Resource Management

Off-Trail Route
Off-trail tour route in Oregon Caves.


Welcome to Oregon Caves Resource Management

The objectives of the resource management program are to 1) allow natural ecosystems both above and below the ground to function as they did when Oregon Caves was first discovered in 1874 and 2) preserve cultural landscapes, ethnographic resources, and historical objects and structures.

Our strategies:

  • Understand ecological processes and ensure that management decisions and programs are consistent with maintaining or restoring these processes.
  • Monitor the condition of park resources and their normal fluctuations, and the impacts resulting from recreation. Monitor external activities that are likely to affect park resources, such as grazing and logging in surrounding forest, and document their effects on the resources.
  • Develop and maintain the Geographic Information System (GIS), park library, and checklists of species.
  • Systematically survey the monument for rare plant species and communities, and implement a program to monitor them. Remove and control exotic and invasive plants.
  • Identify and assess safety hazards to park visitors, including unsound trees, poisonous plants, cave hazards, and dangerous wildlife. When hazards must be eliminated, do so in a manner consistent with resource protection.
  • Ensure proper planning for proposed developments or facilities so that all possible impacts are reduced.
  • Encourage and initiate research in cooperation with universities and scientists which will further our understanding of park resources, people, and their dynamics.

Contact the Park

Mailing Address:

19000 Caves Hwy
Cave Junction, , OR 97523


(541) 592-2100
General park information.

Contact Us