Marion County is a county located in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is located in East Tennessee. As of the 2010 census, the population was 28,237. Its county seat is Jasper. Marion County is part of the Chattanooga, TN–GA Metropolitan Statistical Area. Marion County is in the Central time zone, while Chattanooga proper is in the Eastern time zone.
Speleology is the scientific study of caves and other karst features, as well as their make-up, structure, physical properties, history, life forms, and the processes by which they form (speleogenesis) and change over time (speleomorphology). The term speleology is also sometimes applied to the recreational activity of exploring caves, but this is more properly known as caving, potholing, or spelunking. Speleology and caving are often connected, as the physical skills required for in situ study are the same.
The National Speleological Society (NSS) is an organization formed in 1941 to advance the exploration, conservation, study, and understanding of caves in the United States. Originally headquartered in Washington D.C., its current offices are in Huntsville, Alabama. The organization engages in the research and scientific study, restoration, exploration, and protection of caves. It has more than 10,000 members in more than 250 grottos.
A cave conservancy is a specialized land trust that primarily manages caves or karst features in the United States. Organizations that serve as cave management consultants to cave owners are usually considered cave conservancies. Almost all cave conservancies are non-profit organizations, but their management methodologies may be diverse. Cave conservancies often provide other services such as being advocates for responsible cave ownership and management, promoting the protection of caves, and advancing research to enhance and discover the values of caves.
The Arbuckle Mountains are an ancient mountain range in south-central Oklahoma in the United States. They lie in Murray, Carter, Pontotoc, and Johnston counties. The granite rocks of the Arbuckles date back to the Precambrian Eon some 1.4 billion years ago which were overlain by rhyolites during the Cambrian Period. The range reaches a height of 1,412 feet above sea level. According to the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS):
The Arbuckles contain the most diverse suite of mineral resources in Oklahoma: limestone, dolomite, glass sand, granite, sand and gravel, shale, cement, iron ore, lead, zinc, tar sands, and oil and gas; all these minerals are, or have been, produced commercially.
Formed in 1956, the Australian Speleological Federation Inc. (ASF) is the national body representing those interested in the protection and sustainability of Australia's cave and karst environments. It has approximately 850 members across 28 constituent bodies throughout all Australian states and territories.
Asplenium scolopendrium, known as hart's-tongue or hart's-tongue fern is an evergreen fern in the genus Asplenium, of the Northern Hemisphere.
Morgan City, also known as New Rescue, is an unincorporated community located in Morgan and Marshall counties, Alabama, United States, and is included in the Huntsville-Decatur Combined Statistical Area, as well as the Decatur Metropolitan Area. It is located atop Brindley Mountain approximately halfway between Arab and Huntsville along U.S. 231. Morgan City houses many shops, ranging from a dental and animal clinic to an antique shop. A Fire station sits inside Morgan City known as Brindlee Mountain Volunteer Fire Department Station #1. Going south towards Arab, there is a bow repair shop as well as a carpet business. Brindlee Mountain Fire Apparatus sits inside Morgan City as well, but on the boundaries between Morgan City and Union Grove. Dollar General, a small drug store, a cafe, and Food 4 Less operate in a small strip mall in the area's limits. There also is 2 gas stations, a State Farm agency office, 4 churches, as well as several mechanic shops.
Fern Cave National Wildlife Refuge is a 199-acre (0.8 km2) National Wildlife Refuge located in northeastern Alabama, near Paint Rock, Alabama in Jackson County.
A Grotto is an internal organization of the National Speleological Society (NSS). They generally function as the local NSS chapter/club. Many Grottos however, operate in areas outside of their local area, with many operating in several states. Most Grottos also participate in Regions which are loose associations of Grottos. Regions are also an internal organization of the National Speleological Society.
The Livestock Conservancy, formerly known as the American Livestock Breeds Conservancy (ALBC) and prior to that, the American Minor Breeds Conservancy, is a nonprofit organization focused on preserving and promoting rare breeds, also known as "heritage breeds" of livestock. Founded in 1977, through the efforts of livestock breed enthusiasts concerned about the disappearance of many of the US's heritage livestock breeds, the Conservancy was the pioneer livestock preservation organization in the United States, and remains a leading organization in that field. It has initiated programs that have saved multiple breeds from extinction, and works closely with similar organizations in other countries, including Rare Breeds Canada. With 3,000 members, a staff of nine and a 19-member board of directors, the organization has an operating budget of almost half a million dollars.
