Cave Diving Agencies

[hddiver]

I recently completed my Full Cave course and would like to support cave diving in some way. I know about the old agencies- CDS and NACD- but from a lot of what I've read, they seem more like a social club for local cave divers. What about the NASE? Any opinions?

Thanks

[whodunit68]

congrats on completing your Full Cave! Check out the NFSA (North Florida Springs Alliance - www.northfloridaspringsalliance.org/). The NASE is not specific for caves or springs. Rather, this is a recreational education organization with a cave course.

[MORGAN]

I belong to the NSS-CDS, NACD, and NFSA. I think that all of these are worth the membership dues. NACD and NSS-CDS both put out magazines, and NFSA puts out a newletter. NFSA has done some nice work at Peacock with the interpretative trail, and at Jug Hole with the cart.

[hunabku]

NFSA has also installed tank benches at several parks. I love em!

[Jim Wyatt]

NFSA has also installed tank benches at several parks. I love em!

www.northfloridaspringsalliance.org

[jj1987]

I recently completed my Full Cave course and would like to support cave diving in some way. I know about the old agencies- CDS and NACD- but from a lot of what I've read, they seem more like a social club for local cave divers. What about the NASE? Any opinions?

Thanks

I would keep in mind that the CDS maintains multiple dive sites, including one owned by then (Cow) and one owned by their parent agency (Alachua). Both the CDS and NACD donate gold line to various caves, which certainly isn't cheap (check the price at REI or something), as well as entrance warning signs and such. They also produce high quality quarterly publications. GUE has done quite a bit to raise the bar on training standards and is currently the only one who enforces them IMO, as well as sponsor several exploration projects which project divers in a positive light world wide. Quest magazine comes in PDF with GUE membership and is IMO, the most informative of the agency publications in part because it's not 100% cave diving so it has a wider member base to write for it. NFSA has donated a cart to jug, worked on the interpretive trail at WSPSSP, built tank racks at LR, and a various other things.

There are several choices, and I'm sure all of them appreciate your membership. A lot of the venting you hear is because they don't do as much as they used to, but not entirely true that they're only a social club.

[whodunit68]

www.northfloridaspringsalliance.org

thanks Jim, not sure how mine got messed up.

There are several choices, and I'm sure all of them appreciate your membership. A lot of the venting you hear is because they don't do as much as they used to, but not entirely true that they're only a social club.

nicely done....and I agree that they're not *only* a social club. In fact, I'd take a different spin. One of the benefits of membership is that a number of social activities are conducted and in most of them, there are seminars, presentations, workshops, and all kinds of educational opportunities. These non-profit, volunteer organizations do a lot in a very difficult economic climate where we're under immense pressure to make as much money as possible.
So to the OP, it's great that you want to support the orgs...

[SuPrBuGmAn]

The NFSA(North Florida Springs Aliance) is certainly the most active organization you could join. They are truly committed to continually improve park fascilities and spreading the word of conservation beyond the limits of cave divers within the parks they actively contribute. I believe it services Peacock, Madison, Lafayette, and Troy Spring State Parks. They also do many workshops a year, introducing advanced cave diving skills and dry caving techniques.




The NACD actively supports exploration and holds a few conservation type events every year. They have a publication and a large workshop every year. They hold a few cheap events every year for skills building, dry caving, and other things. They donate goldline and signs to popular caves.

The NSS CDS basically does what the NACD does, with a large workshop every year, a miniworkshop in the mid-west, and another miniworkshop at Hart Springs(sometimes). They also have a quarterly publication. They have a few less events every year compared to the NACD, but do own/manage a few of their own sites. They also donate goldline and signs for popular caves.

The NACD and NSS CDSs actions are so far inline with each other, I'm not sure why they are even seperate entities. Their goals and missions are basically the same and both would come out much stronger by joining, rather than keeping seperate. Leadership on the NACD seems to have been much more motivated in the past few years and the CDS has control over a few sites.

[OFG-1]

There are many less well known agencies also. Some include:

ACK - Agency for the Conservation of Karst. Below is their mascot.



KARB - Karst Activity Research Bureau

DERPI - Den Exploration and Research Policy Institute

SARCASM - State Associations for the Research of Caves, And Subterranean Management

You may send your contributions directly to me, as I am chairman of all of these agencies, and thank you for your support.

[hunabku]