Mesa Verde Museum Association Bookstore to Reopen
Everyone is feeling the pinch of businesses and workplaces being closed due to the COVID-19 stay-at-home advice. Now people are again venturing out and exploring our National Parks. As of this writing, most Mesa Verde National Park roads and trails are open to visitors, but tours are canceled and public buildings remain closed.
MVMA has struggled to find a way to continue to serve our visitors in this uncertain time. We have decided to go ahead and open on a limited basis. We will take every precaution to keep our staff and the public safe, and at the same time make sure they feel welcome and have a good experience at Mesa Verde.
On Saturday and Sunday, June 13-14 and 20-21 we will open a temporary outdoor store. This temporary store will be located in front of the Mesa Verde Visitor and Research Center at the base of the park.
We will be open from 9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. From a cart, people may choose Mesa Verde memorabilia, books, t-shirts, and other items of interest to locals and park visitors.
Then, beginning Saturday, June 27, the Mesa Verde Museum Association Main Bookstore will reopen inside the Visitor and Research Center. Hours will remain 9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m.
The Visitor and Research Center exhibits, tour tickets office, and information desk will continue to remain closed. Visitors are encouraged to access the Virtual Ranger on the park website to have all of their questions answered.
Can’t make it to the park but still want to support Mesa Verde Museum Association? Visit the online store and receive your selection at home. You can also become a member or renew your membership from our website.
Mesa Verde Artist in Residence 2020 Program Canceled
We are disappointed to announce that the AIR program for 2020 has been canceled. However, all of our artists have agreed to postpone their residencies until next year. This means that we will not be accepting new applications for 2021.
Hopefully by 2022, we will be back to normal. Our thanks to 2020 AIRs for their patience and understanding. Look for them in the park next year. They include:
- Watercolorist Robyn Jorde of Dallas Texas. While here she plans to produce a series of paintings for a themed exhibition. The finished artwork would depict intimate views of the Mesa Verde pueblos and the surrounding area, meant to give viewers an insight into how the original residents experienced their home. Robyn’s work may be seen on her web site at www.robynjorde.com.
- Ceramic artists and photographers, the brothers Brad and Bryan Caviness of Brown’s Summit, North Carolina. They offer a unique interpretation of culture and landscape through a combination of pottery and photography. You may view their work at www.bcclayart.com. The brothers stated that the opportunity to be at Mesa Verde and create their pieces will inspire and enhance the realism of their artwork and connect them to the area’s history and the potters that worked there 800-1000 years ago.
- Weaver and Textile artist Jaini Hadley of Hastings, England. Her multi-dimensional weavings are inspired by nature and often incorporate elements found in the natural world. While at Mesa Verde, Jaini plans to use a variety of techniques and materials to make a weaving inspired by the landscape. Her work may be viewed at www.jainihadleyweaver.com.
- John Toeppen of Livermore, California, brings his unique and digital 3-D photography skills to the park. He will work with park staff on a special project to digitally document several pueblos. Shooting and sharing remarkable images, contents, and methods using the internet, archives, and print is a way of leaving a legacy of our time, past histories, and inspiring present and future generations. For more information on John’s work visit www.holographics3d.com.
Mesa Verde National Park’s Artist-in-Residence (AIR) program provides professional artists the opportunity to become part of a long-established tradition of artists creating art in our national parks.
The AIR program is managed for the park by the nonprofit Mesa Verde Museum Association. Learn more at www.mesaverde.org and at www.nps.gov/meve/getinvolved/artists_in_residence.htm.
Comment period for Farmington Mancos-Gallup Draft Resource Management Plan Amendment Extended 120 Days
Following meetings with leaders of the Navajo Nation and the All Pueblo Council of Governors, Secretary of the Interior David L. Bernhardt, in close coordination with Assistant Secretary of Indian Affairs Tara Sweeney, directed the Bureau of Land Management and Bureau of Indian Affairs to extend the comment period for the Farmington Mancos-Gallup Draft Resource Management Plan Amendment and associated Environmental Impact Statement (RMPA/EIS).
The public will now have until September 25, 2020, to provide comments.
The Draft RMPA/EIS, which was released on February 28, is analyzing resource management issues for lands in San Juan, Rio Arriba, McKinley, and Sandoval counties. The Draft RMPA/EIS provides a unified document that resource managers can use for land use management purposes.
This planning effort will update management decisions such as oil and gas development, lands and realty, lands with wilderness characteristics, and vegetation. The document will facilitate the BLM and BIA environmental analysis and permitting of Indian and Tribal mineral development.
It encompasses approximately 4,189,460 acres of land, including roughly 675,400 acres of Navajo Trust surface, 1,316,200 acres of BLM-managed land, and 210,100 acres of individual Indian allotments across 17 Navajo Nation Chapters.
The BLM and BIA are currently considering several separate alternatives to resolve land use issues and resource management challenges.
The decisions made will determine how to manage the public, Navajo Tribal Trust land, and Navajo Indian allotments and resources within the planning area for the next 10 to 15 years.
For these reasons, an RMPA/EIS is required at this time. The BIA does not have an existing RMP. The development of this RMPA/EIS will support the BIA’s future land management decisions.
The Draft RMPA/EIS and supporting information are available online at: https://go.usa.gov/xdrjD. Comments can be submitted via the web address, or by mail to:
BLM Farmington Field Office, Attn.: Sarah Scott, Project Manager, 6251 College Blvd, Suite A, Farmington, NM 87402
BIA Navajo Regional Office, Attn.: Robert Begay, Project Manager, P.O. Box 1060, Gallup, NM 87301 For more information on the planning process, please contact Sarah Scott, Project Manager, Farmington Field Office at 505-564-7689.