Historic Gateway documentary will debut this spring

Photo: Lee Gelatt (courtesy of the FOND facebook page)

Colorado Canyons Association and the Museum of Western Colorado are excited to announce a new documentary on the northern Dolores River area. Mara Ferris of Gen9 Productions has been hired to direct and shoot the documentary. This is the second documentary produced by CCA, the Museum, and Ferris. In 2010 the documentary Stories From the Land: McInnis Canyons National Conservation Area was commissioned to celebrate the ten year anniversary of the NCA and went on to win the American Association of State and Local History Award of Merit for public history.

The new documentary will focus on the Gateway area and include a vast number of topics including local ranching and mining history, recreation, geology, and public land management issues. Several Gateway residents and land users have already been interviewed and never before published historic images of the Gateway area have been pulled from the Museum’s archives. With as broad and complex of a scope as the project is undertaking, it will still take several months to wrap up interviews and photograph the area. However, a trailer for the documentary has been completed and can be seen here. The complete documentary will premiere next spring. Please check back for screening dates and additional information on the film.

Friends Group of the Year!

In October Colorado Canyons Association was named the Friends Group of the Year by the Conservation Lands Foundation. We received this award at the annual Friends Rendezvous, a gathering of Friends Groups throughout the west that work on our National Conservation Lands. 


This award highlights the important work we've done in 2011 to expand our organization to new user groups, new geographies and new projects in McInnis Canyons, Dominguez-Escalante and Gunnison Gorge National Conservation Areas. At the conference, Joe had a chance to speak up for the important work friends groups do throughout  Conservation Lands on behalf of our organization. Please take a minute to watch the video!

 Become a trail monitor!

(photo: Bobby Evans)

Do you find yourself in McInnis Canyons National Conservation Area more than twice each month? Do you have a favorite trail in the NCA that you visit on a regular basis? Do you need an excuse to get out on the trails more often? Consider becoming a CCA trail monitor and help keep our trails in good condition!

Trail monitors will help CCA and our local BLM office take an inventory of the condition of the trails throughout the NCA so we can keep them in good condition and provide the most up-to-date information to the public. If you are interested in participating in this important program or to learn more about it, please contact Rosa Brey at 970-263-7902 or rosa@canyonsassociation.org.

Stories from the Land earns documentary award!

The Colorado Canyons Association and the Museum of Western Colorado are excited to announce that the documentary project Stories from the Land:  McInnis Canyons National Conservation Area created by local filmmaker Mara Ferris is the recipient of an Award of Merit for Leadership in History from the American Association of State and Local History (AASLH). This year, AASLH conferred fifty-nine national awards honoring people, projects, exhibits, books, and organizations. The winners represent the best in the field and provide leadership for the future of state and local history.