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Who We Are
ACCA is a nonprofit membership organization whose activities and proceeds are dedicated to the conservation of caves and related resources across the nation and around the world.
Our Mission....
To Conserve Caves, Karstlands and Their Resources
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We educate people about caves and karstlands so that these features and their resources can be conserved. We support the studies of caves and karstlands since good education must be based upon good information. Our target audiences are those people who live in, work in, or otherwise use or enjoy karstlands. These audiences range from the general public (and especially school children) to those who directly use cave and karst resources or make decisions that affect these resources. Many of the adverse impacts of land use on karst and cave resources are unintentional and result from a lack of basic knowledge about how karstlands and caves function and interact.
ACCA, Caves and Karst
 ACCA is concerned with all caves, regardless of their mode of origin. However, most caves are found in the earth's more water-soluble rocks
such as limestone, dolomite, marble and gypsum. The lands in which these caves are found are called karst or karstlands. In karst, there is appreciable groundwater movement through dissolved-out
openings in the bedrock; karstlands often have features such as sinkholes, sinking streams, springs, and sometimes caves. Approximately 20% of the United States is karst. In karst, the surface and the subsurface are intimately connected; cave and
groundwater resources cannot be widely used without careful land use of the surface. Simply put, clean caves and karst equal clean water.
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Our History
ACCA began informally in 1978, and was incorporated in 1981 as a not-for-profit corporation in Virginia and immediately began national-scale efforts to protect caves and karstlands. In 1986 ACCA moved operations to Horse Cave, Kentucky, and began a unique effort to establish the American Cave and Karst Center (now called the American Cave Museum). Development of the museum involved the ACCA, the City of Horse Cave and major private benefactors from Kentucky. The museum formally opened to the public in 1993.
ACCA is composed of three fundamental components, museums, educational programs and projects and assistance, which can be shown as three interlocking circles; click on each circle for additional information.
The circles are drawn so that much of the area of each circle lies within the borders of the other circles. This reflects the functioning of our fundamental mission components.
The great successes that ACCA has achieved during its 20-year history, particularly during the last ten years, are a direct result of the integration of the three components. Click on each of these components to learn more about our accomplishments and the programs we offer.
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Join Us
ACCA members are part of a special group working to preserve one of the most unusual environments on Earth. Membership in the ACCA is open to anyone interested in protecting cave and karst resources. Membership dues and contributions go to support the ACCA, the American Cave Museum and ACCA educational and conservation programs.
The American Cave Conservation Association needs people with the vision to see how crucial underground resources are, for this and future generations. We need people willing to help us promote understanding through the development of facilities, programs and research designed to tell the story of caves, karst and groundwater and how a pristine environment benefits everyone in the long run.
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