Dear Mesa Verde Association Friends,

On October 1, 2013, due to the government shutdown, all of the nation's 401 national parks have been closed, including Mesa Verde National Park. 

What does this mean?

• All of Mesa Verde's visitor facilities, self-guided routes, and trails were closed; all cliff dwelling tours and backcountry hikes were cancelled.

• Visitors with overnight accommodations were given 48 hours to make other arrangements and leave the park. 

• Authorities were posted at the park entrance kiosks to notify visitors that the park is closed.

• Employees of Mesa Verde National Park who were told to show up to work as scheduled on Tuesday had four hours to secure files and property, and leave a voicemail saying they'll be out of the office indefinitely.

What is the impact?

• About 1,300 people from all across the world visit Mesa Verde daily in October, when days are warm, nights are crisp, and the Cliff Palace and Balcony House tours normally sell out.

• One hundred National Park Service employees stationed at Mesa Verde, many of whom live in the surrounding communities, have been furloughed.

• Mesa Verde Museum Association (MVMA) normally generates about $40,000 a week in October through the sale of educational books, maps, and other media. We employ 17 full and part-time people, all residents of the local communities surrounding Mesa Verde.  

• Nationally, about 715,000 people a day visited the 401 areas within the national park system last October, generating approximately $450,000 per day in revenue from entrance fees and in-park activities, and contributing about $76 million a day to local economies.

The private nonprofits Mesa Verde Museum Association (MVMA) and Mesa Verde Foundation (MVF) will still be operating and are committed to continuing our missions to be the innovative educational and funding partners that inspire life-long stewardship of Mesa Verde National Park's cultural and natural heritage.

• MVMA's physical administrative office is closed, but our management team is working remotely as we are able.

• MVF's offices in Castle Rock, Colorado remain open.  

• MVMA's Visitor and Research Center and Chapin Mesa Archeological Museum stores are closed.

• MVMA's store at the Colorado Welcome Center (928 East Main Street in Cortez, CO) remains open daily from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.

• MVMA's October 11-13 photography workshop will be cancelled and registration fees fully refunded if the park has not reopened by Wednesday, October 9.

• We will continue to fulfill mail orders and orders from our webstore at www.mesaverde.org as our inventory and staffing allow.

• You may leave messages for MVMA at 800-305-6053 or 970-529-4445, or e-mail us at info@mesaverde.org

• You may contact MVF at 303-321-3120 or at info@mesaverdefoundation.org

• For questions regarding your upcoming reservation at the ARAMARK-operated Far View Lodge or Morefield Campground, please call 888-449-2288.

What can you do?

• Contact your representatives in Congress to express your opinion about the closure of our national parks.

• Join the Mesa Verde Association or make a donation and support the nonprofit missions of both the Mesa Verde Museum Association and Mesa Verde Foundation. Visit www.mesaverde.org/membership or www.mesaverdefoundation.org for more information.