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The
Mesa Verde Association is a joint
membership program of the Mesa Verde
Museum Association and the Mesa Verde
Foundation. Your MVA membership supports
both of these 501(c)(3) nonprofit
organizations.
The Mesa Verde Museum Association
(tax ID 84-1404606) provides educational
and interpretive material to visitors
of Mesa Verde National Park through
an active publishing program and the
operation of retail bookstores online,
in the park, and in Cortez, CO. Our
services enhance the visitor experience
and promote stewardship of Mesa Verde's
world-renowned archeological resources
and natural landscapes. Proceeds from
all Association operations are donated
to the park's interpretive, research,
and education programs.
The Mesa Verde Foundation (tax ID
84-046967) funds capital improvements,
projects, and educational endeavors
for Mesa Verde National Park. Our
projects include construction of a
new Visitor and Research Center near
the park's entrance and remodeling
the existing Far View Visitor Center
into a Tribal Cultures Center to enhance
understanding of the connection between
the Ancestral Puebloans and contemporary
Native American tribes.
You are receiving this email because
you are a member of the Mesa Verde
Association or because you purchased
a product from the Mesa Verde Museum
Association. To ensure that you continue
to receive emails from us, add info@mesaverde.org
to your address book today.
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Welcome to "Verde Views," the e-newsletter
for Mesa Verde Association members and friends.
This periodic publication will keep you
informed about Association news and events,
park happenings, new products and special
sales.
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Mesa Verde National Park Commemorates Veterans Day with Free Admission
The National Park Service and Mesa Verde National Park will join the nation in honoring all military veterans by offering free entrance for everyone during the Veterans Day weekend, November 9 through 11, 2013. Mesa Verde Museum Association stores in Mesa Verde’s Visitor and Research Center, the Chapin Mesa Archeological Museum, and at the Colorado Welcome Center at 928 East Main Street in Cortez will be offering a special Veterans Day weekend sales promotion as well.
Hallowed places such as Saratoga, Fort McHenry, Vicksburg and the USS Arizona Memorial are among the 94 National Park Service battlefields, military parks, national cemeteries and military-related historic sites that commemorate the service and sacrifice of veterans throughout our country’s history. Additional national parks preserve American icons like the Statue of Liberty, Mount Rushmore and the Liberty Bell which have inspired generations of troops.
The National Park Service also provides active duty members of the military and their dependents with an annual national park pass, an $80 value, at no charge. Permanently disabled veterans can receive a free lifetime pass to all parks. The passes provides entrance to all national parks, national wildlife refuges, national forests, and many other Federal lands – more than 2,000 in all. The passes can be acquired at any national park that charges an entrance fee. Information about all national park passes is available at www.nps.gov/findapark/passes.htm.
Inaugural Rims to Ruins Fine Art Event a Great Success
Twenty-six top American Western artists who created works inspired by the grandeur of Mesa Verde National Park recently brought their works together for a well-attended exhibition and sale benefitting Mesa Verde Foundation at the Denver Public Library. The October 22 reception and sale attracted over 200 patrons who were able to meet many of the artists and purchase the spectacular works in the show.
In partnership with the Denver Public Library, Mesa Verde Foundation was able to raise significant funds to support programs and projects at the park. Over $168,000 worth of art was sold, and from that Mesa Verde Foundation will receive over $50,000.Superintendent Cliff Spencer made the trip to Denver, which allowed the exhibition patrons to understand first-hand the importance of supporting this great park.
To see all of the artwork, click here.
The event was generously sponsored by Greenberg Traurig LLC and Denver Public Library as
Gold Sponsors; Goodnight Trail Gallery as a Silver Sponsor; and Bronze Sponsors , ARAMARK, CoBiz Wealth, H. Benjamin Duke III, David and Lynn Rahn, Sorrel Sky Gallery, Toh-Atin Gallery, and U. S. Bank, The Private Client Reserve. Saks Galleries was an Event Supporter.
