Hovenweep National Monument

"100 years of park, thousands more of culture"

In 2023, Hovenweep National Monument celebrates 100 years of national monument status. A lot has happened in the last 100 years, especially at the monument. We added more sites, built a visitor center, welcomed a new neighbor in Canyons of the Ancients National Monument, became an International Dark Sky Park, and thoroughly enjoyed having paved roads to town (at least, the rangers have).

We also acknowledge that Hovenweep has been a special place for a lot longer than 100 years. The first people to explore this canyon were Paleoindians thousands of years ago. Ancestral Puebloans built the structures here 800 years ago. We hope to not only celebrate the monument’s centennial, but the thousands of years of Hovenweep’s cultural significance and history. Please join us in celebrating and commemorating this special place in 2023 and beyond!

March 2nd is Hovenweep's official birthday! Follow this link for Hovenweep Centennial events.

Hovenweep Centennial Sticker Set

Limited Edition Hovenweep Centennial Mug

Hovenweep Centennial Pin

CNHA Discovery Pool Grants Awarded for 2023

The CNHA board of trustees met on January 25 to review presentations for proposals from the BLM and Forest Service for Discovery Pool Grants for 2023. At the annual board meeting the following day, the board voted to fund 5 projects totaling $94,618 in grants. Here is a recap of the projects and grants that were awarded.

Reseacher: Joel Berger, Agency Affiliation: BLM

Amount of the Request: $18,349

Proposal: Impacts of Increasing Noise on Desert Bighorn Sheep

Research Question: What, if any, impacts do increasingly noisy recreation environments have on late-phase pregnant bighorn sheep, a culturally and ecologically important icon of southern Utah's canyon and desert landscapes?

Researcher: Rebecca Finger-Higgens, Agency Affiliation: USFS

Amount of Request: $25,000

Proposal: Pack Creek Fire Restoration in the Pinyon-Juniper Forest

Research Question: Do pre-fire forest thinning programs and post-fire seeding and erosion control construction expedite pinyon-juniper forest recovery following the Pack Creek fire?

Researcher: Mallory Sandoval Lambert, Agency Affiliation: USFS

Amount of the Request: $21,280

Proposal: Ecological Interactions between American pikas and mountain goats in the La Sal Mountains

Research Question: Do ecological interactions exist between American pikas and mountain goats in the La Sal mountains?

Researcher: Joel L. Pederson, Agency Affiliation: BLM

Amount of the Request: $5,000

Proposal: Tracking the timing and dynamics of Colorado River canyon incision through study of river terraces at Dewey, UT

Research Question: What is the history of Colorado River canyon cutting?

Researcher: Larissa Yocom, Agency Affiliation: BLM

Amount of the Request: $24,989

Proposal: Assessing the health and vulnerability of scattered old-growth ponderosa pine in southern Utah

Research Question: What factors are leading to the decline of old-growth ponderosa pine in southern Utah, and what management activities benefit these trees?

Joel Berger's Discovery Pool project on how exposure to increasing noise associated with a wide variety of activities affects desert

bighorn sheep in Canyonlands National Park and the San Rafael Swell.

Forest Service Discovery Pool project by Rebecca Finger-Higgens will revisit experimental restoration plots established in the fall of 2022 in the pinyon-juniper forest of the Pack Creek Fire scar in the La Sal Mountains.

Join CNHA at the Discovery Pool Level

Timed Entry at Arches Returns April 1

From April 1 to October 31, 2023, visitors will need to secure a timed entry reservation in advance to enter the park between 7 a.m. and 4 p.m. Visitors can book reservations on a first come first-served basis on Recreation.gov beginning at 8 a.m. MST on January 10, 2023. Reservations will be released three months in advance in monthly blocks. For example, on January 10, reservations will open for April 1 through April 30. On February 1, reservations will open for the month of May and any remaining reservations that have not been booked for April. Additional months will continue the same pattern according to the following schedule:

Read the entire press release about the 2023 Timed Entry program here .

• April reservations

(April 1–30) open January 10.

• May reservations

(May 1–31) open February 1.

