307 West 200 South
Suite 4004
Salt Lake City, UT 84101
AZ, CO, NM, UT
Feel small amidst the towering, red-rocked cliffs of Zion, be amazed at the lip of the gaping Grand Canyon, or contemplate the ingenuity of the ancestral Pueblo people at Chaco Canyon. These experiences are at your fingertips in America’s Southwest, a region of exquisite beauty as well as stark contrast. You can travel from the peaks of the Rocky Mountains to the vast expanse of the Sonoran desert in this region that also memorializes and protects the stories, sacred sites, and unique heritage of Indigenous cultures. Preserving the diverse, culturally-rich, and spectacular parks of Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico, and Utah is the priority of NPCA’s Southwest Regional Office and associated field offices.
The Southwest team works avidly with a varied and complex set of stakeholders to champion the region’s national parks. The area’s booming population poses threats to parks through increased tourism and recreation, heightened development pressure, and expanded energy infrastructure. Addressing oil and gas activities, which impact the air quality, viewsheds and night skies of magnificent parks like Arches and Mesa Verde, is one of the priorities of the Southwest office. Another focus for the team is the protection of sites like Canyonlands from the massive, coal-fired power plants that churn out both power and pollution. The staff of the Southwest raise awareness of the impacts that climate change and extreme drought are having on the Colorado River system and the parks and people that depend on this critical waterway. They also work to rally opposition to two ill-conceived developments near the rim of the Grand Canyon, one of the world’s most iconic parks.
Southwest Regional Office Park News
NPCA’s Southwest Regional Office sends a quarterly email that focuses on the parks and people of this special part of the country. We also highlight some of the very complex…
See more ›In addition to their current work, the Southwest team collaborates with parks and communities on innovative remedies to their traffic congestion issues and fights recent attempts to limit public involvement in park-adjacent oil and gas development. As NPCA celebrates its centennial in 2019, they seek to reinforce community relationships and endeavor to engage a broader base of park supporters.
New Mexico's Rock Imagery
Visit New Mexico's Petroglyph National Monument for a rare opportunity to see centuries-old art emblazoned on the volcanic rocks of this arid landscape. Carved by Native Americans and early Spanish settlers, these enduring images tell a unique story.
Field Offices in the Southwest Region
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Arizona Field Office
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- Address:
- PO Box 36422 Tucson, Arizona 85740
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- Phone:
- 928.920.5429
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Colorado Field Office
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- Address:
- P.O. Box 101705 Denver, CO 80250
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- Phone:
- 303.947.8013
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New Mexico Field Office
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- Address:
- PO Box 655 Mesilla, NM 88046
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- Phone:
- 505.423.3550
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Regional Director’s Office
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- Address:
- PO Box 537, Arroyo Hondo, NM 87513
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- Phone:
- 505.444.0032
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Utah Field Office
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- Address:
- 307 West 200 South Suite 4004 Salt Lake City, UT 84101
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- Phone:
- 801.521.0785
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More about the Southwest region
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Read more about Amache Preserved as Part of the National Park System
Victory Amache Preserved as Part of the National Park System NPCA helped advocate for a national park site preserving the story of Amache, where thousands of people of Japanese descent were unconstitutionally incarcerated.
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Read more about Don't Divide Our Habitats, Ecosystems and Communities
NPCA at Work Don't Divide Our Habitats, Ecosystems and Communities Oppose new walls and fencing along the U.S.-Mexico border.
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Read more about Our Southwestern National Parks Deserve Cleaner Air
NPCA at Work Our Southwestern National Parks Deserve Cleaner Air Clean air is still out of reach for our Southwestern national parks.
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Read more about Navajo Citizens Stop Developers from Building an Egregious Resort and Tramway on the Rim of the Grand Canyon
Victory Navajo Citizens Stop Developers from Building an Egregious Resort and Tramway on the Rim of the Grand Canyon Developers have been attempting for years to build a massive 420-acre resort hotel and aerial tramway right on the rim of the Grand Canyon. In February 2018, Western Navajo citizens unanimously opposed allowing this destructive project on their land, effectively ending the threat to this landmark national park and its deeply significant cultural sites.
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— Kate
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Read more about Don't Drill Near Dinosaur
NPCA at Work Don't Drill Near Dinosaur The Bureau of Land Management is considering offering oil and gas leases within 5 miles of Dinosaur National Monument, but drilling has no place at the doorstep of this Southwestern park and its world-class fossils.
