenge grant that was part of the NPF grant requirements. This money will go directly to funding more educational programs.

We upgraded our digital presence through the outstanding work of Amber Flowers, our webmaster. Amber coordinated our email messaging and greatly improved the appearance and function of both our website and Facebook page.

The year saw the triumphant return of the Mammoth-on after a year’s absence due to the pandemic. On a rainy Sunday in September, more than 50 participants braved the weather to complete the 25-mile-plus course that included a walk through the cave, a hike on a trail and a bicycle ride to Park City and back. Despite the weather, it was a fitting and successful tribute to the late Colleen Olson, who, along with her husband Rick, created this unique event.

I would be remiss if I didn’t thank Tom Carney for his outstanding, visionary and steady leadership as Board chair. Tom and the rest of the Board exhibit boundless passion for Mammoth Cave.

Finally, the Board of Directors of the Friends of Mammoth Cave National Park was excited to add new member Trish Sherrod of Bowling Green to the group. Trish brings to the Board years of experience in public service and a genuine love of nature, the environment, and Mammoth Cave.

It has truly been a triumphant reawakening in 2021 for Mammoth Cave and the Friends of Mammoth Cave. We encourage you to come and visit our national treasure in 2022. 

Respectfully submitted,

Chairman’s Remarks

Welcome to each of you and thank you for your interest in the work of the Friends of Mammoth Cave National Park!

It is a great honor and pleasure to share my reflections for our year-end report of the efforts and successes of the Friends of Mammoth Cave National Park (FOMC) during 2021, as we worked to resume a level of “normalcy” following the limitations and concerns of the pandemic during 2020. In addition, significant efforts this year by the FOMC Board of Directors resulted in development and implementation of a five-year strategic plan for fundraising to support the work of the FOMC.

As always, I want to first recognize and thank our Executive Director, Rick DuBose, for his truly excellent management and oversight of the daily operations and long-term strategic vision of the Friends of Mammoth Cave National Park (MCNP).  His care and stewardship for the organization and our efforts to serve MCNP and all who value and enjoy it, are exemplary and deeply appreciated by the FOMC Board. 

I also want to recognize and celebrate the outstanding contributions, wonderful support, and wise counsel provided by my colleagues on the FOMC Board of Directors. Each member of the FOMC Board is an experienced and accomplished individual who brings their knowledge, skills, and expertise to guide and support the efforts of the FOMC. We share a love and passion for Mammoth Cave National Park, Mammoth Cave--the world’s longest known cave system, and the World Heritage karst region the Park protects and promotes. 

As Rick has noted in his report, during 2021 the FOMC continued and renewed our efforts to support and assist the Park leadership and staff.  One of our most important ongoing efforts involves our support for the Park’s educational staff efforts to provide rich learning experiences to children from the Mammoth Cave region, throughout the United States, and internationally, helping them learn about and experience nature, what it means to each of us as human beings, and the constant need to nurture and protect it.  The children who participate in these programs gain a heightened understanding of the wonders of Mammoth Cave, how it came to be, and the fragile ecosystem that supports the creatures that inhabit the caves and the surface areas of the park. The Friends of Mammoth Cave are also extremely pleased to continue our support for the teacher workshops presented by Jennifer Shackelford and her colleagues, and thereby to help further extend their educational outreach.

I am especially excited about the funding support we have received this year from a number of sources, with special thanks to Susan Feathers, Jennifer Shackelford, and Rick DuBose for their efforts and expertise in writing successful grant proposals.  As a result of their success in receiving a National Park Foundation grant, we were able to have a professional review of FOMC’s fundraising process and a follow-up training session for the FOMC Board, which resulted in a five-year strategic plan for enhanced fundraising activities with well-defined goals.  These efforts are vital to the continuing success of FOMC in supporting programs at MCNP.

We hope you will spend some time reviewing the information on the FOMC website and related Park resources, and that in doing so you will sense the excitement and importance of our efforts, the impact and value of our successes, and be inspired to join us. 

Tom Carney
Chair, Board of Directors
Friends of Mammoth Cave National Park

Mammoth Cave National Park
Environmental Education 2021

Submitted by: Jennifer Shackelford, Education Specialist for Mammoth Cave National Park

The Mammoth Cave National Park Environmental Education (EE) department had a wonderful year despite the challenges of the Covid pandemic. Our EE Rangers met the challenges with creativity and perseverance, and I am very proud to say that despite a global pandemic we safely worked with 29,678 students in FY21.

