Tumbling Creek Cave was designated a National Natural Landmark by Secretary of the Interior Cecil Andrus in 1981. Among the reasons for the designation was the recognition that this cave contains the most diverse cave fauna known from any American cave located west of the Mississippi River.

Elliott (2007) published a major article on the zoogeography and biodiversity of Missouri caves. Despite over 25 years of additional studies of cave fauna, Tumbling Creek Cave still retains the recognition of having the most diverse cave fauna of any known American cave west of the Mississippi River. Elliott (2007) noted:  “Tumbling Creek Cave ranks first in Missouri for species richness (115 species), number of troglobites (12) and site endemism (2.9154), giving it an overall Biodiversity Value of 4,023.25.” The Biodiversity Value for Tumbling Creek Cave (Elliott 2007) is more than twice that for the second place cave in Missouri.

The Tumbling Creek Cave Foundation is a 501 (c) (3) Not-For-Profit corporation formed for charitable and educational purposes. The specific purposes are to conserve Tumbling Creek Cave and its natural environment and maintain or establish the habitat for native species and native plant and animal communities, including, but not limited to, various unique, threatened and endangered species, and to facilitate or conduct education and/or research on natural cave and karst systems and provide facilities for such education and/or research.