Each NCKMS conference includes at least one regional field trip to local cave and karst features. In 2025, we plan to tour the Lehman Caves at Great Basin National Park and explore some surface hydrology features.
Read MoreHeld every 2 years, the National Cave & Karst Management Symposium is designed to provide an opportunity for cave and karst management professionals to discuss and explore solutions to help protect and conserve caves, karst, cave ecosystems and underground water resources across North America.
Led by a consortium of governmental agencies, each NCKMS conference enourages participation from professionals of diverse backgrounds, working in various fields and with interests spanning a broad range of cave and karst management issues.
The first NCKMS was held in Albuquerque, New Mexico, in 1975, and symposia have been organized on a regular basis since then.
Each symposium publishes the papers presented during the event as a formal proceedings. These have become important references for those involved in cave and karst management. From 1999 onwards, the proceedings are available in various digital formats, and often also as hard copies.
The best resource for finding the proceedings of the NCKMS symposia is to access the Karst Information Portal.
Our 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 scholarships to enable attendance to symposia. The 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 a structure for these influential groups to share ideas and experiences, and to work together to address issues arising in managing caves and karst.
Registration for the 2025 symposium is now open! Early registration discounts end at midnight on September 15. After that, registration packages increase by $50.
After registering, be sure to book your hotel room soon. Our hotel discounts will expire in mid-September. See our host hotel page for more details.
Great Basin National Park Foundation passionately works to enhance, preserve, and interpret the starry night skies, wide-open scenery, cultural heritage, and diverse native ecosystems of Great Basin National Park.
The Foundation is the official non-profit partner of Great Basin National Park.
The Hydrographic Great Basin is a 200,000 square mile area of the American West that extends from the Sierra Nevada Range in California to the Wasatch Range in Utah, and from southern Oregon to southern Nevada. The entire basin contains what's called an endorheic watershed. All precipitation in this region evaporates, sinks underground, or flows into lakes. No water reaches the ocean.