Mesa Verde National Park Conservation Efforts Aided by Generous Save America’s Treasures Grant
Mesa Verde National Park
Cortez, Colorado
Year of Award: 1999
Federal Amount: $1,437,672
Matching Amount: $1,437,672
President Theodore Roosevelt established Mesa Verde National Park in Cortez, Colorado on June 29, 1906. The 52,000 acre park preserves more than 4,500 archaeological sites and 600 cliff dwellings. The site represents the culture of the Northern San Juan Ancestral Pueblo people, also known as the Anasazi.
Between 1150 and 1300 AD, this Pueblo culture created a pre-modern engineering marvel by constructing private and public spaces out of cliffs, caves, and overhangs and by using stone, mud, and adobe plaster as primary building materials. The cliff dwellings are located at an elevation of 8,500 feet and represent the life-style of the Anasazi, who were hunters and farmers and used the nearby mesas to grow crops.
While this uncommon architecture has survived for hundreds of years, exposure to the elements caused serious damage and deterioration to the overall site by the 1990’s. In the mid-1990’s, National Park Service teams joined forces with University of Pennsylvania experts to study the cliff dwellings, define conservation issues, conduct preliminary condition assessments, and development methodologies for the eventual long-term care and treatment of the structures. The team focused special attention on approaches to stabilize, preserve, and/or restore plaster surfaces and interior flaking finishes. Treatment proceeded slowly as funds allowed.
A major 1999 Save America’ s Treasures grant permitted the team to study 100 buildings in depth; to document the original site plan and uses of the structures; and to conserve 30 individual buildings. The grant also provided support for broader engagement with and education about the practice of historic preservation and conservation, leading to key information-sharing relationships between participants at Mesa Verde and sites in Mexico and Belize. Another result of the grant is the development of extensive public programming to provide park visitors with a better understanding of the conservation processes needed for the protection and preservation of this 81.4 square mile site.
Scientists and archaeologists believe that change in the climate, a 24-year-long drought, and increased population caused the Anasazi to leave the area and migrate south to Arizona and New Mexico. Although Native Americans hunted in the Mesa Verde area, the cliff dwellings were never again occupied after the departure of the Anasazi. The site remained obscure until December 18, 1888. Two cowboys, Richard Wetherill and Charlie Mason, Wetherill’s brother-in-law, were searching for stray cattle and discovered the large canyon and cliff dwellings. Over time, the brothers-in-law and scores of tourists made trips to the cliff dwellings. Damage to the structures occurred and thousands of artifacts were removed. Roosevelt’s establishment of Mesa Verde as a National Park in 1906 provided the first protection for this cultural resource.
Mesa Verde National Park, America’s largest architectural and archaeological preserve, was the first site designated by UNESCO as a World Heritage Cultural Site and Biosphere Reserve in 1978. According to the International Programs Policy, “the purpose of the World Heritage Sites Program is to protect natural and man made (sic) sites of unique importance.” The International Programs Policy also states that Biosphere Reserve designation ensures additional protection for a site and “serves as a means of exchanging information and ideas regarding the conservation, sustainable use and management of natural resources in harmony with the needs of local populations.” There are 337 biosphere reserves in 85 countries and 47 U.S. Biosphere Reserve sites. Working together internationally ensures that these important cultural resources are protected world-wide for future generations to study, to appreciate, and to enjoy.
Established in 1999, the Save America’s Treasures program is managed by the National Park Service, with the National Endowment Agencies, to preserve and protect nationally significant properties and collections for future generations of Americans. Stories of saving those treasures will be shared through partnership with the American Architecture Foundation.
Featured photo courtesy of private collection.
