Quote Originally Posted by allen View Post
The greatest benefit of NSS-CDS membership is access to the NSS's caves. Hart and Cow are the only ones that don't require trimix. Cow is the only one that doesn't require a guide.
If Cow is closed to most members, why belong? Cave Divers' Forum offers more information than UNDERWATER SPELEOLOGY. The Sierra Club has more clout in conservation. Non-members pay only slightly higher registration fees at NSS-CDS events, most of which are prohibitively far away.
Bob Cree's suggestion that the NSS-CDS offer a mentorship program is one that most newbies would jump at, but it is unlikely that there are enough mentors to go around. If offered, it would meke up for losing access to NSS-owned caves.
Most of my dives since full cave are short because most of the buddies I can find are at the intro level. That's not all bad: Intro cave divers tend to be sticklers for the rules and fiercely critical of the slightest lapse.
How many caves, springs, or land has the Sierra Club purchased and preserved?

If you want to support an environmental group who's focus is much broader then just caves and springs, then Sierra Club is your deal. I have never seen a map of a cave and where it travels in a Sierra Club publication. I have also never seen the Sierra Club get involved in water sampling, fauna counts, and bother to track down individuals who have been proven to damage a cave clay formation.

I may not agree with all the access policies for the properties, then again, all of the properties ARE accessible to any member who meets the requirements. (which are not all that stringent in my opinion)