Hello everyone and Happy Spring! 

For those of you who I have yet to meet, my name is Olivia Thomsen and I am the new executive director of the Chaco Culture Conservancy. I am thrilled to have stepped into this role after serving as a board member for the Conservancy for several years. Before taking on this job, I worked as an archaeologist in the Southwest and much of my research focused around Chaco Canyon. It is now my pleasure to be a part of this organization and a part of the efforts to preserve and support Chaco Culture National Historical Park and Aztec Ruins National Monument.

Recently I had the pleasure of visiting with many of you at Chaco Culture National Historical Park to celebrate the start of National Park Week. My favorite part of this job is getting to meet so many park visitors and supporters, to chat about their plans for the day, and to learn more about their journey to the parks. I find it especially fun to chat with first time visitors to Chaco and Aztec. I still remember my first visit so well, and that day started me down a path that ultimately led me to the incredible opportunity of leading this organization. I feel just as excited for each visitor that is about to have their own first experience in the parks as I did for myself. 

Along with getting out into the parks, the Chaco Culture Conservancy has been busy growing our organization this year. We have approved funding for park projects for 2024, planned new and exciting ways to keep all of you engaged, and invested our time in making organizational improvements. I hope that you’ll keep reading to learn all about these important updates! 

I also want to take a moment to thank the many people who have helped us achieve our goals so far this year. I want to first thank the rangers, staff, and volunteers at Aztec Ruins National Monument and Chaco Culture National Historical Park. Not only do they carry the heavy job as stewards of these important places, but without their support our organization could not have achieved the success that we’ve seen in the past year. Thank you to all of these hardworking individuals that care so deeply about the parks and the Chaco Culture Conservancy. 

I want to thank the many board members and individuals in the nonprofit community that have been instrumental in assisting me as I stepped into this new role, and who have donated so much of their time and resources to ensuring the success of the organization. 

Finally, I want to thank each and every one of you for supporting the Chaco Culture Conservancy. Thank you to our donors, without your generosity we could not meet our mission year after year to support these parks. To those who support us in many other ways, thank you as well! Each social media “like” or opened newsletter helps us grow our community and our organization. To all of you, thank you so much.

– Olivia Thomsen

It’s spring time, which means the Board of Directors has reviewed and approved park projects that the CCC will fund for 2024! Here are the projects that the BOD has approved so far: 

Improvements to the Volunteer-in-Parks (VIP) Campground at Chaco Culture NHP: 

This campground hosts up to 30 groups and 200 guests a year. The “VIP” campground, where volunteers, researchers, and partners stay during their work, was in need of some repairs and TLC! With the approved $4,850, the NPS was able to install new electrical wiring to support two new cooking range units with fan/duct systems, a new sink, new flooring, new paint and deck sealant, and a new window air conditioner unit. Staff from both parks came together to make sure this work was completed by April 1st, ensuring that the project was done on time and the campground was ready to host its first batch of workers for the year.

Thank you to our donors and NPS partners who make this work happen every year. 

Visitor WiFi at the Chaco Culture NHP visitor center: 

For the past four years, the CCC has funded a free visitor WiFi service at Chaco Culture National Historical Park. While we value Chaco Culture NHP as a rural park where we can all go to “disconnect”, sometimes staying connected has its benefits! 

Enabling visitors to access the internet means that the park can cut down on printing brochures and hand-outs, and instead encourage visitors to download the NPS app. For visitors, the security of having access to the internet means that they can reach emergency services from the visitor center, meet up with their party if they get separated, or check on plans for the rest of their trip. Supporting this service is great for us, too! It means that visitors can access the CCC website right from the visitor center to learn more about our organization or to make a donation. 

The lead interpretive ranger at Chaco says, “I’ve had visitors who are waiting on the other part of their party/group and want to check their messages or voicemail to see when the other half of their party will arrive. Frequently we have visitors who are hoping to stay multiple nights in the campground, so we will book them one night at the visitor center (per our policy) and give them the Wi-Fi password to access recreation.gov to book the rest of their stay. We also have visitors who look up the weather (especially when storms have been forecasted) and conditions on roads to their next destination. They will also use the Wi-Fi to look up current conditions in other parks to verify what is open/closed and get some additional current information that we don’t have on hand here at the visitor center.”

