Going underground with the Kartchner Caverns Cave Unit

For Chelsea Ballard, the world underneath the ground we stand on has always had a draw. She earned a Karst Hydrogeology degree and went on to work in several different caves before moving to Arizona to lead our Cave Unit team at Kartchner Caverns State Park.

In this episode, Chelsea shares what excites her about working in the unique ecosystem of caves and karsts, and gives us insight into the wonders Kartchner Caverns holds. Listen as Chelsea explains the work her team does, the distinctive features of Kartchner Caverns that set it apart from other show caves, and the importance of conserving this treasured natural resource.

Tour Kartchner Caverns yourself by booking a tour reservation at https://azstateparks.com/kartchner/cave-tours/tours. You can learn more about the Arizona grottos of the National Speleological Society that Chelsea references at https://caves.org/state/arizona/.

More about our guest, Chelsea Ballard:
Chelsea is the Cave Resource Manager / Research and Project Specialist at Kartchner Caverns State Park. She is from Horse Cave, Kentucky and grew up only a few miles from Mammoth Cave National Park and Hidden River Cave. She has been fascinated with caves and sinkholes since she was a young girl after being exposed to the resource from a very early age growing up on a farm. This led her to Western Kentucky University (WKU) to study Karst Hydrogeology. During her time at WKU, she has completed two undergraduate karst thesis research projects with grant funding, taught a Cave Conservation and Karst Management class in Texas, completed a Physical Science Technician internship with the National Park Service, inter-agency trainings with the U.S. Forest Service and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and an internship with the U.S. Geological Survey. She has also worked as a cave guide with Diamond Caverns, Hidden River Cave and Mammoth Cave National Park. She has completed various karst related trainings, karst research projects and classes through her career. She is deeply involved with the American Cave Conservation Association, the National Speleological Society, WKU Karst Field Studies, Karst Waters Institute, and the United States Biosphere Network. She is currently writing a children’s book centered around the subject of karst. When Chelsea is not at work helping to protect one of the coolest caves in the world you may find her in other caves helping with geology/hydrology research, mapping and surveying projects. She also enjoys volunteering for cave organizations, hiking, backpacking, kayaking, traveling and visiting her friends and family in Kentucky.

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