Colorado: Chimney Rock gets monument status

Posted on September 20, 2012 by Bob Berwyn

Chimney Rock, in southwest Colorado.

President Obama will designate SW Colorado cultural site under the Antiquities Act

By Summit Voice

SUMMIT COUNTY — One of the most significant cultural sites in Colorado will get a boost this week, when President Obama officially designates Chimney Rock National Monument as part of the Americas Great Outdoors Initiative. The designation provides permanent protection to the 4,700-acre Chimney Rock Archaeological Area in the San Juan National Forest.

“Chimney Rock is almost certainly the most significant cultural site managed by the U.S. Forest Service,” said Richard Moe, who launched the push for monument designation six years ago. “The national monument designation will bring deserved national recognition to a place of significant archaeological and cultural importance to our country.”

This national treasure, and our country’s newest national monument, represents one of the farthest outposts of the Chacoan culture. Home to more than 200 homes and ceremonial buildings built more than 1,000 years ago, the area is of great spiritual importance to the Pueblo tribes of the Southwest.

“The story of my tribe, the Pueblo of Acoma, and our history is intimately connected to Chimney Rock. This place is still sacred to my people, and we are glad to see it will now be protected for our children and grandchildren,” said Chandler Sanchez, chairman of the All Indian Pueblo Council and former Governor for the Pueblo of Acoma.  “As a national monument, the ancestral homes of my people will continue to provide inspiration to the thousands of people who visit this site.” (more…)

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President Obama urged to use Antiquities Act to designate SW Colorado’s Chimney Rock as national monument

Posted on July 12, 2012 by Bob Berwyn

Chimney Rock, Colorado.

New study shows designation could significant economic benefits for the region

By Summit Voice

SUMMIT COUNTY — Despite early bipartisan support, a bill to designate southwest Colorado’s Chimney Rock as a national monument appears to be stuck in pre-election political gridlock.

Chimney Rock, between Pagosa Springs and Durango, likely was an important settlement and spiritual site in the Chacoan culture.

With local community support for the designation, as well a new report showing the economic benefits of the designation, Democratic Colorado senators Michael Bennet and Mark Udall, along with Republican Representative Scott Tipton, are asking President Obama to make the designation under the Antiquities Act. (more…)

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Colorado: Chimney Rock close to national monument status

Posted on May 17, 2012 by Bob Berwyn

Chimney Rock, near Pagosa Springs, Colorado.

House passes bill to establish southern Colorado landmark with bipartisan support

By Summit Voice

SUMMIT COUNTY —Chimney Rock, a southwest Colorado landmark that once marked the ultimate outlier of the ancient Chaco culture, is one big step closer to gaining national monument status.

The U.S. House this week passed the Chimney Rock National Monument Establishment Act with support from both sides of the aisle. The bill was introduced by Republican Congressman Scott Tipton, with a companion measure pending in the Senate, cosponsored by Sens. Michael Bennet and Mark Udall.

“Today’s bipartisan House vote is an important step toward designating Chimney Rock as a national monument, and I applaud Congressman Tipton for his leadership,” Bennet said. (more…)

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Colorado: Sen. Bennet seeks protection for Chimney Rock

Posted on March 16, 2011 by Bob Berwyn

Chimney Rock, a significant Chaco cultural site in southwestern Colorado, needs some TLC.

Colorado lawmaker reintroduces measure to designate the site as a national monument

By Bob Berwyn

SUMMIT COUNTY — It was the ultimate outlier of Chacoan culture, a place where every 18 years, priests gathered to watch the moon rise between two pillars of rock. About 1,000 years ago, ancestral Native Americans built more than 200 homes and ceremonial structures on the high mesa west of present-day Pagosa Springs, more than 1,000 feet above arable land and water sources. Then, suddenly, in 1125 A.D. they abandoned the Chimney Rock settlement, perhaps subject to a mega-drought, or invasions by other tribes.

The placement of the ceremonial buildings at the site suggests that the builders had at least a basic understanding of astronomy on par with the historic Maya and Toltec cultures of Central America. Similarly, a complex “sun dagger” configuration at Chaco Canyon also shows that the Chacoan people were tracking an 18.6 year lunar cycle that sees the point of moonrise shift northward and southward along the horizon. (more…)

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National Monument status for Chimney Rock?

Posted on May 17, 2010 by Bob Berwyn
Chimney Rock in Southwest Colorado between Durango and Pagosa Springs

The Chimney Rock archaeological area, near Pagosa Springs, may get National Monument status to help with preservation. Photo by Matt Inden/Weaver Multimedia Group and the Colorado Tourism Office.

Chacoan culture site near Durango listed as one of Colorado’s most endangered historical places; U.S. Sen. Bennet to testify on the national monument proposal


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By Bob Berwyn

SUMMIT COUNTY — It was the ultimate outlier of Chacoan culture, a place where every 18 years, priests gathered to watch the moon rise between two pillars of rock. About 1,000 years ago, ancestral Native Americans built more than 200 homes and ceremonial structures on the high mesa west of present-day Pagosa Springs, more than 1,000 feet above arable land and water sources. Then, suddenly, in 1125 A.D. they abandoned the Chimney Rock settlement, perhaps subject to a mega-drought, or invasions by other tribes. (more…)

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