Thanks to our donors, the CCC was able to approve $4,260 to continue funding visitor WiFi at Chaco Culture NHP from 2024-2025. 

Trails Training for both parks: 

Each year, over 65,000 visitors walk the iconic trails at Chaco Culture NHP. Whether your destination is the four-door alignment in Pueblo Bonito or the pictograph panel near Peñasco Blanco, these trails will get you where you want to be! But the effects of visitor use and natural degradation mean that the dedicated staff at these parks work hard to ensure the trails stay safe and accessible.  

In fact, in 2021 an intern at Chaco Culture NHP evaluated 30 miles of trails within the park. They documented over 900 issues with culverts, erosion, water bars and more. These trails need general maintenance, resurfacing, invasive plant removal, and realignment. NPS staff are currently gearing up for projects at Hungo Pavi, Pueblo del Arroyo, and others this summer. To prepare for this important work, the CCC has approved $1,200 towards a training program that will prepare four employees to repair the trails that have deteriorated over time.

By investing in training key park staff, the CCC, NPS, and YOU can ensure the legacy of trails maintenance over time. 

The Board of Directors has approved funding for these important projects to go ahead in 2024, but there are still $89,000 worth of unfunded projects. As the year progresses, the CCC hopes to support more of these projects, but we can’t do it without your help! Projects that support trail improvements, preservation, and access are all waiting for their funding. 

Whether you love your hiking experiences in the parks, are passionate about preserving the ancient and historical structures at Chaco and Aztec, or want to ensure that the park remains accessible for present and future generations, your contributions can make these projects a reality!

If you are interested in speaking with us about funding specific projects that you are passionate about, please reach out to Olivia at director@chacoculture.org

Financial Updates

The CCC is excited that with the hard work of our new executive director has come an increase in donations in our first quarter! We have managed to see a 96% increase in donations via our website and from the visitor donation boxes at both parks. Contributions totaled $3,824.11 up from $1,572.16 in 2023. Currently, the Chaco Culture Conservancy retains $56,592.40 in our discretionary fund.

Our financial plan is focused on creating a fund for our own organizational overhead, followed by an emergency fund for the parks, and finally, growing the pot of money which funds park projects from year to year. We strongly believe that in order to sustain our growth, we must ensure financial security for the Chaco Culture Conservancy. 

As an organization, we continue to take on more overhead that allows us to operate. In the past, we have found financial support from donors and grant money to cover our low overhead costs. Although we continue to work to secure more grants that will keep us afloat, your support will be integral to our continued success in 2025 and beyond. Not only will your 2024 contributions support our organization, but they will ensure that we are able to continue our support of Chaco Culture National Historical Park and Aztec Ruins National Monument. 

Growth of non-profit organizations can be slow, but our ultimate goal is to ensure that funding park projects remains a priority of the Chaco Culture Conservancy. With the donor support that we’ve already received this year, we believe that we are on the right track to make that happen!

What We’ve Done so Far

So far, 2024 has been a busy year for the CCC. While we’ve been working on some organizational changes and updates, we’ve also been focused on planning! In fact, we have kicked off a new webinar series, have run a fundraiser for NPS week, and have released tickets for our first tour of 2024. Throughout the year, you’ll also find us in the parks and around Albuquerque. If you happen to see our table we encourage you to stop by and say hi! 

Be sure to check out our new YouTube channel, where we upload all of our recorded webinars. www.youtube.com/@ChacoCultureConservancy

Have you missed out on these ways to stay engaged with the CCC? Be sure to follow us on social media for regular updates, and sign up for our newsletter to get email blasts with event information.

As always, we want to end this post by thanking all of you! Thank you for your generous and continued support of this organization, and for being a part of our community. Your commitment to our mission and to the protection of these sacred places is endlessly inspiring to our team.

We hope that as we enter into the summer months, you have many amazing adventures in our National Parks! 

Please Make a Contribution to the Chaco Culture Conservancy Today