The Bandelier Youth Preservation Program worked on preserving the walls at Tyounyi Pueblo in the summer of 2015. Courtesy/BNM
BANDELIER News:
Bandelier National Monument shares an important birthday with the National Park Service this year – both are turning 100.
The 100th anniversary of the establishment of Bandelier takesplace Feb. 11 this year. In honor of the milestone, and with a vision to “Shape the Next 100 Years,” the Friends of Bandelier will kick off its most ambitious fundraising drive to date, with a goal of raising $100,000. This will allow the organization to continue supporting important programs that help shape the Bandelier experience for visitors and residents alike.
Bandelier will celebrate its birthday and kick off a year of special events with a Design Your Own Cupcake event at 3 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 11 at Smith’s Marketplace in Los Alamos. Rangers will attend the celebration to speak with the public and disseminate information about special events happening throughout the year.
The Friends of Bandelier, a non-profit organization comprised of a group of private citizens who love the park and have dedicated themselves to enhancing the experience there, will attend the celebration to kick off the organization’s largest fundraising drive to date.
Friends of Bandelier was founded in 1987 by the late Dorothy Hoard to help Bandelier with projects and programs that couldn’t be funded with a limited budget from the National Park Service. Hoard was fresh off a successful initiative to have the Bandelier backcountry declared as a wilderness area, and she wanted people to be able to experience it. Her vision was that visitors to Bandelier would be able to enjoy all of the park, not just the Visitor Center and its immediate surroundings. Since its inception nearly 30 years ago, Friends of Bandelier has assisted with archeological surveys, natural resource rehabilitation projects, book publishing, youth programs, backcountry hikes, and much more.
“My vision, and I think I share this with Dorothy, is to get youth involved in preserving our natural resources and their ancestral pueblo heritage,” said Craig Martin, president of the Board of Friends of Bandelier. “The funding drive will raise money to, among other things, perpetuate two existing programs that Bandelier has ongoing: the Bandelier Conservation Corps trail crew, and the Bandelier Conservation Corps youth preservation program.”
The Bandelier Conservation Corps trail crew brings youth from all over New Mexico together, gives them the skills they need to build and maintain trails, and helps them develop themselves and explore future careers. One member from last year’s trail crew has since qualified and been employed by the Park Service.
The youth preservation program takes pueblo youth, puts them under the mentorship of park preservation specialists on staff, and then gives them the opportunity to do the work to preserve the cultural resources of Bandelier.
“What they are really doing is connecting with their ancestors and their past, and giving visitors an authentic perspective on what the park is about,” Martin said.
Participants in the trail crew range in age from 16 to 24, while for the youth preservation project they are 18 and up. A total of 20-25 youth come from around northern New Mexico to participate in these programs each summer.
Last year the Friends of Bandelier implemented a new program in memory of Hoard – backcountry ranger-led hikes.
“The idea is to take people who might not otherwise feel comfortable leaving the main trails in the park, and getting them deeper into the backcountry to experience things the typical visitor doesn’t get to see,” Martin explained. “Dorothy really wanted people to get into the backcountry, and funding the backcountry ranger allows us to carry out her vision.”
The areas explored include Burnt Mesa Pueblo and Tsankawi North Mesa Complex, among others. This summer, Friends of Bandelier plans to offer wilderness hikes every weekend June to September. The hikes will be open to the public at no additional charge other than the entrance fee to the monument.
Friends of Bandelier is a non-profit organization funded entirely through memberships, donations and grants. Memberships cost only $25 per family. Additional donations are welcome, will help the Friends of Bandelier reach its goal of raising $100,000, and will allow it to continue offering these important programs. Friends of Bandelier will offer special incentives for donations over a certain amount, including exclusive behind-the-scenes tours of Bandelier, special guided backcountry hikes, private bird banding sessions, and even the opportunity to spend the night in an historic cabin within the park.
More about the funding drive is coming soon on the Friends of Bandelier website. In the meantime, those wishing to become a member and/or make a donation may mail their checks to P.O. Box 1282, Los Alamos, NM 87544. Donors are welcomed to specify which program(s) they wish for their contribution to fund.
To learn more about the Friends of Bandelier, visit www.friendsofbandelier.org or contact Craig Martin at bikeandhikenm@gmail.com.