Discover the wonderful people and amazing organization behind our project!

Four members of the Indiana Karst Conservancy (IKC) are involved in this sixth edition of the Quarry Life Awards project for North America. Tom Sollman is the principal researcher and has systematically conducted all of the census counts. He has been conducting similar cave census/inventory studies for 32 years and is undisputedly the subject expert censusing the Hoosier cavefish and documenting their locations. Chris Schotter is an experienced caver and cave photographer and accompanied Tom on several trips into Hamer Cave to capture professional-quality shots of the passages, fauna, and people. Carla Striegel-Winner, as the outreach and education coordinator, has been the main liaison with the North American Heidelberg staff, helping coordinate and facilitate several events and keeping everyone informed of the progress of the project during our monthly meetings with Heidelberg. Keith Dunlap assisted Tom and Carla on their tasks, and led the cave hydrology portions of the tours for staff. He was also an integral part of the team, helping prepare and edit the final report. Tom, Carla, and Keith also serve on the IKC’s Executive Board.

The IKC was founded in 1986 as a 501(c)3 non-profit corporation dedicated to the conservation and preservation of caves and karst features in Indiana and other areas of the world. The Conservancy encourages research and promotes education related to caves and karst, and their proper, environmentally compatible use.

The IKC serves as a resource for federal, state, and local government agencies, private consulting companies, and other NGOs. The organization also assists private landowners and other agencies/organization manage access to their caves. And finally, the Conservancy is a land trust, currently owning and managing seven cave and karst preserves in Indiana totaling nearly 300 acres (121 hectares). We are always on the lookout for more karst/caves in need of preservation or conservation management, and depend on our supporters and members to fund purchase and management of those lands.

The IKC is an all-volunteer organization with over 300 paid members and is managed by an Executive Board with 15 Board members, consisting of 3 Officers and 12 Directors. We'd love for you to learn more about us by going to our website at ikc.caves.org