By: Bee Redfield, Executive Director at Chaco Culture Conservancy
When a shutdown closes the gates to our national parks, everything gets quiet. Trails sit empty. Visitor centers go dark. Rangers and staff, the people who bring these places to life, are suddenly sidelined by circumstances far beyond their control.
But while the gates may close, the care for these parks doesn’t stop. That’s where Friends Groups – supporters like all of us – come in.
The Chaco Culture Conservancy (CCC) is the official nonprofit partner for Chaco Culture National Historical Park and Aztec Ruins National Monument.
We’re part of a national network of organizations often called Friends Groups, who are independent nonprofits that work alongside the National Park Service to help protect, fund, and enhance our public lands. When budgets tighten or operations pause, these groups step in to keep essential projects moving, from preservation and research to trail access and cultural programming.
At CCC, our role right now is simple: to make sure the support for these parks continues, even when the gates close.
With your support, CCC helps preserve some of the most vulnerable sites at Chaco and Aztec.
This year, we’re funding LiDAR scanning at Pueblo del Arroyo, which is high-resolution 3D mapping that allows park staff to track structural changes caused by shifting ground and climate impacts. It’s one of the most at-risk public sites in Chaco Canyon, and this technology is giving researchers the data they need to make smart, long-term preservation decisions.
That work doesn’t pause for politics. Thanks to nearly $20,000 in donor-funded scanning, these walls, which were built over a thousand years ago (!!!) are being documented and protected for generations to come.
Preservation isn’t just about walls and artifacts; it’s also about the visitor experience.
Through your support, CCC is replacing aging wooden benches at Pueblo Bonito and Pueblo del Arroyo with new stone benches made from canyon rock. These benches will be durable, low-maintenance, and seamlessly integrated with the landscape. They’ll give visitors a quiet place to rest and reflect while taking in the same views the indigenous people at Chaco once saw.
We’ve also helped fund trail improvements, shade structures, and audio tours – small changes that make a big difference in accessibility and comfort for everyone who visits.
Chaco and Aztec are the ancestral homelands of 26 associated Tribes and Pueblos. Each year, your support help fund cultural demonstrators and guest speakers who bring music, art, and storytelling back to these places.
For many of these participants, it’s a homecoming, a chance to reconnect with their history and share it directly with visitors. This is some of the most meaningful work we support, and it reminds all of us that the story of these parks is still being lived today.
Shutdowns and funding gaps remind us that parks aren’t just managed by government agencies. They’re cared for by people. By communities. By Friends like YOU.
Friends Groups exist to bridge those moments when official operations stop but the need to care for these places doesn’t. We:
You are part of this Friends network. Every donor, follower, and supporter who chooses to care about Chaco and Aztec helps keep these places running, not just during shutdowns, but every single day.
It’s quiet work, shared between all of us, and it matters.
The gates will reopen. The rangers will be back. Visitors will return.
And when they do, these places will still be ready… because people like you made sure of it.
If you believe in protecting Chaco and Aztec, consider supporting the Chaco Culture Conservancy. Become a Friend if you aren’t already, share our story, and support our Parks. Together, we can make sure the story of these sacred sites continues, even in the hardest moments.
Friends of the Conservancy enjoy exclusive benefits. Join our community of stewards today and help us create a greater impact.
