The Woodville Karst Plain Project or WKPP, grew out of a cave diving research and exploration group established in 1985 and incorporated in 1990 (by Bill Gavin and Bill Main, later joined by Parker Turner, Lamar English and Bill McFaden, at the time the chairman of the NACD Exploration and Survey Committee) to map the underwater cave systems underlying the Woodville Karst Plain, a 450-square-mile (1,200 km2) area that runs from Tallahassee, Florida, U.S. to the Gulf of Mexico and includes numerous first magnitude springs, including Wakulla Springs, and the Leon Sinks Cave System, the longest underwater cave in the United States.
WKPP is the only organization currently allowed to dive some of these caves - which are all on State, Federal, or private land - due to the extreme nature of the systems and the discipline required to safely explore them, although these caves were explored extensively prior to the establishment of the WKPP. This is a controversial issue, as many people think these caves should be open to the public or, at the least, to other qualified cave diving groups and individuals. Recently, during 2007, one State-owned entrance of the Leon Sinks cave system has been reopened to other qualified cave divers.
WKPP divers hold every distance record in underwater cave diving. WKPP director Casey McKinlay and his regular dive buddy, Jarrod Jablonski hold the world's record for the greatest distance from air in a cave dive - 23,810 feet (7,260 m) each way.
The data gathered by WKPP divers has allowed planners a better definition of what to expect from the underground aquifer system and how best to handle issues relating to such things as surface water runoff and other nonpoint source pollution issues. WKPP mapping has resulted in the State of Florida and the U.S. Department of Agriculture establishing a "greenway" surrounding the Leon Sinks cave system and a "protection zone" for Edward Ball Wakulla Springs State Park, as well as numerous improvements in water management district operations, DOT road-building, and development planning.
Read more about Woodville Karst Plain Project: DIR Diving, Current Research
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