The Fort Stanton Cave Study Project and the Roswell Field Office of the Bureau of Land Management have been working together to manage Fort Stanton Cave for over 40 years. This successful partnership is a shining example of resource managers and resource users collaborating to the mutual benefit of both. There are several specific aspects to this partnership which could be regarded as a model for other user groups and agencies who need or want to enter into a cooperative relationship

Bilbo, Michael J.

Peerman, Steve S.

USFSP Digital Archive

The Fort Stanton Cave Study Project: A Model For Agency – Caver Partnership In Cave Management

Scholar Commons | University of South Florida Research

 20th National Cave and Karst Management Symposium        NCKRI SYMPOSIUM 3 169
the BLM and the cavers in the FSCSP in a fashion that 
had not been present before. The BLM and FSCSP 
worked closely together to seek the designation of the 
area around Fort Stanton Cave as the Fort Stanton – 
Snowy River National Conservation Area (Figure 2).
The FSCSP now counts over 200 volunteer participants 
and conducts three, week long expeditions each year at 
Fort Stanton Cave. There are several specific aspects of 
the processes and procedures used which illustrate the 
partnership that exists between the FSCSP and BLM. 
Essential Elements of the FSCSP – 
BLM Partnership
1. The FSCSP is a 501.c.3 incorporated non-profit. 
This provides an organizational structure and 
a legal point of reference for the relationship 
between the BLM and the FSCSP. Without formal 
incorporation, it is difficult for the BLM to enter 
into legal agreements with the organization.
2. The FSCSP has a specific person (the Project 
Director) designated to interact with the BLM. 
This person acts as a point of contact for all 
communication between the FSCSP and the BLM, 
so there is no confusion about who the BLM must 
talk to regarding any issues that develop.
3. The BLM has a specific person (the Roswell Field 
Office cave specialist) who interacts with the 
Abstract
The Fort Stanton Cave Study Project and the Roswell 
Field Office of the Bureau of Land Management have been 
working together to manage Fort Stanton Cave for over 40 
years. This successful partnership is a shining example of 
resource managers and resource users collaborating to the 
mutual benefit of both. There are several specific aspects 
to this partnership which could be regarded as a model for 
other user groups and agencies who need or want to enter 
into a cooperative relationship.
Introduction
The Fort Stanton Cave Study Project (FSCSP) was 
formally organized as a 501.c.3 non-profit in March 
of 2010. However, its story, and how it came to be an 
integral partner with the Roswell Field Office of the 
Bureau of Land Management (BLM) begins much 
earlier. In 1970, the BLM recognized the need to put 
a gate on Fort Stanton Cave after the discovery of two 
new pristine passages in the cave in 1969 – Lincoln 
Caverns and Bat Cave Extension. However, BLM did 
not have anyone who knew how to do it, nor even 
where the best place to put the gate was. However, Don 
Sawyer, technically a recreation planner, but regarded 
as the first cave specialist for the BLM, did know that 
there was a group of cavers who spent a lot of time in 
the cave and asked for help. That group of cavers of 
the Southwestern Region of the National Speleological 
Society included the folks who are now the driving 
force behind the FSCSP. In May of 1970 the main 
gate of Fort Stanton Cave was installed with materials 
provided by the BLM and labor provided by the cavers 
(Figure 1). And so it began.
The FSCSP has been loosely organized since that 1970 
event and has become more organized as time has gone 
on. A key event in the FSCSP and Fort Stanton Cave 
history was the discovery of the Snowy River passage on 
September 1, 2001. The continued management of this 
amazing passage required a cooperative effort between 
Mike Bilbo
Cave Specialist, Roswell Field Office, 
Bureau of Land Management
2909 W. Second St.
Roswell, NM 88201
mbilbo@blm.gov
Steve Peerman
Project Director, Fort Stanton Cave Study Project
3125 Missouri Ave
Las Cruces, NM 88011
fscsp.director@gmail.com
THE FORT STANTON CAVE STUDY PROJECT: A MODEL FOR 
AGENCY – CAVER PARTNERSHIP IN CAVE MANAGEMENT
Figure 1. Main Gate project in 1970. 
NCKRI SYMPOSIUM 3 20th National Cave and Karst Management Symposium170
of activities conducted or planned in BLM caves 
in New Mexico. The CMT recommends to the 
BLM Roswell Field Office Manager which of 
the activities proposed by the FSCSP should 
be approved.  This allows for a peer-to-peer 
communication of caving issues between the 
FSCSP and the Cave Management Team.
6. The FSCSP plans its activities in and around Fort 
Stanton Cave well in advance. It conducts three, 
nine-day long expeditions throughout the year, 
generally in April, July, and October. Dates for 
the expeditions are generally decided during the 
previous year. This provides plenty of lead time 
for the BLM to plan for other activities around the 
