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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