Random Article Summary #164

A cave conservancy is a type of land trust that mainly looks after caves and other karst features in the United States. Many groups that act as consultants for cave owners are considered cave conservancies. Most cave conservancies are non-profit organizations, though they may use different management approaches. In addition to direct care, they often advocate for responsible cave ownership and management. They also work to protect caves and support research that helps people better understand what caves offer and how to discover their value. Historically, caves were managed in very different ways, ranging from neglect to commercialization or exploitation, with mixed outcomes. At the same time, some people believed caves had commercial value and that making money could encourage ownership and conservation, while growing public interest in caves as natural curiosities helped lead to important caves being protected in the US national park system—North America’s first major public conservation effort. Before 1968, there were no known non-profit cave conservancies, though some individuals or families bought caves to provide access and protect them. The Butler Cave Conservation Society (BCCS), founded in 1968, is considered the first real cave conservancy. The National Speleological Society (NSS) was not originally set up for cave conservation, but it later acquired and manages twelve cave properties as nature preserves. Other groups like the Nature Conservancy may own caves too, but they are usually not called cave conservancies because cave protection is not their main focus. Many cavers from Virginia helped found the National Speleological Society and led the creation of the early cave conservancies in Virginia and the northeast. After the BCCS was founded, more groups formed over the next 15 years, including ACC, NCC, and the Cave Conservancy of the Virginias (CCV); CCV initially shifted away from its goal of owning caves due to leadership changes, but recently returned to that mission by buying major cave property. The NCC was created in 1978 to take a donation of Knox Cave after the NSS refused it because of liability concerns. In the 1980s, the cave conservancy movement spread to more parts of the country as new groups were formed. These included the Pennsylvania, Michigan, New Jersey, Indiana, and Texas organizations, along with Ellis Cave Conservancy and the Greater Cincinnati Grotto - Great Saltpetre Preserve.