Presented at the
Board of Governors Meeting
April 2, 2011
Albuquerque, NM
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The National Speleological Society (NSS) is a non-profit membership organization dedicated to the scientific study of caves and karst; protecting caves and their natural contents through conservation, ownership, stewardship, and public education; and promoting responsible cave exploration and fellowship among those interested in caves.
I dedicated to the understanding and appreciation of caves and karst
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The National Speleological Society (NSS) is a non-profit membership organization dedicated to the scientific study of caves and karst; protecting caves and their natural contents through conservation, ownership, stewardship, and public education; and promoting responsible cave exploration and fellowship among those interested in caves.
I dedicated to the understanding and appreciation of caves and karst
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• Caving is a specialized pursuit best undertaken by knowledgeable and responsible persons using safe equipment and techniques.
• There is an ongoing need for outreach and education addressing the importance of caves and karst.
• It serves as a national resource for cave- and cavingrelated information and advice.
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• Goal “Safety through knowledge”
• Activities
• Analyze and report accidents and near accidents
• Test and study equipment
• Development of safe caving techniques
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• NSS mission to promote responsible caving:
• Caving is “specialized”
• Cavers should be knowledgeable, responsible and use safe techniques
• Need for outreach & education for cave stewardship
• Serve as the national resource on cave and caving related information
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• NSS mission to promote fellowship among those interested in caves
• Need for outreach & education for cave stewardship
• Serve as the national resource on cave and caving techniques
• Development of safe caving techniques
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The NSS Education Division is developing a caver training program as one initiative that will promote responsible cave exploration and fellowship among those interested in caves.
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The NSS Education Division believes that:
Since the NSS serves as the national resource on caving information and advice, it is the logical organization to lead the effort to develop a caver training program that is national in scope and carries the message,
“
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• People are going to go caving
• People work in caves
• People conduct research in caves
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• Caving is a specialized activity and many people enter caves with little to no background knowledge of the cave environment, or WNS and subsequent decontamination protocols
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• Expectations of our partners
• BLM’s Cave Safety Guidelines (Goodbar, 2008)
• Ill-prepared or uniformed personnel face the greatest risk in cave entry
• MOU provides for the cooperative development of cave safety plans including standards for equipment, experience, and rescue procedures
• The NSS should be contacted to assist BLM in conducting uniform safety analysis for each cave under BLM administration
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• People engage in caving beyond their skill level
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• Reported fatalities and injuries in US caves from
1986-2008 (Keeler, 2011)
• 75 lives lost through fatalities
• 1,159 lives changed due to injury
• Based on National Safety Council values, the cost of the fatalities and injuries range from $86.5 - $135.8 million dollars. (NSC, 2010)
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• Tremendous negative impact
• Individuals
• Families and friends of lost loved ones
• Cave vandalism (unintentional)
• Cave rescue has very high impact on the resource
• Cave closures
• Temporary
• Gating
• Blasting
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• Decrease cave related injuries and fatalities
• Increase in cave and karst advocates/stewards
• Increase the “value” of being an NSS member
• Increase NSS membership
• Increase number of skilled cavers
• Clean-caving and low-impact caving ethic practices
• Expand our network
• Revenue generation
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Other non- profits like:
Calleva Outdoor Adventures
Columbus Outdoor Pursuits
Other National organizations like:
National Outdoor Leadership School
Leave No Trace
Boy Scouts of America
A for-profit business like:
Caving 101
True Adventure Sports
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To develop a full bodied curricula
Allure of Cave Exploration / Cave Environments
Caving Equipment and Equipment Care/ Cleaning and Decontamination
Caver skills; maneuvering, navigation, inventory, problem solving
To develop this program learning from successful models like
National Cave Rescue Commission
Austrian Speleological Association
British Caving Association
To develop this program through strategic partnerships with
Expert Advisory Board
Universities
Organizations
Federal Agencies
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• Initiate dialogue with potential partners- In progress
• Develop basic level curriculum for test group – In progress
• Initiate Advisory Board Development- April 2011
• Observe best-practice delivery of cave-skills and related training in the US and in Europe- Summer 2011
• Present basic level curriculum to test group- June 2011
• Evaluate curriculum effectiveness for revisions- July 2011
• Present progress to date at the Safety and Techniques session on
Thursday of 2011 NSS Convention
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Why we need to know
Warrant funding through donors and grants
Establish new partnerships
Potential impact on other departments
Financial support from the NSS to establish
Questions….
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• Interactive table-top exercises
• Presentations of best-practice approaches
• Practice and reinforcement in real cave scenarios
• Testing to measure achievement/retention of learning outcomes
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• Goal-based training with feedback on performance along with experience (knowledge) from results helps to improve safe behaviors
(Reber, 1984).
• Most effective trainings involve modeling of best-practice behaviors by experts and engagement of the learners (Burke et al., 2006).
• Learners requires feedback on their progress in order to achieve learning objectives (Komaki et al., 1998).
• Task-based training, hazard analysis and understanding, and effective leadership/followership, among others, helps to support positive and safe behaviors that are responsible and ethical (Walters, 1998).
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• Citations
Burke, M.J., S.A. Sarpy, K. Smith-Crowe, S. Chan-Serafin, R.O. Salvador, and G. Islam (2006). Relative
Effectiveness of Worker Safety and Health Training Programs. American Journal of Public Health, 96(2),
315-324.
Goodbar, J (2008). Bureau of Land Management Cave Safety Standards.
Keeler, R. (2011). NSS Incident and Accident Report.
Komaki, J., A.T. Heinzmann, and L. Lawson (1980). Effect of Training and Feedback: Component Analysis of a
Behavorial Safety Program. Journal of Applied Psychology, 65(3), 261-270.
National Safety Council (2010). Estimating the Costs of Unintentional Injuries. Accessed 02/23/2011, http://www.nsc.org/news_resources/injury_and_death_statistics/Pages/EstimatingtheCostsofUnintentio nalInjuries.aspx.
Reber, R.A. and J.A. Wallin (1984). The Effects of Training, Goal Setting, and Knowledge on Results of Safe
Behavior: A Component Analysis. Academy of Management Journal, 27(3), 544-560.
Walters, H.A. (1998). Identifying and Removing Barriers to Safe Behaviors. Professional Safety, 43(1), 34-36.
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Brian Masney
• Yahoo Hollow Cave
• Hoya del las Guaguas
• Cass Cave
• Rumbling Falls Cave
• Simmons Mingo Cave
• Larson’s Well
• Cagle’s Chasm
Aaron Bird
• Whigpistle Cave
• New River Gorge Bridge
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