http://www.northfloridaspringsalliance.org/Originally Posted by JCGoodwin
Welcome to the Cave Diver's Forum.
Whoever said money can't buy love never bought a puppy.
The instructors pay $214.00 a year for there pass to teach in these springs too. And if you add that up thats a lot of $$$ Just the open water instructors at Deleon Spring hell that about 25 that I know about. When I teach at Peacock I use it there. Do all the cave instructors up there get one too?? If they do this thats more $ that they will lose out on.
Red Sullivan
(Dive within your training.)
I just joined the NFSA, let's make sure we don't go down without a fight!
'A veteran is someone who, at one point in his life, wrote a blank check made
payable to 'The United States of America ' for an amount of 'up to and including my life.' That is Honor, and there are way too many people in this country who no longer understand it.'
I am in and lets roll! NFSC member and ready to start writing emails to the parks department.
If anyone has insight to who specifically is our advocate at the sate level please post that information.
I will do all I can to pass the word up here in the sticks.
JCG
Hey Cam it's northfloridaspringsalliance.org
Jim
Just joined NFSA too!
After starting this thread and reading through all of the threads related to this topic here and on other sites, my question has been answered. The Springs Alliance is the only one who is actively working on this issue. I joined online last night and look forward to participating in keeping the springs open for diving.
It does not have to be that way. The BOD could empower someone to handle some of these rapid response issues to eliminate the lag needed to get an item on the agenda for the next board meeting. It's true the parks will not close tomorrow as budget related laws tend to take effect at the end of a fiscal year, but once sucha law is passed, it can be very hard to revers. Even absent actual apssage, any delay in opposing a bill allows more momentum and support for a such a bill to pass. The sooner a bill shot down, or even killed in committee, the better.
I agree with you completely. The sooner that action can happen the better, for the reasons outlined above, which argues for the BODs involved to be a little more pro-active and or to approve structures with a bit more flexibility to respond to new legislation.And keep in mind that while getting letters and phone calls from the NFSA is great. Getting letters and phone calls from the NFSA, NACD, and NSS-CDS will have a greater impact on things.
Having been involved with the florida legislative process and state agency budgets for a few years now there is plenty of time and the legislative process does not begin until march. What is taking place now is agency posturing and planning given budget uncertainty and it remains to be seen what is going to happen in the revenue estimating conferences especially given general macroeconomic improvement. I work for a state agency and we have been through dozens of budget cut planning processes over the last decade. One agency strategy is to launch the worse case scenario to the public to generate political support for a particular area and it also creates a negative expectation so that when things turn out not quite that bad everyone is a bit happier with the hits that they end up with. Given a new and inexperienced governor there will be a lot of ups and downs in the coming months with regard to a ton of issues. If the revenue estimates come in favorable all this may well all dissolve. While planning a position response via the cave groups is important and should certainly move forward it does not have to be the knee jerk responses that seem to be going forth here in several venues...but, given facebook and internet forums these days, maybe Florida will look a bit like egypt in the months to come.
"With regard to cave diving, the great thing is to be carried where you could not have imagined you would ever be, and then to come back alive."
"Wilderness. The word itself is music." Abbey, Desert Solitaire
Thank you for the inquiry.
The NFSA is a CSO that supports Madison,Peacock,Troy,and to some extent Ichetucknee and Lafayette Blue. A CSO was created by Florida legislation to be nonprofit groups that provide direct support of the parks. For example when you visit Peacock you will see the changing rooms,walkway to the spring,tank benches and Interpretive trail,and this was all done by us. Plus we host educational programs and socials as well. As a CSO we set goals at the beginning of the year with the help of our members and visitors of the park like yourself,and are committed to carry them out,and have to produce results. In reference to the threat of park closure we are 100% committed to addressing this issue,and have a plan in place. We will not let this issue go without having our voices heard loudly and clearly. The NFSA has grown to 160+ members,and this is huge in the eye of the state,and the bigger we become the larger voice we have to address issues like this. I am sure the NACD and CDS will address this issue,and in fact we would like to work with them so we can concentrate out efforts. Thank you.
"Not all change is improvement...but all improvement is change" Donald Berwick
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