commando dive as all cave divers involved had written permission to dive Little Dismal Sink (Hammock Sink) with a key to the property. The U.S. Forestry Service clearly understood the significance of the goals and work involved in learning more about the Woodville Karst Plains area and the hydrology that exists in the Leon and Wakulla counties.
The idea of the Woodville Karst Plain Project started in 1985 and was incorporated in 1990 by Bill Gavin and Parker Turner 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.
During the 1990’s and into the next decade the WKPP was the only organization allowed to cave 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 was a controversial issue, as many people believed these caves should be open to the public or, at the least, to other qualified cave diving groups and individuals. During 2007, Emerald Sinkhole that is one state-owned entrance of the Leon Sinks cave system was reopened to other qualified cave divers.
The data gathered by WKPP divers had allowed planners to better define 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. The WKPP mapping resulted in the State of Florida and the U.S. Department of Agriculture establish 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
On May 20, 2007, cave divers made a start from Turner Sink to try and find a connection but were unable to when the cave became impassable after 3 miles (4.8 km). On July 28, 2007, cave divers explored 1,220 feet (370 m) of new passage before discovering an exploration line from Wakulla Springs. On December 15, 2007, WKPP divers Casey McKinlay and Jarrod Jablonski completed a traverse from Turner Sink to Wakulla Springs.