Customer Reviews

Kartchner Caverns: How Two Cavers Discovered and Saved One of the Wonders of the Natural World

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This reasonably priced book is a thoroughly researched history of the discovery and development of Kartchner Caverns, with most emphasis on things up through the purchase of the property by Arizona State Parks. The cave was discovered by Randy Tufts and Gary Tenen in November 1974 and kept nearly secret until the Arizona state legislature voted to acquire the cave in April 1988. After the discovery, Tufts and Tenen, recognizing that the cave could not be preserved forever by secrecy, the traditional means of cave conservation among Arizona cavers, soon decided that making it into a show cave offered the best route to preservation, despite the compromises that required. They spent years, in conjunction with the Kartchner family, trying to figure out how to develop the cave privately. During this period one gets the impression that they were obsessed CIA-wannabes, operating under assumed names and an out-of-state mailing address, as if even the knowledge that they were from Arizona would blow their cover. When plans for that fell through, they ended up getting the state of Arizona to buy the property, using parliamentary maneuvers that kept most of the legislature ignorant of what the money was for until the very last minute. All this takes up 135 of the 165 pages of the main body of the book.

The development of the show cave took a lot longer than anticipated, because of studies done and measures taken to protect the environment. I had at the time the impression that approximately equal amounts of effort were going into conscientious development and making a show of how conscientious the development was, and that impression isn't contradicted by the book. Tufts and Tenen remained involved during this period, although perhaps not as involved as they would have liked. Part of the cave was finally opened to the public in November 1999.

The writing is what can politely be called enthusiastic, as might be expected from the title, but I got used to it. The book includes a list of the dozens of people interviewed and notes on sources of the facts, nicely done in a way that doesn't clutter the text with lots of footnotes or endnote numbers. There are many color photos of the living speleothems in the cave. The photos tend to be printed a bit dark and flat for my taste, but they do show what all the secrecy and subsequent excitement were about.--Bill Mixon

This is the amazing story of two young cavers who found a pristine cave and, with the help of enlightened landowners, kept it a secret for 14 years until it could be purchased by the state of Arizona. Kartchner Caverns is a wonderful resource, an educational tool and a great example of cooperation by diverse interests who shared a common goal: the protection of the cave. Miller details the process and the personalities. Thanks to his research and writing skill, we can feel the discoverers' excitement, frustration and, finally, satisfaction.

This is the personal story of the discovery, exploration, and development of Kartchner Caverns in Arizona. It's worthwhile if you are planning a trip to Kartchner, or if you have a general interest in conservation or caves.

The discoverers, Tufts and Tenen, come off as "Alex P. Keaton's parents" type of people -- over-the-top sitcom stereotype. It's hard to believe they're real. But despite their... well, oddness... they come across as dedicated and sincere and determined people.

Wonderful photographs emphasize the amazing discoveries.