In 2021, the National Park Service contacted us seeking help to acquire 160 acres at Yucca National Monument, a large unexcavated pueblo with a stunning setting in Montezuma Valley, nestled between Mesa Verde and Ute Mountain.
A local landowner wanted to donate the property to the park, and Congress recently passed a law changing the boundary to include the new acreage. However, while accepting the donation of land, NPS discovered that the adjacent landowner’s property boundary was inaccurate. At this point, we stepped in to contract for the survey since it would be less complicated and much faster than if NPS were to do so. In addition, we assisted in preparing a new boundary agreement for both sets of property owners.
With the additional land, the park is one of the largest archeological sites in Colorado. Its pueblo ruin, with about 600 rooms, is where the Ancestral Puebloan people lived from 1150-1300 A.D. A spring, still there today, made the site particularly attractive, supplying water for crops, mixing mud mortar, and drinking.
President Woodrow Wilson named Yucca House a national monument in 1919, with an initial 9.6 acres. In the mid-1990s, Hallie Ismay donated 24 acres of her property, providing limited access to archeological features, a better site map, and documentation of 3 additional sites on her donated land. The newest addition increases access and protects valuable animal habitat near the spring.
Project Details:
Project Years: 2021-2024
Parcel Size: 160 acres
Project Cost: $400,000
Park Trust Role: Buy and hold
Significane of the Aquisition:
- Protects additional natural and archeological resources into permanent protection – added acreage will increase the size of the monument from 33.84 to 193.84 acres.
- Allows NPS and public better access to the site, eliminating the need to cross through private land with owner.
- Removes the possibility of land being developed for agriculture, as is land adjacent to it.
Map of site location:
Map of pueblo structures on site:
