What is the Cave Bucks Fund?
Access to caves is becoming more difficult for many reasons. Around 1998, J. C. Fisher of Tri-State Grotto observed that the best way to insure access to caves is for the cavers to buy or lease the entrances. He started a program, called Cave Bucks, to collect money for acquiring caves.
Soon afterwards, the DC Grotto adopted the Cave Bucks program and set up a restricted fund to accept donations toward the purchase or lease of caves. Donations to the Fund will not be used for any purpose other than buying or leasing caves. The Fund will not be used for such things as constructing cave gates or fences, clean-up projects, access roads, etc. The suggested donation is $1.00 per cave trip; donations are accepted at each Grotto meeting.
As of December 2022, the Grotto's Cave Bucks Fund had donated over $5,000 toward the purchase of several caves in West Virginia.
J. C. Fisher's original idea was that incoming money immediately be transferred to one of the existing cave conservancies to use for their ongoing programs. However, the Grotto's Executive Committee felt that it was better to hold on to the money and wait for a conservancy to request a grant for an appropriate project. At their September 2003 meeting, the Grotto's Executive Committee approved the Cave Bucks grant policy described below.
Here are some of the purchases that the Grotto's Cave Bucks have supported:
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2021 Penn Aqua Cave (Pennsylvania) $600.00 DCG donated $600.00 to the Mid-Atlantic Karst Conservancy (MAKC), for the purchased of Penn Aqua Cave in Decatur Township, Mifflin County, Pennsylvania. Penn Aqua Cave is a 4,400-foot-long cave with long water filled passages Wet suits are required to move form the wet section to the dry cave passages in the back of the cave. (Photo courtesy Mid-Atlantic Karst Conservancy). |
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2020 Cyclops Cave (Virginia) $500.00 DC Grotto donated $500.00 to Save Our Caves Cyclops Cave Preserve. Cyclops Cave is located at the very edge of Virginia's Valley and Ridge Province, in an isolated karst valley called "Sinkhole Valley." A couple of other caves are known here, but Cyclops is by far the longest. To date, the cave has been surveyed to 7.1 miles ranking it #126 on the US longest cave list and #11 on the Virginia longest cave list. (Photo courtesy Save Our Caves). |
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2014 New River Cave (Virginia) $750.00 The National Speleological Society purchased New River Cave in Giles County, Virginia in 2004. DCG donated $750.00 in an effort to purchase over 7 miles of mapped passage. New River Cave has long been one of Virginia's premier recreational caves, as well as a cave significant for its biological, geological, historical, and aesthetic features. (Photo courtesy NSS). |
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2004 Persingers Entrance to Benedicts Cave (West Virginia) $400 DC Grotto donated $400.00 to the West Virginia Cave Conservancy (WVCC) for the purchase of the Persinger Entrance to Benedict Cave in Greenbrier County, West Virginia. Benedict Cave has over 14 miles of cave passage and may connect to several other caves in the area. This is potentially one of the major cave systems in America.
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DC Grotto Cave Bucks Fund Policy
Any non-profit organization may apply to receive Funds from the Cave Bucks Fund by submitting a written request that includes the following:
- The requesting organization's name, address, and a contact person (with name, phone number, and e-mail address). The organization must be incorporated and be recognized as non-profit by the IRS.
- A statement explaining how much money is being requested and how the funds will be used. Cave Bucks funds must be used to purchase or lease cave(s) or cave entrance(s).
- A management plan that has been approved by the organization and that includes the access policies for the cave. The plan must be formally approved, not just a draft or proposed plan.
- If the cave is being purchased: a statement saying that the organization will own the property, its total cost, and how it is being paid for (internal funds, mortgage, caver loans, donations, etc.).
- If the cave is being leased: a statement stating the duration of the lease, its cost, the renewal options on the lease, who actually owns the cave, and who will receive the lease money. Including a copy of the lease is suggested, but is not required.
Requests for Cave Bucks funds should be sent to the Grotto Chairman. Digital submissions (PDF files) are preferred. Each request will be reviewed by the DC Grotto Executive Committee, and the EC will make the final decision about the request.