2021 is the International Year of Caves and Karst

The USDA Forest Service joins in celebrating 2021 as the International Year of Caves and Karst, the largest global event showcasing caves and karst landscapes. The International Year of Caves and Karst is an initiative of the International Union of Speleology and is recognized by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization as an important public awareness campaign about the importance of the protection and conservation of these fragile non-renewable resources.

National Forest System lands include diverse cave and karst resources across 100 national forests and grasslands. An estimated 7,000 caves exist on Forest Service-managed lands, and to date more than 2,500 have been designated as significant under the Federal Cave Resources Act of 1988. Significant caves on federal lands are a valuable and irreplaceable part of the nation's natural heritage managed by the Forest Service as part of the public trust.

The Forest Service has show caves and many designated recreation sites with interpretive signs and programs related to caves and karst. One of the most spectacular show caves is the Ozark-St Francis National Forest’s Blanchard Springs Caverns in Arkansas. Caves may also have significance as cultural, paleontological or heritage resources. Exploration and visitation of undeveloped caves is a popular recreation activity, but visitors should contact the local Forest Service office to ensure that access is not restricted.

Many caves are currently closed due to COVID-19 visitor safety concerns and to protect bats. Bats across the United States are affected by white-nose syndrome, a deadly disease that affects hibernating bats. White-nose syndrome has decimated some U.S. bat populations and spread across the country. Human visitors can unknowingly spread this disease. To prevent white-nose syndrome spread and avoid further stressing infected bats, the Forest Service has closed many caves. Other areas have advisories or recommendations to avoid caves with hibernating bats and requirements to decontaminate gear before and after visiting caves and mines. Bats are among the important biologic cave resources.

Forty percent of fresh groundwater that we drink in the United States comes from karst aquifers. Karst springs provide sources of drinking water and unique natural, cultural, recreational and economic value to our communities. Karst aquifers are extremely permeable and vulnerable to contamination due to the ease in which contaminants can flow through areas of rapid infiltration.

Our agency’s goal for the International Year of Caves and Karst celebration is to educate and promote the importance and conservation of these fragile resources in our national forests. This will be accomplished by hosting events and creating digital media posts focused on cave and karst resource discoveries, exploration, archeology, paleontology, biology, climate, recreation and other themes.

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