Guidelines For The Acquisition Of Cave Properties
By The Southeastern Cave Conservancy , Inc.

Adopted 15 February 1992
Petition form adopted 25 April 1993

Before the Board of Directors considers the acquisition of a cave property a Southeastern Cave Conservancy Petition to Acquire Property must be submitted. An act of the Board of Directors of the SCC created the Cave Acquisition Committee. It is the duty of the Chair of the Cave Acquisition Committee to assist interested persons in the preparation of petitions to acquire control of cave properties. Once a petition is formulated, the Chair of the Cave Acquisition Committee shall ask one or more directors to sponsor the petition and make a motion for consideration at a meeting of the Board. The directors shall then consider the motion and decide a course of action.

A petition to acquire property should list all known pertinent facts about the property and recommend a course of action. The petition should contain at a minimum, the following:

  1. Recommended method of protection -will the property be leased, purchased, or acquired by other means.
  2. Statement of significance -what about the property makes it worth acquiring
  3. Statement of vulnerability -what negative consequences will occur if the property is not acquired and will acquisition negate these consequences.
  4. Statement of alternatives -are there other groups which might acquire the property and protect the resources.
  5. Statement of responsibility -who will be working to help acquire the property and who will be responsible for its management.
  6. Statement of financial resources -what is the projected cost of the property and of the yearly management expenses; what interest has been shown by others to provide financial support for purchase and management; what plans have been made for fund raising and who will coordinate the fund raising efforts.
  7. Proposed management plan -how will the property be managed after it is acquired.
  8. Statement of possible problems -what environmental problems may exist with the site; public relation problems; rescue considerations.

A standard form for the Petition to Acquire and Manage Property was adopted by the Board on 25 April 1993 and shall be used for all petitions.

Petitions shall be reviewed by the Acquisition Committee for completeness before being presented to the Board.