The West Virginia Cave Conservancy (WVCC) is a nonprofit organization dedicated to conserving and protecting important cave and karst resources of the Virginias for future generations. Caves contain a fragile beauty only found underground.  In addition, their streams and passages provide irreplaceable environments for specially adapted, and often rare, species of animals, most of which could not survive elsewhere. Protecting karst (limestone) landscapes is critical to our supply of clean drinking water.  Rural areas of West Virginia and Virginia rely heavily on water from springs and wells in limestone.