The NSS began over seventy years ago as a collective of individuals interested in caves and caving. From the beginning, we recognized the need to protect the fragile and timeless environment, both above and underground. Conservation has always been a prime tenet of the NSS's foundations.
The NSS owns seventeen Preserves and manages one Preserve owned by the Felburn Foundation. Each Preserve is cared for by a local Management Committee. The Cave Nature Preserve T-shirts represent the first 9 of those properties that are either owned or managed by the NSS. Each Preserve shirt has a map, on the back, of at least one of the caves on the property.