Our EE rangers provided almost 1,000 individual virtual programs to 19,898 students thanks to the laptops that were purchased in 2020 with funding from a grant the FOMC received. The bulk of these student contacts were during the winter of 2021 with our local schools. Since we were unable to traditionally visit the schools because of the pandemic, we switched our classroom visits to virtual visits.  The EE rangers were able to continue providing quality programming to local students, simply in a virtual platform.  We worked with 30+ schools monthly, including schools across the US and around the world. Mammoth Cave National Park did multiple social media posts about our virtual programming during the year.  Thanks to the power of social media and multiple shares of these posts, we were able to reach students as far away as Ireland and Spain!  We’d like to extend a thank you to all FOMC members who shared these posts and helped us share Mammoth Cave National Park with the future stewards of the NPS.

We held a number of teacher workshops during FY21. We continued our pre-service teacher workshops in fall 2021 with FOMC Officer and member Jeanine Huss and other WKU professors. These one-day workshops introduce pre-service teachers from WKU to the many services the MACA EE department offers. During their visit, we do hands-on activities aboveground as well as a tour of the cave.  It is always exciting to receive an email the following year from a new teacher wanting to book a program, stating they learned about our program due to visiting the previous semester as a student at WKU.  Thanks to funding the FOMC received from various donors and grants including the National Park Trust, National Park Foundation, State Farm, ELPO, and Houchen’s Industries we were able to continue our overnight workshops for teachers this year. With covid restrictions, we changed our overnight workshops to smaller groups of 10 teachers for social distancing purposes. We discovered that we truly love the smaller groups as it facilitates more dialogue between the teachers due to the smaller group dynamics. This is one of the positive changes that we will keep in the future!  These intense two-day workshops immerse the teachers in the park.  They head back to their classrooms with lesson plans and needed supplies to present the newly developed lessons to their students. 

In the fall of 2021, many local schools allowed our rangers to visit classrooms again and we were able to provide 337 in-school presentations to 7,485 students in August and September. To date since October 1, the EE rangers have provided 379 more in-school programs to over 10,289 students. FY22 is headed to be an amazing year when it comes to sharing our park with local school students.

One of the biggest highlights during the fall of 2021 for all EE rangers was the comeback of our onsite education programs. I have never been so excited to see a giant yellow school bus as I was on the day we had our first on-site program.  This fall we had around 500 students visit the park. The Friends provided payment for 345. The schools who receive assistance from the FOMC are so grateful to each of you! We know that many local businesses donate to the FOMC to help make these ticket to tour funds available and we’d like to thank them as well. 

As you can see, 2021 was a very busy year for the Mammoth Cave National Park Environmental Education department! We would like to extend our thanks to the Friends of Mammoth Cave for their continued support and we look forward to an amazing 2022.

Thanks,

The Mammoth Cave National Park Environmental Education Team

 Mammoth Cave 2021 Park Update

Despite the ongoing pandemic, 2021 was a year with many exciting developments at Mammoth Cave National Park. Below, we have featured a few of the notable occurrences with links to additional information.

January

• Green River Ferry: operations resumed after closing for the installation of a new, larger ferry with ramp improvements to allow the Ferry to remain open longer during changing water levels.

APRIL

• Earth Day: volunteers assisted park staff with litter cleanup along park roads and trails, clearing overgrown vegetation in cemeteries and invasive garlic mustard pulls.

• Echo River Springs Accessible Trail: An extension was opened to the public and included benches with a view of the river, a new bridge with glass panels and a first look at a newly upgraded canoe ramp.

“Recent upgrades to our Echo River Spring Trail make it more accessible for more people. The paved walkway makes it a breeze to explore with strollers, wheelchairs, and canes. Textures on the wayside exhibits offer a hands-on experience. Clear panels provide a better view beyond the safety barriers for those of a shorter stature. Another feature allows visitors to listen to an audio description of each wayside exhibit panel, at the press of a button. Our latest upgrade is a new bridge over the Echo River that makes this trail into a 0.6 mile loop trail.“

Photos: Amber Flowers

• Cave Trail Upgrade: Planning began on rehabilitation of cave trails from New Entrance to Frozen Niagara. New sustainable materials have since replaced deteriorated cave trails, making them safer by updating stairs, handrails and guardrails while not affecting areas of historic or archeological significance. In addition, new benches were installed at two gathering areas with electrical and communication conduits added under the trail surface to facilitate existing and future cables. 

JULY

• Anniversary: Mammoth Cave National Park celebrated its 80th anniversary as a National Park on July 1, 2021.

