Steve Cole of Alderson recently received the honor of being cited for his contributions to cave stewardship and education by the National Speleological Society (NSS), Huntsville, AL.
Each year a select group of landowners or land managers is honored for work done in cave science, cave conservation, cave education, and similar outreach. Award recipients typically have a long-term history of positive relationships with cavers, including access to their caves and property. In addition, recipients have demonstrated a history of protecting caves, karst, and all resources that impact these fragile environments.
The NSS Landowner-Caver Relations Committee’s citation to Cole thanks him for his outstanding dedication “for supporting education, exploration, conservation, and access to caves.”
NSS (www.caves.org) is an organization of cavers devoted to cave sport, research and preservation. An elite subset of the scientific community conducts research into the geology, biology and hydrology of caves in an effort to understand and promote a better planet. In light of concerns over water quality and availability, much emphasis has been given to caves and underground aquifers in recent years. The 8,600 members of NSS come from all 50 states, including many from West Virginia, and several countries.
