http://www.fs.fed.us/r9/hoosier/docs/ev ... _event.htm
The event is hosted by the USFS, and organized by the Hoosier National Forest. The NSS is a sponsor. (Perhaps you saw the film at Convention. You may borrow it from the AV Library for a grotto program or perhaps to show to a school group.)
We'll have an NSS exhibit set up and NSS brochures (Fragile Underground, etc) will be included in the info packs given to each attendee. This is an outstanding opportunity to increase the NSS's visibility, educate a range of federal agency staff, and promote the value of cave and karst resources to a large and influential audience.
Through the Government Liaison, Conservation Committee, Education Committee and the NCKMS coordinator, the NSS maintains a close working relationship with the cave specialists in the USFS, NPS, BLM, and USF&WS responsible for cave management on a national level. These folks are NSS members and attend NSS Conventions.
Very importantly, the NSS has Memorandums of Understanding with the BLM, USPS, USFS, and the USF&WS that define how we'll work together to study, manage, and conserve caves. You can read these in the Board Manual on the NSS Business Web page. They are listed in the Appendix. (AA, AD, AF, AH, and AN)
It is vital for the NSS to continue to emphasize to the folks at the agencies' national HQ the value of cave and karst resources, and the responsibility they have for managing them well. Additionally, we must keep reminding them that people care. The NSS has organized cave resource conservation and education sessions over the years in Washington DC, hosted by the USFS, and met regularly with various officials. Our Government Liaison even meets annually with congressmen.
The NSS is YOUR voice in Washington and otherwise on a national level, and your support of the Society gives us the clout to make a difference for caves and their inhabitants. And we have made a difference, beginning with the
Federal Cave Protection Act.
The Society's goals direct us, in part, to "promote interest in and to advance in any and all ways the study and science of speleology, the protection of caves and their natural contents..." By supporting and participating in the Cave Conservation Cafe, we are furthering these goals.