Snail Shell Cave is a limestone cave in Rockvale, Tennessee. Snail Shell Cave lies on an 88-acre (36 ha) preserve near Murfreesboro, Tennessee. Snail Shell cave is owned by the Southeastern Cave Conservancy, which has called it "one of the most biologically significant cave sites in the southeastern United States."
The West Virginia spring salamander is a species of salamander in the family Plethodontidae. It is endemic to West Virginia, the United States.
The Southeastern Arizona Bird Observatory (SABO) is a nonprofit membership-supported scientific and educational organization founded in 1996 in Bisbee, Arizona, USA. The mission of the Southeastern Arizona Bird Observatory is to promote the conservation of the birds of southeastern Arizona, their habitats, and the diversity of species that share those habitats through research, monitoring, and public education.
The Texas Cave Management Association (TCMA) is a 501(c)3 nonprofit corporation formed in 1986 to promote the conservation, study, and understanding of caves in Texas. TCMA was the first organization in Texas dedicated to the preservation of caves and underground resources. TCMA manages and owns numerous caves throughout Texas. Some of these caves are protected as home to unique and endangered creatures. Other TCMA caves are routinely used for a variety of purposes by cavers, the general public, youth groups, and rescue training groups. TCMA also provides management, conservation, and education information to individual, groups, organizations, and governmental agencies.
Beaver Valley straddles the Pennsylvania and Delaware border in Delaware County, PA and New Castle County, DE. An unincorporated place name, it is traversed by several streams which drain to Beaver Run which itself empties into the Brandywine River. It is approximately bounded by US Route 202 to the east, The Brandywine River to the west, Thompsons Bridge Road to the south, and Smithbridge Road to the north, with Beaver Valley Road encircling a large portion of the valley. The majority of the lands in Beaver Valley have been owned for decades by The Woodlawn Trustees, which designated in the early 1970s all of its Brandywine Hundred and Delaware County holdings in Beaver Valley and elsewhere as a Wildlife Refuge. In 2012, The Woodlawn Trustees submitted development plans to Concord Township Supervisors in Delaware County for the purpose of constructing approximately 500 housing units and a 225,000 square foot national retail store, all of which would adjoin the First State National Historical Park in Chadds Ford Township, Delaware County, Pennsylvania and New Castle County, Delaware. The original plans were withdrawn, but the developers – Frank McKee and the Julian brothers, Richard and Frank – came back with new plans entitled "Vineyard Commons" which called for 161 houses spread across approximately 230 acres. Suing Concord Township in March 2015 for its preliminary approval of Vineyard Commons, Beaver Valley Conservancy members argued that several dozen of Concord Township's own building and stormwater codes were violated by their approval. In October, 2016, a Delaware County Common Pleas Court judge sent the case back to the Concord Supervisors ordering them to hold evidentiary hearings and to apply environmental protection standards to the development per Pennsylvania's Environmental Rights Amendment to its constitution. Shortly after this court order, the developers agreed to sell their rights to the land to the Conservation Fund and the Mount Cuba Foundation, a deal which was finalized in May 2017 with the help of the Brandywine Conservancy and the Beaver Valley Conservancy. According to the Conservation Fund, the land will be donated to the National Park Service and added to the First State National Historical Park in Chadds Ford and New Castle County.
The Southern California Grotto is a chapter of the National Speleological Society (NSS) based in the Greater Los Angeles area.
The Wittenberg University Speleological Society (WUSS) is a student-run grotto of the National Speleological Society (NSS) created in 1980, dedicated to the advancement of speleology. WUSS has more than 500 members, current and past students, faculty and staff of Wittenberg University, as well as community members dedicated to the scientific study, exploration, and preservation of caves and karst environments. The organization is based out of Wittenberg University in Springfield, Ohio.
The Butler Cave Conservation Society (BCCS) is a 501(c)(3) non-profit Virginia corporation dedicated to the conservation, exploration, survey, preservation, and scientific study of Virginia's longest and deepest cave systems.
The Western Cave Conservancy is a nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization based in central California. It was primarily established to secure permanent protection for threatened caves in the western United States. The WCC also provides management, conservation, and education information to individuals, groups, organizations, and governmental agencies.
