Desert Dialogues: A is for Aquifer

Kartchner Caverns State Park

Saturday, August 23, 2025   10 a.m. - 2 p.m.

Join Kartchner Caverns State Park for a talk on sustainable water use and aquifers in southern Arizona. "A is for Aquifer" is the latest in Kartchner Caverns State Park's Desert Dialogues educational series, presenting expert speakers on issues surrounding the park's ecosystem.

This presentation will be held in the Tenen–Tufts Theater. See the session topics and speakers below. The program is free but standard park entrance fees apply.

10 a.m. - San Pedro Citizen Science: Wet/Dry Mapping and Beyond with Bailey Winston, The Nature Conservancy, Southern Arizona Water Projects Manager and Haylee Short, The Nature Conservancy, Southern Arizona Water Projects Coordinator

11 a.m. - OUR GROUNDWATER: Myths, Facts, Risks, Best Practices with Paul Hirt, Professor of History and Senior Sustainability Scholar at Arizona State University

Paul Hirt is Professor Emeritus (retired) at Arizona State University, specializing in environmental history and sustainability studies. His academic publications include a book on the history of electric power in the Pacific Northwest titled The Wired Northwest(2012), and a book on the history of national forest management since World War Two titled A Conspiracy of Optimism (1994). He has more than two dozen published articles and book chapters on various topics in the history of the American West and environmental history. In his retirement, Paul is a founding board member and president of the Chiricahua Land Conservancy. 

12 p.m. - Lunch

1 p.m. - Kaustubh Thirumalai, Associate Professor, Dept. of Geosciences, University of Arizona