National Speleological Society

National Speleological Society
Logo of the National Speleological Society
Abbreviation NSS
Formation Bill Stephenson, January 1, 1941 (1941-01-01)
Location
Membership
10,000
President
 Wm. Shrewsbury
Main organ
 Board of Governors
Affiliations American Association for the Advancement of Science, International Union of Speleology
Website caves.org

The National Speleological Society (NSS) is an organization formed in 1941 to advance the exploration, conservation, study, and understanding of caves in the United States. Originally located in Washington D.C., its current offices are in Huntsville, Alabama. The organization engages in mapping, cleaning, scientific study, purchase and gating of caves. It has more than 10,000 members in more than 250 grottos.[1]

History

The Speleological Society of the District of Columbia (SSDC) was formed on May 6, 1939 by Bill Stephenson. In the fall of 1940, the officers of the SSDC drafted a proposed constitution that would transform the SSDC into the National Speleological Society. On January 24, 1941, Bill Stephenson sent a letter to all members of the SSDC announcing that "on January 1 the Society was reorganized as a national organization."[2]

On February 6, 1974, a pioneering cave diver named Sheck Exley became the first chairman of the Cave Diving Section of the National Speleological Society.[3][4] The new section began with 21 members in 10 different states.[3]

Publications

The NSS produces a number of publications, including:

A Grotto is an internal organization of the National Speleological Society (NSS). They generally function as the local NSS chapter/club. Many Grottos however, operate in areas outside of their local area, with many operating in several states.[5] Most Grottos also participate in Regions which are loose associations of Grottos.[5] Regions are also an internal organization of the National Speleological Society.[5]

Organization

Grottos are required to meet certain organizational requirements as outlined by the National Speleological Society. These include:[6]

An annual report describing various aspects of the Grotto is submitted to the NSS.

History

The New England Grotto was the first NSS Grotto. It was chartered in 1941 with Clay Perry as president and Ned Anderson as vice-president.[7]

Organization

The organization is currently divided into 11 regions:

Within these regions are local chapters known as grottos. The grottos carry out the local level recreational and conservation-related business of the NSS.

Grottos

Here are the Grottos of the NSS as listed in 2009.[5]

Alabama

Alaska

Arizona

Arkansas

California

Colorado

Connecticut

Delaware

District of Columbia

Florida

Georgia

Hawaii

Idaho

Illinois

Indiana

Iowa

Kansas

Kentucky

Louisiana

Maine

Maryland

Massachusetts

Michigan

Minnesota

Mississippi

Missouri

Montana

Nebraska

Nevada

New Hampshire

New Jersey

New Mexico

New York

North Carolina

North Dakota

Ohio

Oklahoma

Oregon

Pennsylvania

Rhode Island

South Carolina

South Dakota

Tennessee

Texas

Utah

Vermont

Virginia

Washington

West Virginia

Wisconsin

Wyoming

International

Traveling

See also

References

  1. ↑ "The National Speleological Society". caves.org.
  2. ↑ Caving in America, National Speleological Society, Huntsville, AL. 1991. ISBN 0-9615093-7-6
  3. 1 2 Staff. "Cave Diving Section of the National Speleological Society was founded". cavedivinghistory.com. Retrieved 2013-04-20.
  4. ↑ Kendrick, DF (2009). "Science of the National Association for Cave Diving (NACD): Water Quality, Hydrogeology, Biology and Psychology". In: Pollock NW, ed. Diving for Science 2009. Proceedings of the American Academy of Underwater Sciences 28th Symposium. Dauphin Island, AL: AAUS; 2009. Retrieved 2013-04-20.
  5. 1 2 3 4 Weberg, Meredith Hall (2010). NSS News Members Manual. National Speleological Society. pp. 2, 53–65.
  6. ↑ "Policy for Internal Organizations" (PDF). National Speleological Society.
  7. ↑ Caving in America. Huntsville, AL: National Speleological Society. 1991. ISBN 0-9615093-7-6.
  8. ↑ "Little Rock Grotto - [LRG] - Arkansas Cavers". caves.org.
  9. ↑ "Lubbock Area Grotto". lubbockareagrotto.org.
  10. ↑ "Salt Lake Grotto". Facebook.
  11. ↑ "Utah Grotto - of the National Speleological Society". utahgrotto.org.
  12. ↑ "Wasatch Grotto". caves.org.
  13. ↑ "Wisconsin Speleological Society (WSS)". wisconsincaves.org.
  14. ↑ "Balincaguin Conservancy". balincaguinconservancy.org.
This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the 7/7/2015. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.