Here, we introduce a new interdisciplinary research project called CAVEWEST. The project is inspired by recent efforts to document caves in South Africa’s Cradle of Humankind World Heritage Site, which have yielded spectacular results. It is our intention to apply a similar systematic approach to the Western Cordillera of North America, from Alaska to the US-Mexico border. Specifically, CAVEWEST has two aims. One is to create a baseline database of information that is pertinent to research on, and management of, the known caves and rock shelters in the Western Cordillera. The second aim is to develop a network of Institutional Partners. These will include archaeological research centers, Indigenous organisations, and recreational caving clubs. The Institutional Partners will participate in the selection of the variables for which data will be collected, and in the design of the protocols for how the completed database will be accessed and shared. In addition, they will be the database’s primary users when it is complete. We anticipate that, among other things, CAVEWEST will result in a step-shift in the amount of archaeological and palaeontological research on the caves and rockshelters of the Western Cordillera and also greatly enhance management of the cultural resources they contain.