|
Name of Conservancy |
Date |
Date |
Date of NSS |
Conservancy |
|
1968 |
1972 |
1990 or 91 |
5 |
|
|
Appalachian Cave Conservancy (ACC) Formerly known as PerCAMS |
1977 |
5 Feb 2004 |
1988 |
4 |
|
1978 |
1978 |
Oct 2003 |
16 |
|
|
1980 |
July 1980 |
July 2004 |
17 |
|
|
1983 |
1984 |
Mar 1999 |
8 |
|
|
New Jersey Cave
Conservancy (NJCC) Inactive or Disbanded circa
2009 |
1984 |
2002 |
Nov 2000 |
11 * |
|
Ellis Cave Conservancy Disbanded 1989 |
1985 |
Never |
1986 |
1 * |
|
Indiana Karst Conservancy (IKC) |
1985 |
Feb 1986 |
April 1987 |
2 |
|
1985 |
1986 |
April 1987 |
3 |
|
|
Greater
Cincinnati Grotto - |
1989 |
Not Inc. |
1995 |
6 * |
|
1991 |
1991 |
NA |
NA |
|
|
Texas Cave Conservancy (TEXCC) |
1994 |
Oct. 1994 |
Oct 2003 |
14 |
|
1995 |
1995? |
2010 ? |
19 |
|
|
1997 |
1998 |
Nov 1998 |
7 |
|
|
1997 |
Dec 1997 |
Nov 2000 |
10 |
|
|
Carroll Cave Conservancy (CCC) |
1998 |
May 2002 |
Oct 2003 |
15 |
|
1998 |
1998 |
June 2000 |
9 |
|
|
2002 |
July 2002 |
Mar. 2003 |
12 |
|
|
Western Cave Conservancy (WCC) |
2002 |
Aug 2002 |
Mar 2003 |
13 |
|
2004 |
May 2004 |
July 2007 |
18 |
|
| Kentucky Karst Conservancy (KKC)
|
2012
|
June 2012 |
Aug 2014 |
|
2019 |
2019 |
June 2020 |
21 |
|
|
* Not
presently an NSS Cave Conservancy Cave Conservancies that are
Institutional members of the NSS |
||||
|
Links The Cave
Conservancy Movement originally by John M. Wilson and edited on Wikipedia.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cave_conservancy Cave
Conservancy Management Conservancy Table Conservancy Table 2 |
||||
Becoming an NSS Conservancy
Requirements for NSS Conservancy Designation
- Agree with the purposes
of the NSS
- The major officers of the
conservancy are expected to be NSS members.
- Apply in writing by
e-mail or hard copy to the Cave Conservancies Committee; provide a statement of
intent to affiliate as a conservancy, a list of major officers, and any other
information that describes the activities and purpose of the conservancy.
- The Cave Conservancies
Committee approves the designation.
What the Conservancy Designation Means
Each NSS Conservancy:
- May use the following
statement in its publications, stationary, promotional material and other
places. "A Conservancy of the National Speleological Society"
- Will be listed
in NSS publications as a conservancy of the NSS
- Will be listed as
an NSS Cave conservancy on all the Cave Conservancy Committee web pages.
Appropriate statistical and other information may be listed in this web site.
- Are classified within a
group of organizations referred to as "NSS activities." These presently include
four groups of organizations. They are: NSS Expeditions, NSS Projects,
Conservation Task Forces, and Conservancies. All of these NSS activities
operate with autonomy from the NSS leadership. These relationships for the
other activities parallel the ones listed here for conservancies and are
defined in the Board of Governors Manual.
- May participate more
effectively in developing and recommending NSS policy related to cave
conservancies.
- May participate in the
planning and presentation of conservancy educational functions such as the
Annual Cave Conservancy Round Table held at the NSS Convention.
- May have its members
serve on the NSS Cave Conservancies Committee.
- May have its members
serve as expert trainers on conservancy topics.
- Have convenient and low
cost access to communication with NSS members.
- Services are provided by
the Cave Conservancies Committee as mutually agreed by the Committee and the
Cave Conservancy.
- May give up the
designation at any time.
What Conservancy Designation Does Not Mean
NSS Cave Conservancies:
·
Are not internal
organizations of the NSS, by virtue of this designation.
A conservancy could also apply to become an internal organization of the NSS.
That process is done by a committee in a different department and has a
different set of criteria. Refer to the Board of Governors Manual for details.
·
Do not pay
dues to the NSS. Conservancies could become institutional members, see that
explanation later.
·
Does not receive
a subscription to NSS News and Journal. The individual officers of the
conservancy who are NSS members receive these publications.
·
Are not required
to file an annual report. However, Cave Conservancies are encouraged to send a
copy of any significant publication to the Cave Conservancies Committee, and
the NSS Library. Other communication with the Committee is welcome.
· Do not have any liabilities for this affiliation with the NSS. Liability is generally limited to officers, board members and some times staff or other leaders of incorporated associations. A long-standing legal principle in the United Stated holds that members and loosely affiliated organizations are not liable in any way for action taken by an organization with which they affiliated.
