It’s been another challenging, interesting, and mostly wonderful year in 2022. It has gone by so quickly and when you look back, all the little problems fade away, and it’s time to celebrate the successes.

We have been supporting our NPS partners as they’ve made their way through this first year of “timed entry” at Arches National Park. We are all striving for an excellent national park experience for every visitor. 

We supported bat, raptor and Bighorn sheep monitoring, vegetation restoration, a successful outdoor education program, emergency services training, naturalists and volunteers to meet and greet our visitors, and strategies to protect ancient rock drawings.

With our US Forest Service partners, we revamped the most popular trailhead in the La Sal mountains with extended parking, new sanitation facilities, and better interpretive signage and messaging so our visitors can recreate safely and our natural resources are protected for the enjoyment of future visitors. 

At the BLM of southeast Utah we funded the design and fabrication of interpretive panels in high use areas along our scenic highways, and provided a Student Conservation Association intern at the popular, but remote, Westwater Ranger Station. We have the privilege of working in a beautiful area with many outdoor recreation opportunities. We appreciate the beauty and strive to share it and yet preserve it.

If you are planning a visit in 2023 – Welcome! We hope our efforts, with your support, provide an exceptional experience. Say hello to our staff in the visitor centers if you get the chance.

We wish all the best to you and your families in 2023. Here’s looking forward to a brand new year.

Roxanne Bierman, Executive Director CNHA

The change that you donate in our stores goes a long way. All those pennies, nickels, dimes and quarters help our partners immensely. With your generous cash register round up donations, CNHA will be funding the following programs for 2023:

o  Outdoor education offering field trips and classroom presentations for hundreds of students.

o  Monitoring wildlife populations, weather analysis, and water quality.

o  Bicycle Patrol Program in the parks.

o  A 360 camera to enable archaeologists to acquire high quality imagery on the interiors of fragile architectural features.

o  Active monitoring of bat populations and screening for White-nose Syndrome which has devastating effects on bats.

o  A high volume particle sampler to monitor air quality in the parks.

o  Boot Brush Stations to curb invasive species spread.

o  Poop with a Plan: Local artists’ production of posters to post at vault toilets with info on proper disposal of human waste.

o  Drawing, design and production of signage regarding the “leave no trace” principle for use on the White Rim.

In 2022 the CNHA Discovery Pool supported the following four projects:

The ecological interactions between pikas and mountain goats, and the management options for both, in the context of conserving the biodiversity of alpine habitats of the Colorado Plateau.  One of the alpine obligate species that occurs on the high peaks of the La Sals is the American pika, a charismatic small mammal related to rabbits. Due to the potential adverse effects of climate change on its limited range, the species has been added to the Species of Conservation Concern list for the Manti-La Sal National Forest. This project will provide data beneficial to planning and management of pikas and mountain goats.

What will new, well-preserved specimens of small vertebrates (e.g., dinosaurs, squamates, mammals) tell us about terrestrial ecosystem evolution at the end of the Jurassic in western North America? This project will assist BLM in meeting the goals of the Paleontology Resources Preservation Act of 2009 to manage and protect paleontological resources on Federal land using scientific principles and expertise.   

Investigating the origins and development of the Ancestral Puebloan Community in Allen and Chippean Canyons, within Bears Ears National Monument.  Grant funding furthers the knowledge of this Ancestral Puebloan Basketmaker III-Pueblo I community in Allen and Chippean Canyon area and provides significant information about this poorly understood and complex period in Southeast Utah archaeology. 

The impact of introduced mountain goats on alpine pollinator and ground-dwelling arthropod community structure via their effects on alpine plant communities.  In response to the effects of climate change and other potentially adverse influences, there is major interest in pollinator species nationally from the USDA Forest Service and also from the local public. This Discovery Pool research project provides important work to understand this vital but understudied component of the alpine ecosystem. 

We have ten great applications for Discovery Pool projects in 2023. Our Board of Trustees will be making the decision on which of these projects to fund by the end of January. Since it's inception in 2007, the CNHA Discovery Pool has donated $696,632 in grants to support scientific research.

Wednesday, January 18th: Drylands with Brook Osborne:

The Sneaky Powerhouse of the Global Carbon Cycle,

Sponsored by Canyonlands Natural History Association

Science Moab’s mission is to make place-based science accessible to all. They envision communities across the Colorado Plateau thriving from a deeper engagement with science and place-based knowledge. Science Moab is able to achieve this goal through various programs offered to the greater Moab community.

These creative initiatives include but are not limited to the following.

• Indigenous Science
• School to Science
• Science Certified training for guides
• Science Moab Radio Show
• Science Moab Live Events

To learn more about Science Moab, check out their website. CNHA and Science Moab look forward to more collaborative projects in the future.

Reservations for April 1 through October 31, 2023 will be available online starting January 10.

Based on feedback received from the public, stakeholders, and local community members, visitors to Arches in 2023 will have additional flexibilities to enter the park, including the ability to purchase entrance fees or annual passes in advance and to access the park without a reservation during extended hours.

 “During the 2022 pilot at Arches, timed entry tickets helped pace visitation into the park, lessen congestion, and enhance visitor experiences. This year, Arches will use another timed entry pilot to test operational improvements, which should provide more opportunities for access while protecting Arches’ extraordinary landscape,” said Arches National Park Superintendent Patricia Trap.

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:

• 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.

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

2023 Canyon Country

Wall Calendar

Landscape Arch 2022 Limited Edition Mug

2023 Desk Calendar