Friends of Bandelier

For 2023, the Friends of Bandelier have approved funding for the following projects:

• Internship in the Fire Ecology Program to participate in long-term data collection related to wildfire and wildfire recovery at bandelier and other regional park

• providing stipends for campground hosts as the campgrounds at bandelier go to a reservation system

• Cultural demonstrations at the visitor center on summer weekends

• staffing a bird banding leader for the on-going bird banding project at bandelieR

• providing flags and special gifts for new citizens at a september 2023 naturalization ceremony at bandelier

  Here's a sampling of the past and ongoing projects we have helped with over the past few years.

supporting the naturalization ceremony held at bandelier each september

funding a lead bird banding intern for the long-term data collection for bird banding at the park

interpretive signs for the ccc statue near the amphitheater

The Friends provided funding for the design and fabrication of two interpretive signs explaining the significance of the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) to Bandelier National Monument.

FIREWOOD FOR THE CAMPGROUNDS

Campers at Juniper and Ponderosa campgrounds, like all campers, love to spend the evening in front of a warming campfire. The question is, where to find wood for the fire? As damage to the campground’s juniper and piñon trees became severe, the park instituted a rule prohibiting cutting live trees and removing dead and down wood. Because there is no concessionaire to sell wood in the park, staff approached the Friends to see if they would be willing to supply firewood at the campground as a resource protection measure. The firewood is available to campers who are asked to donate $1 per stick of wood to the Friends. With this honor system, the Friends barely break even, but the protection the woodpile provides for the vegetation surrounding the campground is invaluable.

fire ecology intern funding

For the past several years, and again in 2023, the Friends have funded a position for a Fire Ecology intern with Bandelier’s Pueblo and Four Winds Parks Fire Ecology Program. The Fire Ecology Interns has a busy summer. They collected data related to trees, shrubs, herbaceous vegetation, and surface fuels on 12 plots in Bandelier National Monument; 12 plots at El Malpais National Monument; 10 plots at El Morro National Monument; 10 plots at Valles Caldera National Preserve, and 43 plots on US Forest Service lands, for a grand total of 87 plots. The data will be entered and validated by February of 2023 and will be used to assess the effects of thinning and prescribed fire on forest structure and composition and to determine if treatment objectives are met. They collected photographic data (repeat photography) as part of a long-term photographic monitoring project in the Las Conchas Fire footprint. Four photos were taken at 7 sites in and near Bandelier National Monument. The photos provide information on vegetation and ecosystem recovery in particular locations after the Las Conchas Fire of 2011. Of special interest to the Friends, the crew revisited Fire Ecology plots in Bandelier National Monument’s Project Area 14 to collect survival data on seedling trees that were planted in 2020. This multi-agency reforestation project involved planting over 500 seedlings in both high- and low-density intervals within a high severity burn area. Data collected include seedling survival, height, and the presence or absence of cover objects. The data will be analyzed and used to help understand factors affecting seedling survival and to guide future planting projects. Interns also assisted with beaver re-introductions, invasive species monitoring and control, bird banding, pika surveys, and wildlife monitoring with wildlife cameras. They worked not only at Bandelier, but also at the Valles Caldera, El Malpais, Petroglyph, Salinas Pueblo Missions, and El Morro national monuments, and Petrified Forest National Park. –from Trader, Laura L., 2022. Fire Ecology and Beyond: 2022 Activities, Collaborations, Projects, and Training. Fire Ecology Program Newsletter. National Park Service. Los Alamos, New Mexico.

horno at the visitor center

For many years, an horno near the Visitor Center has been used for cultural demonstrations. Since 2011, the horno has been located outside the flood wall constructed to protect the Visitor Center from post-fire floods. With the help of a generous donation from one of our members, the Friends provided funds to dismantle the horno and rebuild it inside the flood wall at a more permanent location.

dorothy hoard wilderness ranger

As a memorial for founder Dorothy Hoard, since 2015, the Friends of Bandelier have sponsored the Wilderness Ranger at Bandelier. The Wilderness Ranger performs a variety of duties including backcountry trail patrols and trail condition reports, programs to get visitors into the backcountry of the park, particularly visitors who might not otherwise venture outside of Frijoles Canyon, and guided hikes to backcountry locations at the park.

dorothy hoard stewardship award

The Dorothy Hoard Stewardship Award is an annual recognition given to someone who has contributed to the health and well-being of the landscape and environment of Bandelier or the surrounding area. For more information, follow the link in the top menu.

bandelier preservation corps

One of our favorite projects at Bandelier National Monument connects young people with their heritage and the National Park Service. What a great combination!

In previous summers, more than 10 Pueblo youth participated in the Bandelier Conservation Corps Preservation Program. These young men and women from nearby Pueblos spent their summer working with park preservation staff to accomplish the annual stabilization task list on cultural sites at the Monument.