Welcome to the Greenbrier Valley, and the 1st Cave Conservancies Forum!

Cave conservancies are becoming more popular throughout the entire country, and during the NSS Convention in California in 2003, it was quite evident that the trend had made it to the west with the formation of the new conservancies in Hawaii and California. So when Mike Warner and Emily Davis approached me about working on putting a forum together to share ideas, it made perfect sense to me to help with this project. There are a number of locations that would be suitable to host this, and we decided that southern West Virginia with it’s thousands of caves (many within an hour of Lewisburg) would be as great a location as many others. So, here we are!

All the conservancies in the east that have been around for awhile have encountered a number of issues that would be relevant to any group forming, no matter what region it would work within. Granted there are some issues that are relevant only in certain areas, but there are a number of issues that apply to everyone. And why should new groups have to figure out all this on their own when the groups that have been around for a long time could offer some clues as to how to deal with these issues. Acquiring caves is not the only obstacle a conservancy encounters. There are decisions about insurance, management plans, budgets, and cooperation with other groups just to name a few.

This forum hopes to touch on many of the issues that have been encountered by the various groups. With better communication among the conservancies, the odds of protecting more karst regions become much better. Plus, it sends a strong message out to the rest of the caving public–the cave conservancies are out here to help each other at a common goal, not to compete.

I hope that everyone leaves Lewisburg this weekend with tons of great knowledge that will help with your work back home. We’ve got a number of great discussions planned, as well as the opportunity for the forum to be molded as we progress through the next couple days. So please feel free to address anything that you feel needs attention. This forum is designed to be open, so the more ideas and concerns that are brought up, the more everyone will gain from the experience.

If you have any questions during your stay in the Greenbrier Valley, please don’t hesitate to ask myself or any of the other West Virginia Cave Conservancy members that know the local area. I hope everyone has a great forum!

Jeff Bray
President, West Virginia Cave Conservancy