2025 Touring Season is now open for reservations.
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In 2024, we celebrated 25 years as a non-profit, archaeological organization. Our work continues as we strive to bring protection to Mesa Prieta. |
The Mesa Prieta Petroglyph Project is a project to protect a place.
MPPP is exclusively organized for charitable and educational purposes, including the protection and preservation of archaeological features and the environment and cultural landscape of the Mesa Prieta region of the northern Rio Grande Valley through documentation, education, outreach and promotion of heritage stewardship.
Tours are Open on the Wells Petroglyph Preserve!
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Fall 2026 Mesa Prieta Petroglyph Project Newsletter
HERE
Watch for upcoming
Mesa Talks in 2026
featuring:
Saturday, October 17 @ 2:00
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REGISTER HERE
Historic aspen carvings left by sheepherders, loggers, hunters, passers-by contain an information payload. These dendroglyphs reveal family names, hometowns and when the carver was there, they speak of the carvers’ occupation, religion, ethnicity and sometimes their loneliness and dreams. These are otherwise unreported narratives of early 20th century mountain communities that allow the carvers to speak for themselves.
Dendroglyphs are tree carvings. While some view them as meaningless graffiti, the carvings can be a form of art and can chronicle the lives of those who lived and worked in the mountains of northern New Mexico. This talk will tell the story of dendroglyphs at Valles Caldera National Preserve and what these carvings can teach us about its history.
Born and raised in Salt Lake City, Utah, Adam Dean earned his M.A. and Ph.D in environmental history at the University of Virginia. Prior to joining the National Park Service at Valles Caldera National Preserve in northern New Mexico, he was associate professor of history and department chair at Lynchburg College, a small liberal-arts school in Virginia. Publications include a 2015 book on the establishment of Yosemite and Yellowstone as well as articles on 19th-century American history. He has one forthcoming article in 2026, entitled "'Becoming Part of the Land:' Hemish Indigenous Stewardship in the American Southwest." Adam Dean is currently the park historian at Valles Caldera. With the park service, Dean has created educational programming for a wide range of ages, engaged in cultural resources work, produced public history projects, and engaged in tribal relations.
Randy Pair, the leader of the Dendroglyph Volunteer Recording Team, will be joining Adam for the talk at Los Luceros. MPPP recorders may engage in conversation regarding recording techniques.
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Repeat Performance!
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December 18, 2026
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SIGN UP HERE FOR MORE INFORMATION
WE ARE EXCITED TO ANNOUNCE THAT MESA PRIETA PETROGLYPH PROJECT
CAN NOW ACCEPT DONATIONS OF STOCK AND CRYPTOCURRENCY!
We've partnered with engiven, the #1 donation platform for complex donations to non-profits. Now you can easily donate to Mesa Prieta Petroglyph Project with a gift of stock, or cryptocurrency using Bitcoin, Ethereum, and other cryptocurrencies.
Click the DONATE STOCK button, or DONATE USING CRYPTOCURRENCY button below
to go to the MPPP donation portal at engiven.com.
CAN NOW ACCEPT DONATIONS OF STOCK AND CRYPTOCURRENCY!
We've partnered with engiven, the #1 donation platform for complex donations to non-profits. Now you can easily donate to Mesa Prieta Petroglyph Project with a gift of stock, or cryptocurrency using Bitcoin, Ethereum, and other cryptocurrencies.
Click the DONATE STOCK button, or DONATE USING CRYPTOCURRENCY button below
to go to the MPPP donation portal at engiven.com.
Be part of the legacy - donate now to protect the Mesa!
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