Participating artists included: William Acheff, Joe Anna Arnett, James Asher, Joe Bohler, John Burton, G. Russell Case, Lorenzo Chavez, Doug Dawson, John DeMott, Mike Desatnick, David Drummond, Barry Eisenach, Veryl Goodnight, George Hallmark, Jay Moore, Ralph Oberg, Andrew Peters, Robert Peters, John Poon, Jesse Powell, Jim Rey, Laura Robb, Elizabeth Robbins, Mian Situ, Curt Walters, and Jim Wilcox.
Painting:
Wild Plums by William Acheff
Cortez’s Colorado Welcome Center Celebrates 25 Years!
The Colorado Welcome Center at 928 East Main Street in Cortez will be celebrating its Silver Anniversary--25 years as an official Colorado Welcome Center--on Friday, November 15th from 4:00 to 7:00 p.m.! Please join us for an open house with food and some quirky fun! Bring your friends and colleagues too. Mesa Verde Museum Association’s CWC bookstore will be open as well for your shopping pleasure.
Come to Mesa Verde’s Annual Holiday Open House and Luminaria Lighting
On Thursday, December 5, 2013, the staff of Mesa Verde National Park will host the 2013 Annual Holiday Open House from 4:00 p.m. until 9:00 p.m. in the Chapin Mesa headquarters area.
Everyone is invited to join the park staff in this holiday celebration featuring special tours, luminarias, musical entertainment and refreshments. Ranger-guided tours of Spruce Tree House, the third largest cliff dwelling in the park, will be presented at 10:30 a.m., 1:00 p.m., and 3:00 p.m. Spruce Tree House will also be available for self-guided tours from 4:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. Luminarias will glow along the pathways throughout the headquarters area, a National Historic Landmark District, and along the trail to Spruce Tree House. Dress warmly and bring a flashlight.
The Chapin Mesa Archeological Museum will remain open until 9:00 p.m. There will be musical entertainment in the Museum Auditorium throughout the evening.
The nonprofit Mesa Verde Museum Association Museum bookstore will be open highlighting the sale of books, posters, puppets, historic photographs, and great holiday gifts as well as in-store specials. Bring your gift list along to take advantage of this special occasion. Proceeds benefit Mesa Verde National Park.
Attendance at the Open House is free. Refreshments will be provided by ARAMARK at the Spruce Tree Terrace.
No park entrance fee will be charged after 4:00 p.m. on Thursday, December 5, 2013. Mark your calendar and plan to join us in the park festivities! For further information, please contact the park at 970-529-4465.
Mesa Verde to Continue Current Course of Action for Trespassing Livestock
In January, 2013, the National Park Service invited public comment regarding a proposal to develop a management plan specific to controlling unclaimed trespass livestock in Mesa Verde National Park in southwestern Colorado. In recent years, trespassing livestock includes between 100-150 horses and 10-20 cattle in and on the border of the park. The purpose of such a plan would have been to address the various issues trespassing livestock have on the park’s natural and cultural resources.
The comment period ran from January 17, 2013 through February 28, 2013. About 3,500 comment letters were received by the park, most of which were form letters. The park carefully evaluated the comments and has determined that the current course of action best accomplishes park goals while minimizing impacts to park resources.
Therefore, the park will not pursue development of a specific management plan for trespassing livestock, but instead will concentrate on implementing existing measures utilizing available resources to address trespassing livestock in the following ways:
1. Physically exclude trespass livestock from entering the park using the most appropriate wildlife-friendly fencing designs available to us beginning in the highest priority areas.
2. Create passage ways in the park’s boundary fence that allow trespass livestock already in the park to leave the park on their own but not return.
3. Deter trespass livestock already in the park from accessing natural and man-made (artificial) water sources in the park using wildlife-friendly physical barriers.
4. Capture and relocate in the park any trespass livestock that pose an imminent threat to public safety or park resources.
The park also will continue providing information to the visiting public about the resource impacts and safety hazards posed by trespass livestock in the park.
For more information contact Wildlife Biologist Paul Morey at 970-529-4617.
