Jeff Bingaman: “in December 1994, Congress received the National Cave and Karst Research Institute Study from the National Park Service.…”

“in December 1994, Congress received the National Cave and Karst Research Institute Study from the National Park Service. The report studied the feasibility of creating a National Cave and Karst Research Institute in the vicinity of Carlsbad Caverns National Park, NM, as directed by Public Law 101-578. Today, I am here to introduce a bill which follows the guidelines of that report and which will establish the National Cave and Karst Research Institute in Carlsbad, NM. While other nations have recognized the importance of cave resource management information and have sponsored cave and karst research, the United States has failed, until recently, to appreciate or work to understand cave and karst systems and their importance. As we approach the 21st century, the protection and management of our water resources has been identified as one of the major issues facing the world. In America, the majority of the Nation's freshwater is ground water--of which 25 percent is located in cave and karst regions. Recent studies have also indicated that caves contain valuable information related to global climate change, waste disposal, ground water supply and contamination, petroleum recovery, and biomedical investigations. Caves provide a unique understanding of the historic events of humankind. Further they are considered sacred and have religious significance for American Indians and other native Americans.”