Kartchner Caverns State Park Marks Second IDSP Anniversary Aug. 31

Summary: Arizona’s Kartchner Caverns State Park marks its second IDSP anniversary, Aug. 31, 2019.

Southeastern Arizona’s Kartchner Caverns State Park achieved Silver-Tier International Dark Sky Park status Aug. 9, 2017: Arizona State Parks @AZStateParks, via Facebook Aug. 31, 2017

On Saturday, Aug. 31, 2019, Kartchner Caverns State Park marks its second IDSP anniversary as the second park in the Arizona State Parks and Trails system to be recognized by the International Dark-Sky Association (IDA).

The IDA officially designated Kartchner Caverns State Park as a Silver-Tier International Dark Sky Park (IDSP) on Aug. 31, 2017. The IDA awards certification as an IDA International Dark Sky Park to privately or publicly owned land “possessing an exceptional or distinguished quality of starry nights and a nocturnal environment that is specifically protected for its scientific, natural, educational, cultural heritage, and/or public enjoyment.”

The IDA’s press release announcing Kartchner Caverns State Park’s certification noted the adjacent Whetstone Mountains naturally prevent intrusion by the nearby Tucson metro area’s light and skyglow into the park’s “nighttime environment.” IDA’s press release commended the park for its commitment to above-ground and below-ground darkness. Kartchner Caverns State Park has striven to preserve not only its “natural nighttime darkness and star-studded night skies” but also the darkness of the approximately 4 kilometers (2.5 miles) of passageways in the park’s limestone caverns.

Kartchner Caverns State Park’s Dark Sky Report 2018 pointed out that the park lies within the city of Benson in southeastern Arizona’s Cochise County. Kartchner Caverns State Park benefits from the city of Benson’s Outdoor Lighting Regulations. The Lighting Code’s specific intent is to “minimize light pollution, light trespass, and glare thus curtailing the degradation of dark skies and protecting citizens from unwanted lighting by others.” Benson’s lighting regulations recognize the value of dark skies as “a natural resource for humans and animals and as such should be preserved as best as possible.”

Benson’s Lighting Code also acknowledges southeastern Arizona’s unique atmospheric and topographic conditions that optimize astronomical observation and research. The City of Benson area, its parent county of Cochise and neighboring Graham and Benson are all home to astronomical observatories. Consequently, the Code states: “The provisions herein contained, promote the reduction of light pollution, which interferes with the successful operation of such observatories.”

Kartchner Caverns State Park is located about 9 miles south of Benson on State Highway 90. The park encompasses approximately 2.9 square kilometers (716.606 acres) along the west side of State Highway 90.

At age 18 in 1967, Bruce Randall “Randy” Tufts (Aug. 17, 1948-April 1, 2002) set a goal of finding a cave that had never been seen before. In 1974 the geoscientist and his friend, fellow cave exploration enthusiast Gary Tenen, revisited a cave sinkhole entrance that Tufts had found in 1967 on cattle grazing land owned by retired St. David superintendent of schools James Anderson Kartchner (Jan. 19, 1901-June 12, 1986) and his wife Lois Martineau Kartchner (Sept. 27, 1910-Nov. 3, 2001) in the foothills of Cochise County’s Whetstone Mountains. They entered the sinkhole and discovered virgin passages in a cave they named Xanadu.

In September 1988, the State of Arizona purchased the cave from the Kartchners. The opening ceremony for Kartchner Caverns State Park took place Nov. 5, 1988.

Kartchner Caverns State Park’s earning of IDA’s International Dark Sky Park designation occurs as the second IDSP designation for the Arizona State Parks and Trails system.

Southeastern Arizona’s Oracle State Park received the Silver-Tier International Dark Sky Park designation Nov. 12, 2014. The designation honored Oracle State Park as the first IDSP-certified Arizona state park and as the world’s 20th International Dark Sky Park.

The takeaway for Kartchner Caverns State Park’s marking its second IDSP anniversary Aug. 31, 2019, is that the park’s IDSP-certification in 2017 represents the second inclusion of an Arizona state park into the International Dark-Sky Association’s elite classification.

Contact details:
Kartchner Caverns State Park
2980 State Highway 90
Benson AZ 85602

Phone: (520) 586-4100

Website: https://azstateparks.com/kartchner/

Hours: 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.

The Milky Way glows overhead, undisturbed by red lights used by attendees at the Kartchner Caverns State Park Star Night: Astronomers of Verde Valley @AstroVerdeValley, via Facebook Oct. 5, 2016

Acknowledgment

My special thanks to talented artists and photographers/concerned organizations who make their fine images available on the internet.