• June reservations

(June 1–30) open March 1.

• July reservations

(July 1–31) open April 1.

• August reservations

(August 1–31) open May 1.

• September reservations

(September 1–30) open June 1.

• October reservations

(October 1–31) open July 1.

Science on Tap - Last Chance of the Season

Missing Science on Tap? Join us Wednesday, February 8th at Woody's Tavern for a talk from Riley Finnigan about the wiggly jiggly dance moves of arches. Doors open at 5:30 and the bar fills up quickly, so don't miss out!!

Sponsored by Canyonlands Natural History Association

Great Snowpack in the La Sal Mountains

The Manti-La Sal National Forest has been digging, shoveling and plowing out from under what has become record setting snowfalls for several months. But why here and why now? Well, we can thank the shift in our jet stream that has been pushing storms our way instead of moving them further north or east like previous years. These storms have contained lots of moisture that we are seeing as snow!

Statewide, Utah’s snow water equivalent (SWE) is 195% of normal. The only years that have had more snow on this date since the SNOTEL network was installed were

1984, 1997, and 2005. We're in good company! That makes this the best winter

(so far) that we've seen in almost 20 years!

BLM proposes rule to limit roped and aerial recreation to protect wildlife in Mineral and Hell Roaring canyons

MOAB, Utah — The Bureau of Land Management proposes a rule to protect vital wildlife habitat from increasing encroachment of recreational uses by limiting roped and aerial activities, such as ziplining, slacklining, climbing, rappelling, rope swinging, BASE jumping, parachuting and skydiving in Mineral and Hell Roaring canyons located approximately 30 to 43 miles west of Moab. The proposed rule will be open for public comment until March 31.

“There are many great opportunities for this type of recreation in the Moab area,” said Acting Moab Field Manager David Pals. “This proposed rule would protect a small portion of the public lands managed by the field office and leave 1.8 million acres open and available for roped and aerial recreation, including the popular Mineral Bottom BASE Jumping Focus Area, Mineral Bottom Airstrip, Corner Tower, and the Fruit Bowl Highlining Area.”

The remote Mineral and Hell Roaring canyons are accessible mostly by dirt roads. The proposed supplementary rule would apply to 10,044 acres—less than one percent of the BLM-managed public lands within the jurisdiction of the Moab Field Office. Wildlife species, including raptors and desert bighorn sheep, depend on areas with limited human presence to have the best chance of survival and to successfully reproduce.

The Federal Register notice also announces the designation of a portion of the Mineral and Hell Roaring canyons as the Moab Canyons Special Wildlife Area. This new special wildlife area provides important habitat for wildlife, including the Mexican spotted owl, golden eagles, other raptors, and Utah’s only endemic herd of desert bighorn sheep.

Written comments will be accepted through email, mail, or by hand-delivery until March 31. Please note that the most useful comments are specific and contain new technical or scientific information relevant to the proposed action. Comments that contain only opinions or preferences will not receive a formal response but may be considered in the BLM decision-making process. Please reference “Mineral and Hell Roaring Canyons Supplementary Rule” when submitting comments. Email: kstevens@blm.gov

Federal Register announcement Full Press Release

Please be advised that construction of an auxiliary parking lot will begin at Fisher Towers on Monday February 6, 2023. Once completed, this project will provide an additional 30 parking spaces and include a new connector trail to the main Fisher Towers National Recreation Trail. On Tuesday February 21, 2023, trucks will begin hauling gravel. There should not be any reduction in the available parking or delays. Trucks, equipment and crews will be on site and in the area for approximately four weeks. The BLM anticipates completing the project by March 3, 2023. Thank you for your patience.

More Hovenweep Product at cnha.org

Hovenweep Centennial Patch

Hovenweep Centennial T-shirt

100 Years of Park, thousands more of culture

Towers of Hovenweep

Explores the story of community and change at Hovenweep National Monument

Hovenweep National Monument

﻿"100 years of park, thousands more of culture"

Timed Entry at Arches Returns April 1

Great Snowpack in the La Sal Mountains

"100 years of park, thousands more of culture"