CERRILLOS HILLS HISTORIC PARK

A wonderful group of students from the Turquoise Trail Elementary School participated in a field trip to the Cerrillos Hills Historic Park on October 19th, 2000. This is the first school group ever to visit the park. Talk about energy, enthusiasm and curiosity! There is no doubt the most important ongoing use of the Park will be for the educational benefit of our young.

Thanks go to Lynn Grimes and the whole Turquoise Trail crew, and to Bev Fung and Alan Ragins for making it a great day. And thanks to Bev, who made sure everyone took home their very own aloe vera plant.

November 5th, 2000, was "base-line data accumulation day" for the Springs Remediation Project. Despite threatening weather, a dozen experts in flora, fauna, geology, and ecology, and some Coalition volunteers devoted a half day to quantifying and detailing the microenvironment of the spring. With the guidance of Jan-Wilem Jansens and COMMON GROUND, we expect over the next several years to return the spring and the surrounding area, which is presently severely impacted by alien species, overgrazing, and other misuse, to a lush (or at least prosperous) oasis of local plants and animals. For the detailed report on the springs go here.

April 13, 2001, The San José/ Saint Joseph's Church of Cerrillos GOOD FRIDAY PILGRIMAGE. The first Good Friday of the new millennium marks the return of the traditional Good Friday Pilgrimage to its original route, along the old camino alto through the Cerrillos Hills. In past years the parishioners had braved the Turquoise Trail highway, but the increased traffic had made that route more hazardous for pilgrims and drivers alike. Now, with the approval of Fr. Donnen and the Church Council, with the cooperation of local land owners, and with the good wishes of the Cerrillos Hills Park Coalition, 39 souls made this Good Friday trek.

Special thanks go to Sister Conchita, Council President Rusty Rodke, and Dr. Bill Kuchar, but most of all thank you Father Donnen!

June 26 & 27, 2001, nine young members of the YOUTH EARTH SERVICES CORPS, an activity of the Los Alamos YMCA, had a great time helping with erosion control and seeding in the Cerrillos Hills spring restoration area. The straw bales were set, the stone checkdams put in place, and straw and tree limbs covered the seed of native grasses. The timing was perfect. Tuesday's work was cut short by a downpour, and on Wednesday we had lots of moist soil.

Coalition on-site liasons Jamie Brytowski, Paul Cusumano, and Bill Baxter wish to thank YESC leader Roen Eddy and all her remarkable crew: Selina Vigil, Kyle Uhlenbrock, Bryson Sewell, Sean Roth, Erin Kupay, Stephanie Hughes, Abbey Hickman, Tim Fitzgibbon, and Jacob Deaven -- all of whom knew the difference between a Pulaski and a McLeod, and knew how to use them! You guys can come back and play in our dirt any time you want.

September 29, 2001, NATIONAL PUBLIC LANDS DAY. The Cerrillos Hills Park Coalition provided information on the Park for the participants in this year's New Mexico National Public Lands Day celebration at Cochiti Lake. NPLD is sponsored by the U.S. Forest Service, the National Park Service, the Bureau of Land Management, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, and other national agencies. The activities this Saturday included morning clean-up projects for Cochiti Lake, the La Cieneguilla Petroglyphs, and Kasha Katuwe (Tent Rocks). This was followed at the Lake by free lunch, live New Mexico music, and a few commendably short speeches. (The 4th picture is the food service.)

It was beautiful day, and the people were enthusiastic, curious and friendly, and it was important that we were there. NPLD participants are local, outdoors people; we expect them to be among the most frequent visitors to the CHHP.

March 29, 2002, The San José/Saint Joseph's Church of Cerrillos GOOD FRIDAY PILGRIMAGE. For the second year in a row, the traditional Saint Joseph's Church Good Friday Pilgrimage took place on its original route, along the old camino alto through the Cerrillos Hills. This year, because we had the use of a wagon, Fr. Donnen was part of this holy procession.

Once again special thanks go to Sister Conchita, Council President Rusty Rodke, and Dr. Bill Kuchar, but the real blessing of this year's pilgrimage was the presence of Father Donnen.

May 17, 2002 was the last of several FRIDAYS IN THE PARK for this school year for teacher Jody Drew and the students of the Santa Fe Academy of Technology and Classics (see working on the kiosk). The excursion into the surprising "jungle" at the bottom of the restoration spring arroyo was led by E.J., the CHPC Education & Outreach chair. Despite the severe drought New Mexico is experiencing at this time, the restoration project is in good shape -- wet and lush. One reason for this abundance is that our electrified fence has kept the large herbivores (cattle) from the spring, allowing the plants to build new soil, retain more and cleaner water, and create lots of new habitat for all sorts of tiny little critters. There is a good lesson in all of this.