Park Visitor Study and Economic Impacts Reports Available
Visitors to Mesa Verde National Park were surveyed in summer 2012 as part of a visitor study completed by the University of Idaho’s Park Studies Unit. Survey questions helped determine the demographic make-up of park visitors, as well as how they spent their time in the park and the area. The survey also addressed economic impacts to the region from park visitation. The local region was defined as Montezeuma and La Plata counties, which roughly coincides with the 50-miles radius from the park for which expenditures were reported.
Of the 676 questionnaires distributed to visitors, 477 were returned for a 70.5% response rate. Some results noted in the report summaries concluded that:
• 74% were first time visitors, and 82% of visitor groups were family groups.
• 19% of the visitors were residents of countries outside the United States. France, Germany, Switzerland, and the Netherlands accounted for the highest number of international visitors, but there were 23 countries represented during the survey period.
• 22% of the visitor groups felt that there were services that need to be provided in languages other than English.
• 81% of visitor groups said Mesa Verde National Park as one of the several destinations they would visit on this trip, and 56% said visiting Mesa Verde was the primary reason for their trip to this area.
• Total spending in 2012 in the park and within 50 miles of the park was estimated at $47.1 million. The greatest proportions of expenditures were for overnight accommodations, restaurants and bars.
• Overnight visitors staying in commercial lodging outside the park but within 50 miles of the park accounted for 73% of total spending.
To download or read the reports, visit http://www.nps.gov/meve/parkmgmt/index.htm.
Visitor and Research Center Receives More Recognition
The U.S. Department of Energy honored the National Park Service with a 2013 Federal Energy and Water Management Award for the Visitor and Research Center at Mesa Verde National Park. The new building opened to the public in December 2012 and offers visitor services and serves as a research and curatorial facility for the park.
The Visitor and Research Center is a high-performance sustainable building that demonstrates the use of energy efficiency, renewable energy, water conservation, recycling, and environmentally preferable materials to fulfill critical needs for park operations. The facility recently received a Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED®) Platinum rating by the U.S. Green Building Council, a technically difficult feat because the building serves more than 500,000 park visitors each year, and houses more than three million artifacts requiring strict environmental controls.
In addition, the surrounding landscape design achieved certification from the Sustainable Sites Initiative™ (SITES™), a comprehensive rating system for sustainable design, construction, and maintenance of built landscapes. The ecologically sensitive landscape design surrounding the building serves as an extension of the facility to educate the public about the archeological, biological, and physical resources of the park. The design directs stormwater through vegetated swales and retention ponds, and the area was re-vegetated with a mix of native and drought tolerant plants.
The project was managed by the Denver Service Center, the central planning, design, and construction management office for the National Park Service. Representatives from the 24 tribes associated with Mesa Verde contributed to the building and exhibits design. The design fabrication and installation was managed by the Harpers Ferry Center, the central interpretive media and exhibits office for the National Park Service.
For a complete listing of all of the 2013 Federal Energy and Water Management Award winners, please visit http://www1.eere.energy.gov.
For more information about the Sustainable Sites Initiative, visit their website at: http://www.sustainablesites.org.
Mesa Verde Black on White Pottery and Petroglyph Jewelry
Take a little bit of Mesa Verde with you wherever you go! Mesa Verde Museum Association has had the pleasure to partner with local artist Anna Ford to design a selection of earrings and necklaces that capture a glimpse of Mesa Verde. Anna has handcrafted these simple yet elegant pieces using design elements from pottery in the Chapin Mesa Archeological Museum as well as iconic figures from Mesa Verde’s Petroglyph Panel. Click here to view our current selection of jewelry and be sure to watch the website next spring for new designs!
As always, members receive a 20% discount on online and in-store purchases. Online purchases require a coupon code to redeem discount. Have you misplaced your member discount coupon code? Just email us at info@mesaverde.org and we will send it to you.
Not a member yet? It’s easy to join! Just click here or call us at 1-800-305-6053 or 970-529-4445 for assistance.
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