expeditions.
7. The BLM provides a Field House for centralizing 
the activities of the FSCSP (Figure 4). While 
this may be a lucky happenstance of an unused 
building being available, it does indicate the 
commitment of the BLM to the partnership. This 
allows the FSCSP to conduct its expeditions in a 
much more comfortable and professional fashion. 
While the BLM provides the building, the FSCSP 
has undertaken a large part of the maintenance 
and upkeep for the building.
8. The FSCSP Project Director (in conjunction with 
the FSCSP board of directors and other researchers 
and volunteers) produces a comprehensive 
proposal for activities during its expeditions and 
presents it to the BLM’s Cave Management team 
well in advance of the expedition. The proposals 
are detailed and justify the activities based upon 
current knowledge and interests of both the BLM 
and the FSCSP.
FSCSP. This also provides for less confusion with 
any communication issues.
4. The FSCSP has no membership criteria. Any 
interested person is invited and allowed to 
participate (Figure 3). Participants are able to be 
involved in any activity of the organization up to 
the limits of their abilities and experience. There 
is no requirement for participants to be a member 
of any other caving organization. This provides a 
non-discriminatory foundation that enhances the 
ability of a governmental organization (BLM) to 
recognize the FSCSP.
5. The New Mexico BLM has a Cave Management 
Team (CMT), which provides for expert review 
Figure 3. FSCSP volunteers along with local high 
school students and BLM Cave Specialist on a work 
trip in the cave hauling materials to Don Sawyer 
Memorial Hall.
Figure 2. In July 2005, in connection with the effort 
to designate the Fort Stanton-Snowy River National 
Conservation area, FSCSP Board President John 
Corcoran describes the unique aspects of Fort Stanton 
Cave to NM Senator Pete Domenici (sitting) while BLM 
Pecos District Manager Doug Burger (right) looks on.
Figure 4. Field House leased by the BLM and used 
as an expedition headquarters by the FSCSP.
20th National Cave and Karst Management Symposium      NCKRI SYMPOSIUM 3 171
15. The FSCSP Project Director gives DVDs 
containing all the documents and photos collected 
during each expedition to the Roswell Cave 
Specialist for archiving by the BLM. All original 
data is available to the BLM.
16. For the last two years, the FSCSP has 
produced an Annual Report that summarizes the 
achievements of the project over the last calendar 
year. This document is sent to various individuals 
in the cooperating agencies (BLM and USFS) 
partner organizations, and major donors to the 
project.
17. The FSCSP has produced a brochure which 
describes the mission and activities of the project 
and also provides a mechanism for interested 
persons to make a tax deductible donation to the 
organization.
18. The FSCSP Project Director sends a newsletter, 
via e-mail, to the 200 or so participants to keep 
them informed about what is going on in the 
project and plans for the future. This keeps 
cavers involved and interested in the project and 
provides a conduit through which the BLM can 
communicate issues to the cavers as well.
19. The FSCSP provides financial support to cavers 
who actively participate in the project through the 
mechanism of a fuel reimbursement program, 
and also offers financial assistance to student 
researchers who pursue cave and karst research 
at Fort Stanton Cave. This not only enhances the 
abilities to have important work conducted in the 
cave, but increases the probability that important 
research will occur at the BLM managed resource.
20. The FSCSP conducts educational and other 
public outreach activities, such as presenting 
slide programs about Fort Stanton Cave at 
various public venues; submitting feature 
articles and information to the media regarding 
expedition findings; or conducting special events 
that enable the public to better understand the 
resource. The FSCSP also assists the BLM with 
the development of its own presentations about 
the cave, by submitting maps, photographs and 
scientific data. Volunteers within the FSCSP are 
developing a unique educational outreach tool, 
“Caver Quest” which is the topic of another 
paper in this NCKMS.
21. As an instrument of the partnership, the FSCSP 
has a group volunteer agreement with the BLM, 
which provides insurance coverage for the 
participants when involved in project activities. 
9. The FSCSP Project Director produces an Executive 
Summary of the activities conducted during an 
expedition and sends it to various BLM employees 
interested or involved in cave management (and all 
of the 200 or so participants of the FSCSP) in a 
timely fashion after the expedition. The Executive 
Summary is an illustrated review of what was 
accomplished during the expedition and keeps 
everyone in the loop.
10. It has been the pattern of the FSCSP to have a 
conference call with the FSCSP board of directors 
and various BLM employees (State Director, 
District Manager, Field Office Manager, National 
