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.

Dear Friends,

As the summer sun continues to warm our beautiful landscapes, we want to take a moment to highlight something that can make a lasting impact on the future of the Canyons of the Ancients National Monument and the natural and cultural heritage we all cherish. 

August is National Make-A-Will Month, a time dedicated to encouraging individuals to plan for the future by creating or updating their wills. It's an opportunity to ensure that your values and passions live on, supporting the causes you care about most.

Leave a Lasting Legacy 

We invite you to consider making a profound impact on the preservation of the Canyons of the Ancients by remembering Southwest Colorado Canyons Alliance in your will or estate planning. Your bequest can help ensure that these treasured landscapes and their rich cultural heritage are protected for future generations.

Including Southwest Colorado Canyons Alliance in your will is a powerful way to continue your support for the conservation and education efforts that safeguard this unique landscape. Whether your gift is large or small, it will contribute to the ongoing protection and appreciation of this extraordinary place.

How to Get Started

If you haven’t yet created a will, or if you’re considering updating it, now is the perfect time. We recommend consulting with your attorney or financial advisor to discuss your options and ensure that your wishes are clearly expressed.

Thank You for Your Support

Your commitment to the Canyons of the Ancients makes all the difference. Together, we can ensure that this remarkable area continues to inspire and educate for generations to come.

If you have any questions or would like more information about including SCCA in your estate planning, please don't hesitate to reach out.

Warm regards,

Markleigh Swanson
Executive Director
Southwest Colorado Canyons Alliance

Note from the Board Chair

August 2024

Wow, what a string of unusually high temperatures we’ve had the last few weeks. I am sure it has been difficult, or at least a little
uncomfortable, for our Site Stewards to access their sites during this summer quarter monitoring period. I so appreciate all the efforts the volunteers put into the Site Steward program.

I really encourage you all to respond to the summer giving campaign to support all of the modernization improvements being made to the reporting system needed to track the details of the monitoring work. If you missed the recent description of the Modernization of the system from our Executive Director, Read about it here.

I want to introduce another of our board of directors to you, Dr. Tara
Gray.

Board Member Highlight
Dr. Tara Gray, Board Member: Tara has been passionate about
recreating in the Canyons of the Ancient National Monument in
Southwest Colorado since she moved here over 20 years ago. With
over 30 years of service in education and mental health, she now
combines her devotion to social justice with that of environmental
justice and stewardship. Dr. Gray is currently Clinical Faculty in the
Counseling Department at Prescott College and serves clients in her private practice, Dr. Tara Gray Counseling & Wellness, in Telluride, Colorado. She has served over 4,000 clients and students to date, has made over 50 presentations, earned 7 awards, written 20 grants funded at over half a million dollars, and has served in over 30 different professional service volunteer leadership roles. When she’s not engaged in professional service you can find her hiking, exploring canyons, paddling, skiing, and mountain biking with her Australian Shepherds.

And speaking of Board members, would you consider serving on our Board of Directors?
Here are the responsibilities for general Board Members:

• Be a member of SCCA
• Have knowledge of the organization and a personal commitment
  to its mission and goals.
• Make annual financial contributions to the organization
• Provide leadership to the board
• Attend regularly scheduled board meetings - Typically one per
  month
• Participate in policy development and strategic planning
• Participate in fundraising 
• Serve as ambassador of organization to the public

If you are able to help strengthen our organization and would consider serving on the Board, fill out an Interest Form and send it in. Thank you for supporting Southwest Colorado Canyons Alliance.

Upcoming Events

Second Saturday Cultural Demonstrations

10 AM - 1 PM

• August 24 | Sharlyn Sanchez | Contemporary Pottery | Acoma 
  • NOTE: Date has changed to Aug 24 from Aug 10
  • Registration is required and space is limited!
• September 14 | Robert Torres | Silversmith | San Carlos Apache

Four Corners Lecture Series

• August 23 | 4 PM | Bobby Tober | Preserving Our Natural Night Skies
• September 4 | 7:30 PM | Kurt Hillman | Intro to Night Sky Photography

Star Party

• September 6 | 6:30-10 pm 

Follow us on Facebook and Instagram,  subscribe to our email list or visit our website to stay up to date on everything that we are doing at Southwest Colorado Canyons Alliance in 2024!

More ways to help!

Bequests: Leave a Lasting Legacy

Consider making a lasting impact on the preservation of the Canyons of the Ancients by including Southwest Colorado Canyons Alliance in your will or estate planning. Your bequest, whether large or small, will help protect these treasured landscapes and their cultural heritage for future generations.

 

If you haven’t created a will or are thinking of updating it, now is a great time to consult with your attorney or financial advisor to ensure your wishes are clearly expressed.

 

If you have any questions or need more information, please feel free to reach out. 

 

 

City Market Community Rewards

Your purchases at City Market can generate donations for Southwest Colorado Canyons Alliance. It’s easy to enroll in the Community Rewards Program. 

 

 

 

Simply visit this link: https://www.citymarket.com/i/community/community-rewards

Follow the directions on the page and select Southwest Colorado Canyons Alliance either by name or use this code, WM546;

Don’t have a City Market loyalty card? No worries. New Users can easily create an account! This just requires some basic information, a valid email address and a loyalty card number or phone number.

 

REMEMBER, you must scan your registered City Market loyalty card or use the phone number that is related to your registered City Market loyalty card when you checkout for each purchase to count. Thank-you!

 

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 May 1 and June 30, 2024. 

We appreciate your support!

Ballantine Family Fund
Melisss Blackwell
Conservation Lands Foundation
Andrew Dennison
El Pomar Foundation
Barbara Evert
Don & Nancy Hoffheins
Chuck & MB McAfee
Robert McCleary
Gerard Mundo
Peter & Marian Rohman
Barry Spear
William Stroop
Meghan & Stephen Vosloo


  Deep Gratitude to our Sustaining Members

Thank you for providing SCCA with a steady stream of support!

Steve Barker
Ken Boucher
Caroline Brown & Tom Ferrell
Chris & Lou Burkett
Tris & Bruce Downer
Terri Helm
Erik Hendrickson
Don & Nancy Hoffheins
Vincent Miller
Gregory Munson
Marcie Ryan
Cynthia Sadler
Michael Stillman
Markleigh Swanson
Carol Taylor & Cliff Giffen
John Thyfault
David & KD Umbarger

Thank You to our current Corporate Sponsors and Grant Funders!

 

 

 

 

Visit Canyons of the Ancients National Monument
For more information about visiting CANM go to this link.