AUGUST

• Archeology: The Old Hotel site was excavated as part of a citizen science project under the supervision of park archeologists.

“The team found a lot of artifacts that were expected from a 20th century hotel. But they also found unexpected surprises; two 1920s-era “Delco Light” farm lighting cell batteries with hard rubber covers. These batteries would have supported lighting and appliance needs both on the surface and in the cave! According to archived newspapers, there was even a projection system that played silent films!” More Info: BG Daily News | MCNP Facebook 1 | MCNP Facebook 2

Photos: NPS/Mammoth Cave

• The Today Show Feature: Jerry Bransford, a Mammoth Cave Tour Guide, was featured in a segment on The Today Show with NBC’s Gadi Schwartz. Also in the video was Public Information Officer Molly Schroer. Despite being 74yrs old, he is still leading visitors into the depths below, just as his ancestors had done. His family’s association with the cave dates back to the 1830’s. Watch the video to learn more and see a glimpse inside the Rotunda, Fat Man's Misery, Tall Man's Agony, River Styx and other areas. Click here for another Mammoth Cave video featuring Jerry Bransford.

• Bat Night: This year’s event was back in-person, with several outdoor stations setup for visitors to learn about bats and the work at Mammoth Cave to collect date used to study and protect populations which were severely reduced due to White Nose Syndrome. Though it began to rain, the event still had a great turnout.

  • Amber Flowers and Chaz Wells, Summer Bat Monitor Interns with Student Conservation Association, were setup at Shelter A and provided a presentation on their nighttime fieldwork of bat emergence counts using night vision goggles, infrared enabled camcorders and FLIR thermal infrared. They had a bat themed coloring book page and other activities for children and adults. A bat house video presentation by Dr. O’Keefe from the University of Illinois was playing on loop.

  • Acoustic monitoring, night vision and thermal infrared was presented by John Chenger of Bat Conservation & Management at the Historic Entrance.

  • Special evening program “Being a Bat Biologist” at the amphitheater with Dr. Carter of Ball State University.

SEPTember

• Extra Miles: Mammoth Cave, “the world’s longest cave”, becomes even longer with the announcement of eight additional miles, bringing the total up to 420mi. Surveys and exploration by The Cave Research Foundation (CRF) volunteers helped to make this possible. More Info: BG Daily News

OCTober

• International Dark-Sky Park Designation: Mammoth Cave National Park is now officially recognized as an International Dark-Sky Park by the International Dark-Sky Association (IDA). The park is the first site in Kentucky to receive this designation. A rigorous application process along with necessary upgrades to lighting both in and around the park resulted in a multi-year application. Local support was vital, with the cooperation from the Great Onyx Job Corps and the City of Park City having the most impact. Over 700 outdoor light fixtures were retrofitted to make them dark-sky friendly. This change also had the added benefit of reducing energy use and cost. More Info: Mammoth Cave Website | Facebook

“The City of Park City has retrofitted the city’s entire street lighting system with Dark-Sky certified LED fixtures. This not only allowed the city to realize an almost 45% reduction in our monthly cost, but it generated a 65% savings of our monthly kWh energy usage. As the city promotes the Bell’s Tavern Park, which is the trailhead for the Mammoth Cave Bike & Hike trail, we see our efforts to become a Dark-Sky community having an impact on our local tourism economy as well, as we look to promote possible Dark-Sky events locally and with Mammoth Cave National Park.” — Bobby Bunnell, Park City Clerk & Treasurer

NOVember

• Trail improvement project: A rehabilitation project to rehabilitate portions of the Mammoth Cave Railroad Bike and Hike Trail began and was expected to last for eight weeks. To complete this work, the trail was closed from Carmichael Road to Sloans Crossing Pond along with the Doyel Valley Overlook and parking area.

• Highway Paving: Improvement work to West Entrance Road (KY-70) involved roadway resurfacing, the hardening of road shoulders, upgraded drainage, and expansion or replacement of existing guard rails. The work was coordinated by the United States Federal Highway Administration and National Park Service.