Image credits:

Southeastern Arizona’s Kartchner Caverns State Park achieved Silver-Tier International Dark Sky Park status Aug. 9, 2017: Arizona State Parks @AZStateParks, via Facebook Aug. 31, 2017, @ https://www.facebook.com/AZStateParks/photos/a.206337524909/10155680525374910/

The Milky Way glows overhead, undisturbed by red lights used by attendees at the Kartchner Caverns State Park Star Night: Astronomers of Verde Valley @AstroVerdeValley, via Facebook Oct. 5, 2016, @ https://www.facebook.com/AstroVerdeValley/photos/a.285105208288570/905046836294401/

For further information:

Arizona State Parks @AZStateParks. “Congratulations Kartchner Caverns State Park, Arizona’s newest International Dark Sky Park@ Find out more at azstateparks.com/press!” Facebook. Aug. 31, 2017.
Available @ https://www.facebook.com/AZStateParks/photos/a.206337524909/10155680525374910/

Astronomers of Verde Valley @AstroVerdeValley. “Added a new photo.” Facebook. Oct. 5, 2016.
Available @ https://www.facebook.com/AstroVerdeValley/photos/a.285105208288570/905046836294401/

Azcentral @azcentral. “Kartchner Caverns has always been known for its pitch-black interior when the lights go out.” Twitter. Sept. 2, 2017.
Available @ https://twitter.com/azcentral/status/904192328528793600

City of Benson Zoning Regulations. “Section Seventeen -- Outdoor Lighting Regulations.” 97-105.
Available @ https://www.cityofbenson.com/vertical/sites/%7BF59197D1-30ED-49AE-8751-2EBA89C105BA%7D/uploads/Zoning_Regulations_remove_Sec_16.pdf

Craven Scott. “Kartchner Caverns Earns Dark-Sky Status.” azcentral.com > Travel. Aug. 31, 2017.
Available @ https://www.azcentral.com/story/travel/arizona/2017/08/31/kartchner-caverns-earns-dark-sky-status/621159001/?hootPostID=5b8dd0df7f7f66ea99954742c63374b8

Dr. John Baretine @JohnBarentine. “Come on down to Kartchner Caverns State Park for today’s celebration of its new @IDADarkSky Park status at 2pm.” Twitter. Sept. 9, 2017.
Available @ https://twitter.com/JohnBarentine/status/906573604078239744

Eatherly, Charles. R. “History of Kartchner Caverns State Park: Opened & Dedicated November 5, 1999.” Arizona State Parks > Kartchner Caverns State Park > Explore > Park History.
Available @ https://azstateparks.com/kartchner/explore/park-history

Finnerty, Megan. “Oracle State Park Earns International Dark Sky Status.” azcentral > Travel. Nov. 12, 2014.
Available @ https://www.azcentral.com/story/travel/2014/11/12/oracle-state-park-earns-international-dark-sky-status/18952805/

Marriner, Derdriu. “2017 Big Cypress National Preserve Night Sky Outing, Saturday, March 25.” Earth and Space News. Wednesday, March 22, 2017.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2017/03/2017-big-cypress-national-preserve.html

Marriner, Derdriu. “Australia and Eurasia Have 11 International Dark Sky Parks for Starers.” Earth and Space News. Wednesday, Nov. 16, 2016.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2016/11/australia-and-eurasia-have-11.html

Marriner, Derdriu. “Capulin Volcano National Monument Marks Third IDSP Anniversary Aug. 9.” Earth and Space News. Wednesday, Aug. 14, 2019.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2019/08/capulin-volcano-national-monument-marks.html

Marriner, Derdriu. “Gabriela Mistral Dark Sky Sanctuary Marks First IDSS Anniversary.” Earth and Space News. Wednesday, Aug. 3, 2016.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2016/08/gabriela-mistral-dark-sky-sanctuary.html

Marriner, Derdriu. “Star-Filled Four Corners States Claim 16 International Dark Sky Parks.” Earth and Space News. Wednesday, Nov. 9, 2016.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2016/11/star-filled-four-corners-states-claim.html

Marriner, Derdriu. “Stephen C. Foster State Park Offers Darkened Southern Georgia Skies.” Earth and Space News. Wednesday, March 29, 2017.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2017/03/stephen-c-foster-state-park-offers.html

Marriner, Derdriu. “United States Has 30 International Dark Sky Parks as of October 2016.” Earth and Space News. Wednesday, Nov. 2, 2016.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2016/11/united-states-has-30-international-dark.html

Martin, Douglas. “Randy Tufts, Spelunker Who Kept a Secret, Is Dead at 53.” The New York Times > Archives > 2002. April 21, 2002.
Available @ https://www.nytimes.com/2002/04/21/us/randy-tufts-spelunker-who-kept-a-secret-is-dead-at-53.html

Miller, Neil. Kartchner Caverns: How Two Cavers Discovered and Saved One of the Wonders of the Natural World. Tucson AZ: The University of Arizona Press, 2008.

Thompson, Michelle. “Kartchner Caverns State Park Receives International Dark-Sky Association Designation.” Arizona State Parks > Administration > Press Room. Aug. 31, 2017.
Available @ https://azstateparks.com/press/PR83117

Tufts, Randy; and Gary Tenen. “Discovery and History of Kartchner Caverns, Arizona.” Journal of Cave and Karst Studies, vol. 61, no. 2 (August 1999): 44-48.
Available @ http://caves.org/pub/journal/PDF/V61/v61n2-Tuffs.pdf