The National Cave and Karst Management Symposia are important forums for promoting, advancing, and sharing concepts in effective management of cave and karst resources.

  The symposia provide an opportunity for practical synergy amongst people from diverse backgrounds, professions, and interests. New techniques are discussed, issues addressed, solutions developed, and effective working relationships formed to help protect and conserve caves, cave ecosystems, water resources and karst lands.

  The first NCKMS was held in Albuquerque, New Mexico, in 1975, and have been organized on a regular basis since then. The 15th symposium was held in Tucson, Arizona in 2001.

  The NCKMS Steering Committee was formed in 1990 to ensure that a NCKMS is held biennially. The Committee selects a group to host each symposium from bids presented, and provides guidance for developing the event. It also offers sponsorships to enable attendance to symposia, publishes symposia Proceedings, and sponsors key conferences that address cave and karst management issues.

  The NCKMS Steering Committee comprises a representative from each of the organizations and agencies that have a formal interest in, or responsibility for, managing cave and karst resources on a nationwide basis. The committee offers the only structure for these influential groups to share ideas and experiences, and to work together to address issues arising in managing caves and karst.

The NCKMS Steering Committee is pleased to sponsor the biennial Cave Conservancies Forum to promote quality management practices among the many regional cave conservancies across the U.S. The Second National Cave and Karst Conservancies Forum was held September 20-22, 2006, in Lewisburg, WV. You can read the proceedings from this event here.

The 2007 NCKMS is October 8-12, 2007, in St Louis Missouri, co-hosted by the Missouri Department of Conservation and the Missouri Caves " Karst Conservancy.

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