The beginning of the cave management program

The park's surface area had been serving as a laboratory on the plains for decades with researchers studying the park's plants and animals. During the same period, very little research occurred in the cave. In 1984, at the insistence of the Assistant Chief of Interpretation Kay Rohde, seasonal ranger Warren Netherton was hired into a part-time position to start a cave management program. Netherton monitored the cave's climate, developed a cave inventory procedure, and worked to reduce algae in the cave. It was this position, later made permanent and initially filled by Jim Nepstad, that lead to the establishment of a cave management operation that sought to preserve and manage the cave based on science.

Defining Moments

1. The hiring of Jesse D. McDonald to manage the cave in 1890.
2. The Green Report of 1899.
3. The decision to expand the role of the park with the establishment of the nearby Wind Cave National Game Preserve in 1912.
4. The establishment of a Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) Camp at Wind Cave.
5. The decision not to build a second elevator shaft.
6. The discovery of the Spillway.
7. The beginning of the prescribed fire program.
8. The beginning of the cave management program.