Cultural Site Stewardship Program
The Southwest Colorado Cultural Site Stewardship Program (CSSP) is a
regional organization of volunteers supported by local communities, businesses,
educational institutions, and the tribal and public land agencies of
Southwest Colorado. The San Juan Mountains Association established
the Program in 2000, to meet a specific and urgent need for stewardship
of cultural resources in the region.
Our heritage is at risk. The Four 
Corners area
has an array of historic and prehistoriccultural resources. The
region wasat the heart of the Ancestral Puebloan culture, lay in the
path of adventurers and traders along the Spanish Trail, boasted countless
mining boomtowns during the mineral exploration and settlement of the
West, and has been home to America’s ranching families. Each of
these groups has a history rich in tradition and lore and together they
represent our diverse and colorful heritage.
Today thousands of highly visible yet fragile sites can be found scattered
among the area’s canyons, forests, mountains, and mesa tops. Sadly,
urban and rural development, increased recreational tourism, escalating
site visitation, and a rise in the level of vandalism have put these
irreplaceable treasures at risk.
Cultural resources command attention. Regional
community leaders, cultural resource managers, historians, archaeologists,
and educators agree that the most effective way to stem losses and preserve
our rich cultural heritage is through public education and community
involvement. Toward this goal, the San Juan Mountains Association established
the CSSP with a mission to train volunteers and educate local communities
and individuals about cultural resource protection. Stewards are
pledged to assist in cultural resource conservation, protection, and
education activities and they receive training to monitor their
adopted cultural resources for damage caused by vandals, improper visitation,
and environmental impacts.
Today the Program has about 100 site stewards that have been trained
to monitor over 110 prehistoric and historic archaeological sites in
Southwest Colorado. Since the programs inception stewards have
volunteered over 8,000 hours the preservation of the program resources.
The CSSP currently operates under a grant from the Colorado State Historical
Fund, and funding from the San Juan National Forest, the Bureau of Land
Management, the Canyons of the Ancients National Monument, and private
foundations.
Additional information about the San Juan Mountains Association’s
Cultural Site Stewardship Program is available from:
Ruth Lambert PhD
Cultural Program Director
San Juan Mountains Association
P.O. Box 2261
Durango, CO 81302
970-385-1267
FAX: 970-375-2319