Cave Specialist, etc.) during the expedition to 
let these folks know about the progress of the 
expedition and any significant discoveries made. 
This provides for personal interaction with BLM 
management and the FSCSP leadership.
11. The FSCSP is a major contributor in the 
development of environmental assessments by 
the BLM regarding Fort Stanton Cave.
12. The FSCSP actively recruits experts in various 
arenas to assist in the development of, and/or 
conduct activities in and around Fort Stanton Cave. 
It also facilitates research activities of scientists 
by providing support personnel, guidance and 
coordination with other researchers. The FSCSP 
has relationships with researchers from all the major 
research institutes in New Mexico: the University of 
New Mexico, New Mexico Institute of Mining and 
Technology, and New Mexico State University.
13. The FSCSP has a website which is a 
repository for all the documents generated by the 
organization. The website provides a mechanism 
for communicating information about the project 
to the public and more sensitive information to 
scientists and resource managers through a private 
section. It is the go to resource for downloading 
specific FSCSP documents.
14. The FSCSP Project Director (again with 
assistance from others) produces a comprehensive 
report on the activities during each expedition. 
These documents contain trip reports by the 
various trip leaders, analysis of information 
collected during the expedition, results of surveys 
conducted (maps), and numerous photos of 
different activities that took place. This report 
is provided to the same folks as the Executive 
Summary. However, because of its size, it is 
typically downloaded from the FSCSP website, 
rather than e-mailed directly.
NCKRI SYMPOSIUM 3 20th National Cave and Karst Management Symposium172
FSCSP Documents
Fort Stanton Cave Study Project, 2010, Articles of 
Incorporation of the Fort Stanton Cave Study 
Project, 3/15/2010.
Fort Stanton Cave Study Project, 2012, By-laws Rev. 
1/4/12: Bylaws of Fort Stanton Cave Study Project.
Lindsley, P., ed., 2013, FSCSP Brochure: Fort Stanton 
Cave Study Project.
Peerman, S., ed., 2012, 2011 Annual Report: Fort Stanton 
Cave Study Project.
Peerman, S., ed., 2013, 2012 Annual Report: Fort 
Stanton Cave Study Project.
Magazines
Smallwood, K. (ed), April, 2013, NSS News, Part 2, Members 
Manual: National Speleological Society, p. 13
Websites
http://conservationlands.org/friends/fort-stanton-cave-
study-project (accessed September, 2013).
Fort Stanton Cave Study Project Website: http://www.
fscsp.org (accessed September, 2013). 
The FSCSP also has an assistance agreement with 
the BLM providing for up to $100,000 in financial 
support for the FSCSP over a period of 5 years, 
to be matched by the contribution of the same 
degree of volunteer hours. (In the first year of this 
agreement, the FSCSP will likely contribute more 
than the entire amount in volunteer hours.)
22. The FSCSP is also identified as a “Friends Group” 
with the Conservation Lands Foundation, helping to 
support the BLM’s management of the Fort Stanton 
– Snowy River National Conservation Area.
23. The FSCSP is affiliated with the National 
Speleological Society as an official project and 
with the National Cave and Karst Research 
Institute as a research partner. These affiliations 
provide a background against which the BLM can 
judge the FSCSP’s credibility as a valid partner.
24. The FSCSP actively pursues similar 
partnerships with other management agencies 
as the need arises. Recent explorations have 
revealed that part of Fort Stanton Cave lies under 
the Smokey Bear District of the Lincoln National 
Forest. The FSCSP has actively involved the 
USFS in the discussion of issues with regards to 
the management of the cave.
References
BLM Documents
Burger, D. and Goodbar, J., 2013, U.S. Dept. of Interior:
 Charter for the New Mexico Cave and Karst 
Management Team.
U.S. Dept. of Interior, 2003, Discovery and 
Documentation Procedures in Fort Stanton Cave 
National Natural Landmark: Environmental 
Assessment Number NM-060-2003-013. 
U.S. Dept. of Interior, 2008, Cooperative Management 
Agreement between the New Mexico Bureau 
of Land Management Roswell Field Office and 
the Fort Stanton Cave Study Group: Agreement 
Number BLM-CMA-NM-2008-00. 
U.S. Dept. of Interior, 2010, Fort Stanton – Snowy River 
National Conservation Area Resource Management 
Plan: Environmental Assessment Number DOI-
BLM-NM_P010-2010-149-EA. 
U.S. Dept. of Interior, 2012, Group Volunteer Services 
Agreement between the Roswell Field Office and 
the Fort Stanton Cave Study Project: Agreement 
LLNMP01400-013-015.
U.S. Dept. of Interior, 2012, $100,000 Assistance 
Agreement between the Roswell Field Office and 
the Fort Stanton Cave Study Project: Grant and 
Cooperative Agreement L12AC20040.


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The Fort Stanton Cave Study Project: A Model For Agency – Caver Partnership In Cave Management

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