Mesa Verde Foundation is very pleased to announce that the project to renovate and refurbish the horse barn and corral areas for Mesa Verde National Park is complete. As the park works to increase public access to new areas of the park, horses are the only practical way to patrol these remote trails and backcountry areas for visitor safety, resource protection (monitoring of over 4,000 archeological sites), and emergency response/transport.

MVF has been pleased to partner with its supporters and the park to reestablish the park's historic Horse Patrol. MVF has raised over $30,000 to purchase two horses and to renovate the barn and corral areas, so that the Horse Patrol can operate efficiently while providing superior care for the horses. The results are stunning, and the park is celebrating these spectacular new facilities.

Generous contributors to the renovation project include MVF individual donors, the Roundup Riders of the Rockies - Heritage & Trails Foundation, the Charlie Russell Riders, Betty L. Robertson (for the two horses), the Chuckwagon Trail Riders Foundation, the Emery Foundation at The Denver Foundation, Robert Dunn, and Lawrence B. Tweedy.                                                           

Sign up now to participate in a special fall three-day photography workshop led by well-known photographer and Northern Arizona University Professor Emeritus Dr. Gene Balzer. 

The workshop is scheduled for October 10-12, 2014, and is limited to 13 participants to ensure plenty of personalized coaching. It begins Friday morning and ends on Sunday afternoon. Tuition includes three days of instruction, three nights in-park motel lodging at the Far View Lodge, and all meals including two dinners at the famed Metate Room Restaurant. For further information or to register, visit www.mesaverde.org/photography-workshop or call 800-305-6053. Mesa Verde Association members are eligible for a 20% discount!

Recent hot, dry, and breezy weather has resulted in extremely dry vegetation fuels throughout the park. Because of the very high fire danger, the following fire restrictions took effect on July 22, 2014: 

No open fires are permitted throughout Mesa Verde National Park. This includes all the residences inside the park, Morefield Campground, and the Chapin Mesa picnic area. Pressurized gas stoves and contained charcoal grills (Weber or Smoky Joe grills) are permitted at Morefield Campground and the Chapin picnic area. No open wood burning fires are allowed in the campground fire rings or anywhere else in the park. Smoking is only permitted inside enclosed vehicles. Fireworks are prohibited in Mesa Verde National Park. 

This restriction shall remain in effect until such time as the fire danger in the park becomes less severe. Due to the lack of forecasted precipitation in the near future, these restrictions may be in place for an extended period of time. Your cooperation in decreasing the potential for a catastrophic fire within Mesa Verde National Park is appreciated.

A new National Park Service (NPS) report shows that 460,237 visitors to Mesa Verde in 2013 spent $45.089 million in communities near the park. That spending supported 617 jobs in the local area.

"Mesa Verde National Park is proud to welcome visitors from across the country and around the world," said Superintendent Cliff Spencer. "We are delighted to share the story of this place and the experiences it provides and to use the park as a way to introduce our visitors to this part of the country and all that it offers. National park tourism is a significant driver in the national economy - returning $10 for every $1 invested in the National Park Service - and it's a big factor in our local economy as well. We appreciate the partnership and support of our neighbors in maintaining a sustainable tourism economy."

The peer-reviewed visitor spending analysis was conducted by U.S. Geological Survey economists Catherine Cullinane Thomas and Christopher Huber and Lynne Koontz for the National Park Service. The report shows $14.6 billion of direct spending by 273.6 million park visitors in communities within 60 miles of a national park. This spending supported more than 237,000 jobs nationally, with more than 197,000 jobs found in these gateway communities, and had a cumulative benefit to the U.S. economy of $26.5 billion.

According to the 2013 economic analysis, most visitor spending was for lodging (30.3 percent) followed by food and beverages (27.3 percent), gas and oil (12.1 percent), admissions and fees (10.3 percent) and souvenirs and other expenses (10 percent).

The largest jobs categories supported by visitor spending were restaurants and bars (50,000 jobs) and lodging (38,000 jobs).

To download the report, visit www.nature.nps.gov/socialscience/economics.cfm.  The report includes information for visitor spending at individual parks and by state.

The Four Corners Lecture continues this summer. We hope you'll join us for these free programs offered in a variety of locations across the Four Corners. Vivia Hammontree Strang serves as the National Register Coordinator in the Arizona State Historic Preservation Office. In her August 6 talk at Mesa Verde National Park, she will reflect on Arizona Route 66 road trips, the people, buildings, and landscapes that make this highway an American icon. Join us! The full lecture series schedule can be found here. Here's what's right around the corner:

When:  Wednesdays, August 6 through 27, 8:00 p.m., Cortez Cultural Center (LAST MONTH!)

Who: Sam Sandoval

What: Navajo Code Talkers

When: Wednesday, August 6, 7:00 p. m., Far View Lodge Library, Mesa Verde National Park

Who: Vivia Hammontree Strang

What: Standing on the Corner in Arizona

When: Thursday, August 7, 7:00 p.m., Crow Canyon Archaeological Center

Who: Shanna Diederichs

What: Big House on the Prairie: Results of Excavations on the Basketmaker Communities Project and the Dillard Site Great Kiva

When: Thursday, August 14, 7:00 p.m., Room #120, Center of Southwest Studies, Fort Lewis College; co-hosted by the San Juan Basin Archaeological Society

Who: Grant Smith

What: Late Prehistoric, Utah - Promontory Cave

When: Thursday, August 14, 7:00 p.m., Crow Canyon Archaeological Center

Who: Kristin Kuckelman

What: Work Room, Storage Room, Kitchen, and Refuge: The Many and Varied Uses of Multiple-Story Structures in Late Pueblo III Villages of the Northern San Juan

When: Tuesday, September 2, 7:00 p.m., First United Methodist Church, Cortez (hosted by Hisatsinom Chapter/CAS)

Who: Jeff Dean

What: New Research on Old Dates: Dendroarchaeology of Pueblo III Kiva Construction on Mesa Verde

When: Saturday, September 6, 2:00 p.m., Edge of the Cedars State Park Museum, Blanding, UT

Who: Dr. Laurie Webster

What: Re-Excavating the Past: New Work with Ancient Textiles, Baskets, Wood, and Hides from Southeastern Utah

This lecture series is generously sponsored by Mesa Verde Foundation, Mesa Verde Museum Association, and Mesa Verde National Park, as well as the Anasazi Heritage Center, ARAMARK Parks and Destinations, Bureau of Land Management, Cortez Cultural Center, Crow Canyon Archaeological Center, Edge of the Cedars State Park Museum, Fort Lewis College Office of the President, Department of Anthropology, and Center of Southwest Studies, Hisatsinom Chapter of the Colorado Archaeological Society, and KSJD Dryland Community Radio. 

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.

Misplaced your member discount code? Just call or email us at info@mesaverde.org and we'll be happy to provide it to you!