NSS Membership and Cave Conservancy Officers
Suppose our cave conservancy has a major officer who is not an NSS member, what can we do?
NSS Membership provides a convenient means of non-cavers to learn about caves, karst, and caving. Through the NSS a member will be able to learn a great deal about cave conservation, cave management, cave documentation such as mapping, cave photography, inventories, etc. This exposure to cavers and cave organizations provides a valuable supplement to the officer training provided by your cave conservancy. The NSS is not just for cavers, it is for all cave and karst interested people. The major officer affiliation is a small requirement and a good idea for cave conservancies
The NSS asks very little for the granting the NSS Cave Conservancy designation and providing the benefits it entails. Why should such a small requirement prevent affiliation?
If for some reason a potential officer does not want to pay the NSS dues, arrange for someone or some group to pay the person’s dues for a year as a demonstration of its value. If the person does not appreciate the value in the NSS membership after a year, contact the NSS Cave Conservancies Chairman to find another solution.
What is the Difference
between NSS Cave Conservancy Status and an NSS Institutional Membership?
Institutional membership is intended for libraries, schools, colleges, universities, show caves, equipment vendors, outfitters, adventure outing providers, environmental groups, and other institutions that may wish to do one or more of the following: Subscribe to the NSS News and Journal, Contribute to the NSS on a regular basis, Show public support for the NSS, Become an member in the NSS.
Cave conservancy
designation is specifically intended to help cave conservancies and land trusts
by:
- Allowing the use of the
good name of the NSS to add credibility to the cave conservancy
- Allowing a show of support
for the NSS
- Providing an additional
means communication among cave conservancies
- Providing a central
location of information about NSS cave conservancies on the cave conservancy
committee website
- Providing a structured
means for cave conservancies to act together on major issues affecting their
interest
- Providing a structured
means to participate in developing and recommending NSS policy related to cave
conservancies.
- Providing a means to
participate in the planning and presentation of conservancy educational
functions such as the Annual Cave Conservancy Round Table held at
the NSS Convention.
- Providing a structure for
conservancy members to serve as expert trainers and consultants on conservancy
topics
May an institution be both?
Only Cave Conservancies and Land Trust have the option for being both an NSS cave conservancy and an institutional member. They also have the option of being either or neither.
Does Our Cave Conservancy Qualify To Affiliate with the NSS
The NSS has asked the Chairman of the Cave Conservancies Committee to encourage all appropriate cave managing organizations in the United States to become NSS Cave Conservancies, provided each conservancy meets a few simple requirements.
We understand that not all cave conservancies accepted will have a (pick one or more) cave management plan, good map of their cave properties, strong conservation ethic, or members with scientific knowledge and skills. New conservancies will have the opportunity to meet with speleologists and cave conservancy leaders from all over the U.S. The experience of sharing many successes and failures is a great learning opportunity. A discussion of the ways other cave conservancies resolved the many issues should be very helpful to each conservancy. Contact with members of other conservancies usually helps improve cave management skills, cave conservation values, etc. Isolation or punishment of people who disagree or have different priorities is often counterproductive.
The NSS Cave Conservancy designation is not bestowed for what a group has done; it is available to help achieve good cave conservation and management in the future.
Cavers who were primarily cave explorers founded some cave conservancies.
Most people do what they perceive is in their self-interest. Cavers
have often acted to protect access to caves. In many cases recreational and
project cavers have banded together to acquire cave properties because that
seemed to be the most effective way to guarantee access. In some cases, there
were few strong environmental advocates among the members of the founding group.
I have followed this movement in the United States from its start
in the early 1970’s and have noticed in almost every case the development over
time of a stronger conservation ethic within these conservancies. There are
several plausible explanations for the strengthening of conservation values in
these groups.
- People often care more about things they own.
- Wisdom tends to develop with age.
- Attribution phenomena - A scientific premise identified
by psychologists in which people tend to become that which is attributed to
them. Thus, when cavers become conservancy managers they tend to become
conservationist. This was originally referred to as modeling theory.
- A stronger conservation ethic has developed in the larger society over the past 40 years.
While these factors do not guarantee an eventual strong conservation ethic or any other competency, it provides sufficient hope so that the NSS in good faith can encourage all cave conservancies that meet a few simple guidelines to become NSS Cave Conservancies.
Being a responsible environmentalist as with being a responsible
citizen is a learning process, and for some people it is a long and difficult
journey.
This journey can be made easier by having access to people with the appropriate experience, knowledge, skills, abilities, and values.
We can all image a world in which every person’s decisions are determined by long-term enlightened self-interest that includes respect for all other people, life, and things of value. The practical reality is that we usually accept a person where he is and help him along his journey to the highest level of enlightenment he can achieve.
If you have questions, comments, or suggestions about the NSS Conservancies pages,
please E-mail Jeff Karr at conservancies@caves.org
