From Southwest Colorado Canyons Alliance Staff and Board of Directors
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Southwest Colorado Canyons Alliance fosters awareness and appreciation of the landscape and cultural heritage of Canyons of the Ancients National Monument through collaboration with the Bureau of Land Management.
Southwest Colorado Canyons Alliance would like to extend our heartfelt thanks to each and every individual who supported our cause in 2023. Your gifts and time have been pivotal in helping us preserve the landscape and cultural heritage of Canyons of the Ancients. We are especially grateful for all the generosity shown in the last few months, and we want to assure you that your contributions have helped us to make great strides in our mission.
As we move into 2024, your commitment to our cause is a vital investment in the future of Southwest Colorado Canyons Alliance and our whole community. We want you to know that your donations are making a huge impact! You are helping us spread awareness and appreciation for the stunning landscapes and rich cultural heritage of Canyons of the Ancients National Monument to preserve these resources for future generations.
This coming year, we encourage you to visit the Museum often, engage with the knowledgeable staff and volunteers, attend our events, and spend more time exploring the Monument. Whether you choose to become a member, volunteer with us, or donate a small amount regularly, every little bit is appreciated and makes a big difference.
Once again, we thank you for supporting the Canyons Alliance in every way that you do.
With sincere gratitude on behalf of our Board members, BLM staff, and myself, thank you!
Markleigh Swanson, Executive Director
Note from the Chair
January 2024
Happy New Year! I wish you the very best in the coming year. I expect that it will be a very busy year for the Board and our Executive Director, Markleigh Swanson.
In this month's “note” I want to introduce another of our Board of Directors, Vice-Chair Tom Ferrell, and also introduce you to another portion of our 2023 Strategic Plan.
Board Member Highlight
Tom Ferrell, Board Vice-Chair
Tom joined the board in January, 2021. He had worked as a Park Ranger for the National Park Service in Arizona at sites that are focused on protection of archaeological resources such as Walnut Canyon National Monument, Wupatki National Monument and Montezuma Well (Montezuma Castle National Monument). Based in Flagstaff he was active in the Arizona Archaeological Society and served as the president of the Northern Arizona Chapter. After retiring from the NPS he moved to southwest Colorado and became the Interpretive Program Director for Chimney Rock National Monument. In these positions he worked closely with volunteers on numerous natural and cultural resource projects and long term monitoring. He believes these volunteer organizations are vital to the land managers of these special places. Tom currently works part time at Dolores Public Lands Office as a contractor for the Forest Service and is also a site steward for SCCA. He is married to fellow SCCA board member Caroline Brown.
Highlighting the 2023 Strategic Plan
Strategy 3: Expand and Strengthen Programs
Enhance connections and relationships to involve affiliated Tribal communities in programs.
Co-create an annual program plan with BLM that broadens the amount, diversity and reliability of program offerings that highlight the important cultural and natural resources of CANM.
Expand audience for programs to include new participants including youth and adults.
Build out a tour operation program, maximizing the opportunity/benefit of the permit.
We are working closely with the Bureau of Land Management and members of the surrounding communities to provide programs that support the BLM’s mission as well as ours, and that provide opportunities for the public to experience Canyons of the Ancients National Monument in a variety of ways. We hope you enjoy all that we have to offer in the coming year.
Follow the directions on the page and select Southwest Colorado Canyons Alliance either by name or use this code, WM546;
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Help Southwest Colorado Canyons Alliance Raise Much-Needed Funds for free!
Every time you shop at any of the 1,800+ online stores in the iGive network, a portion of the money you spend benefits Southwest Colorado Canyons Alliance. It’s a free service, and you’ll never pay more when you reach a store through iGive. To get started, just create your free iGive account.
Looking for another way to give? Southwest Colorado Canyons Alliance is proud to partner with ShopRaise. From groceries and apparel to technology and travel – a percentage of almost everything you buy using the ShopRaise app goes to support our cause. Click to download and start supporting us with every purchase: https://ShopRaise.com/support/swcocanyons
Thank you for supporting Southwest Colorado Canyons Alliance and Canyons of the Ancients National Monument!
Thank you for your support!*
Thank you to our members and supporters who donated between October 1 and November 30, 2023.
We appreciate your support!
Anonymous Donors-2 Annette Borkowski Ken Boucher Caroline Brown & Tom Ferrell Mac Cunningham Joellen Dickey Dolores State Bank Tris Downer John Egland Miriam Gilbert Bruce Harris Don Hoffheins Kami Hoffheins Tom Kochanski City Market Susan Montgomery Sarah Pretzer Rina Racket Susan Rain Randy Riggs David Rightley Marcie Ryan Jim Skvorc Markleigh Swanson Emily Wisner
Deep Gratitude to our Sustaining Members
Thank you for providing SCCA with a steady stream of support!
Steve Barker Ken Boucher Chris Burkett Tris & Bruce Downer Sharon Edgar Greenhill Tom Ferrell & Caroline Brown Cynthia Gray Terri Helm Erik Hendrickson Don Hoffheins Diane McBride David Melanson Vincent Miller Gregory Munson Marcie Ryan Cynthia Sadler Michael Stillman Markleigh Swanson Carol Taylor & Cliff Giffen John Thyfault David Umbarger Julie Ward Lehner Richard Wheeler
Thank You to our current Corporate Sponsors and Grant Funders!
Sincere thanks to all our supporters!
*SCCA processed contributions from new and renewing annual and sustaining members and donors named in this newsletter between October 1, 2023 and November 30, 2023. Corporate support and grants listed in this newsletter were given between November 25, 2022 and December 31, 2023. Please accept our sincerest apologies if your name or company is not listed here or if we have not yet processed your donation.
Visit Canyons of the Ancients National Monument For more information about visiting CANM go to this link.
