Saving A Big Cave In A Small Kentucky Town
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Dave Foster of the American Cave Conservation Association shares how his small Kentucky town transformed a contaminated cave into a thriving environmental and economic success story. By securing funding for modern sewage infrastructure and developing the cave as a museum and tourist attraction, Horse Cave went from a polluted liability to a hub attracting 25,000 annual visitors and 3,000 factory jobs, proving that environmental stewardship and economic development can work together in rural communities.
Key takeaways
- Hidden River Cave in Horse Cave, Kentucky was severely contaminated by sewage and industrial waste until a regional treatment system was built in 1991, enabling the cave ecosystem to begin recovering.
- The American Cave Conservation Association purchased buildings at the cave entrance and developed a world-class museum while conducting environmental education and cave exploration, with visitor numbers doubling after new sections opened in 2020.
- The cleaned-up cave attracted major manufacturing employers like Dart Container Corporation, T-Marzetti, and Sister Schubert's, creating approximately 3,000 jobs in a town of 3,000 people and demonstrating that environmental cleanup can drive economic development.
- Karst areas—landscapes with limestone, sinkholes, and underground streams—cover about 20% of the United States and are vulnerable to groundwater contamination, making cave and karst protection critical for communities that depend on these water sources.
- The 30-40 year effort required sustained local leadership, regional cooperation, and long-term commitment aligned with Rotary values, showing that complex environmental problems in small towns can be solved through persistent community collaboration.
About Dave FosterDave Foster is the director of the American Cave Conservation Association in Horse Cave, Kentucky, and has been a Rotary Club member since 1989. He has led three decades of effort to restore Hidden River Cave and establish environmental and economic programs in rural Kentucky.
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Program: Saving A Big Cave In A Small Kentucky Town
Speaker: Dave Foster
Every week we bring you a new program on innovation, entrepreneurship, and education, and how they contribute to service to others.
The American Cave Conservation Association (ACCA) moved from Richmond, Virginia to the tiny hamlet of Horse Cave, Kentucky in 1986, with the goal of restoring Hidden River Cave and building a national cave education center. At the time, Hidden River Cave was considered the most polluted cave in America.
ACCA President David Foster will discuss the challenges of taking on a major environmental cleanup and building an educational facility in rural Kentucky. The project involved raising millions of dollars over several decades and negotiating the ups and downs of local politics, as well as the challenges of surviving and getting the job done in a low-income community.
David Foster is the President/CEO of the American Cave Conservation Association, and has worked with the ACCA since 1984. He helped pioneer the development of bat gates, which are protecting federally-endangered Gray bats, Indiana bats, and Big-eared bats at hundreds of cave sites across the U.S. He designed cave management training programs for federal and private land owners, developed widely used education programs and materials, and has cleaned up dumpsites in cave areas throughout Kentucky.
David is best known for his work in restoring Kentucky's Hidden River Cave and solving the waste treatment problems that had plagued the cave for decades. Dave directed the planning and development of the American Cave and Karst Center, a national cave education facility which includes the American Cave Museum and the restored Hidden River Cave in downtown Horse Cave. The cave restoration has been featured in Reader's Digest and the New York Times, and is considered one of the best cave restoration success stories in the world.
Members and guests, please welcome David Foster!
To learn more, go to:
https://www.caveconservation.com
https://www.hiddenrivercave.com
Contact the ACCA at:
acca@cavern.org or hiddenrivercave@gmail.com
On social media:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/hiddenrivercave
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@hiddenrivercave1480
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/hiddenrivercave/
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@hiddenrivercave
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