DECember

• Hotel Roof Project & Temporary Closure: The Mammoth Cave Hotel Roof Replacement Project began, resulting in a temporary closure of main building of the 55yr old Lodge at Mammoth Cave Hotel to the public for one year. Commercial visitor services, such as dining, retail and the hotel check in desk will continue to be offered near the visitor center. The project was funded by the Great American Outdoors Act and will address backlog maintenance needs and correct deficiencies of the main hotel building. The building will receive a new, slightly pitched roof, energy efficient windows, increased insulation in the roof and walls. The interior lobby will be reconfigured to enhance the functionality of the building and improve the overall visitor experience. Access to Heritage Trail from the pedestrian bridge was temporarily closed. Visitors will instead began at the Sunset Lodge parking lot trail that leads to the Old Guides Cemetery.
  Learn More: Press Release | Mammoth Cave Website (photos + blueprints)

“The improvements to the building will really make a difference in the experience for our visitors who use the hotel for dining, shopping and for their overnight stays.Visitors and concessioner employees deal with multiple roof leaks every time a heavy rain comes through the area.” — Deputy Superintendent, Jay Grass

• Cedar Sink Temporary Closure: One of the park’s popular trails was temporarily closed for erosion control and rehabilitation. The work was completed by park staff and an AmeriCorps NCCC crew.

Remember to follow along all year on our blog.

Our blog is a great resource for MCNP and FOMC updates, press releases and behind the scenes photos.
We’re working on adding some special guest contributors, stay tuned!

Donation of Commemorative Sterling Platter Belonging to Former Superintendent, R. Taylor Hoskins, Sr.

Donated by Taylor Hoskins, Jr.

Taylor Hoskins, Jr., a Friends of Mammoth Cave Board member gifted a sterling platter to Mammoth Cave National Park. It was received by Barclay Trimble, the current park superintendent. The platter was presented to his father, R. Taylor Hoskins, Sr. by the Mammoth Cave National Park Association upon completion in 1950 of his assignment as first park superintendent. Hoskins was sent to Kentucky in 1936 to assist in setting up the park and became a full superintendent in 1941. Superintendent Trimble stated the commemorative salver will be placed in the conference room at the superintendent's office.

 The 6th Annual Mammoth-on

The event began at 7:30am in front of the Mammoth Cave Lodge with a quick check-in, progressing into a ranger-led walk underground, inside Mammoth Cave itself. Participants were able to see the entire tour route, showcasing many of the historic areas that made Mammoth Cave famous for its “mammoth” passages. At a faster pace than a tour, it is an enjoyable workout with a comfortable cave temperature of 54 degrees. Upon exit, participants hiked two miles on a woodland trail near the Historic Entrance. Cyclists enjoyed a self-paced 18-mile ride to Park City and back along the Mammoth Cave Railroad Bike and Hike Trail. All sections were optional, and participants could leave as needed. Friends of Mammoth Cave provided rest stops and water stations along the way.

The Mammoth-on was the idea of Colleen Olson and lives on in her memory. Colleen was a Mammoth Cave Park Ranger, instrumental in the creation and planning of the event. She envisioned the Mammoth-on to be a day of fun and outdoor exercise and as a fundraising event for the non-profit Friends of Mammoth Cave National Park (FOMC). Proceeds support the FOMC who help to fund many of the park’s programs such as the teacher workshops and virtual classroom presentations to students across the country and beyond. Learn More: SOKY Happenings | WBKO Interview | BG Daily News

“We are excited to be able to bring this family event back to the Park this year after a year off due to the pandemic. This year we have added medals and canvas bags for each participant in addition to a T-shirt and a coupon for a scoop of ice cream from the grill at the lodge,” — Rick Dubose, Executive Director, Friends of Mammoth Cave National Park.

2021 Mammoth-on — Featured Photos

Photos by Soul Gaze Photography

THANK YOU to our 2021 sponsors and participants. We truly appreciate your support!

"We thank our presenting sponsor, ELPO Law, and Houchens IGA, BlueCotton.com, Soul Gaze Photography, The Lodge at Mammoth Cave, Mammoth Cave National Park, and the Bowling Green League of Bicyclists."

42nd Annual Cave Sing

The annual Cave Sing event was virtual again this year. We missed seeing all our Friends in the cave and look forward to next year! We hope you all had a wonderful holiday and enjoyed the magic within the season.

Our annual meeting was also cancelled and instead was converted to this 2021 Year in Review annual report newsletter.

Photos: Amber Flowers

Membership & Donations

We would like to thank everyone who has been a member or donated both in 2021 and prior years. Your support and contributions have enabled us to do many good things for Mammoth Cave National Park.

Tax-Deductible Donations

You can become an integral part of helping to protect Mammoth Cave National Park by donating to the Friends of Mammoth Cave. We are a 501(c)3 Non-profit and strive to maintain low overhead costs so that your tax-deductible donation will go directly to work funding important projects and initiatives in the Park. Thank you for your support!

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Until Next Time!

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