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Read more about Local Stakeholders Give Strong Protections to Arches and Canyonlands National Parks
Victory Local Stakeholders Give Strong Protections to Arches and Canyonlands National Parks Plan finds a unique balance between conservation, recreation, and energy development, and shows just how much Utahans love their national parks.
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Read more about Grand Canyon Protected from Threat of Mega-Development
Victory Grand Canyon Protected from Threat of Mega-Development You helped to stop a massive development proposed just outside the boundary of Grand Canyon National Park that had the Park Service and park supporters worried about negative effects on the park—especially the dozens of fragile creeks, springs, and seeps that rely on underground water sources the development could have legally tapped.
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Read more about Bears Ears Makes History with Release of Proposed Management Plan in Collaboration with Five Tribes
Press Release Bears Ears Makes History with Release of Proposed Management Plan in Collaboration with Five Tribes "This plan marks historic progress, incorporating Tribal collaboration into the care and stewardship of this critical landscape"–Theresa Pierno, NPCA's President and CEO
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Read more about Scary! Tips for Carving Up a National Park-Themed Halloween
Blog Post Scary! Tips for Carving Up a National Park-Themed Halloween Reflect your park-loving personality this Halloween with creative ideas for jack-o’-lanterns, costumes and snacks while learning some cool facts about our parks.
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Read more about EPA Criticizes Utah Plan for Failing to Deliver Emissions Reductions Needed to Protect National Park Air Quality
Press Release EPA Criticizes Utah Plan for Failing to Deliver Emissions Reductions Needed to Protect National Park Air Quality National Parks Conservation Association, Public Weigh in on Proposed Partial Disapproval of Utah Haze Plan for Failing to Limit Pollution
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Read more about An Uncertain Future for Our National Parks?
Blog Post An Uncertain Future for Our National Parks? NPCA and our supporters urge Congress to adequately fund our national parks and continue to address the $23 billion maintenance backlog so parks can thrive for generations to come.
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Read more about Utah’s Mighty Five and Beyond (WAITLIST ONLY)
Land Based Trip Utah’s Mighty Five and Beyond (WAITLIST ONLY) Uncover the rugged beauty and rich Indigenous history of Utah – a vast state with some of the country’s most famous national parks. On this nine-day national parks highlights trip, you’ll experience Utah’s famous “Mighty Five” national parks – Zion, Bryce Canyon, Capitol Reef, Arches and Canyonlands – along with the lesser known but equally stunning Bears Ears National Monument and Glen Canyon National Recreation Area.
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Read more about Strange Bedfellows
Magazine Article Strange Bedfellows Coyotes and badgers don’t seem like obvious BFFs, but sometimes they join forces to hunt. Ongoing research could shed light on this odd and elusive couple.
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Read more about Sunflower Bloom at Great Sand Dunes
Blog Post Sunflower Bloom at Great Sand Dunes Lots of rain earlier this year led to a showy display of prairie sunflowers at Great Sand Dunes National Park and Preserve.
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Read more about 10 Parks Getting a Boost Through the Great American Outdoors Act
Blog Post 10 Parks Getting a Boost Through the Great American Outdoors Act 2020’s historic investment continues to improve our national parks. Read about some of the latest maintenance and repair projects and why NPCA urges Congress to extend the act’s funding to finish the job.
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Read more about 5 Park Landmarks with Curious July 4 Histories
Blog Post 5 Park Landmarks with Curious July 4 Histories What sings ‘America the Beautiful’ more loudly than the natural landscape of our country? Here are five distinctive national park features named for events that took place on this U.S. holiday.
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Read more about Innovative Timed-Entry System Now a Permanent Fixture at Rocky Mountain National Park
Press Release Innovative Timed-Entry System Now a Permanent Fixture at Rocky Mountain National Park “After the park’s visitation increased by nearly 50% over the last decade, innovative and thoughtful action was needed. Park leadership delivered, with a final plan that is adaptive over time, transparent, and built in community, alongside advocates, Estes Park and Grand Lake leaders, and all who care about this national park and Colorado treasure.”—Tracy Coppola, NPCA's Colorado Program Manager
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Read more about Proposed Management Plan for Bears Ears Makes History
Blog Post Proposed Management Plan for Bears Ears Makes History NPCA supports a historic plan for Utah's Bears Ears National Monument that enables collaborative management with Tribes and helps connect national park landscapes. Public support is needed to make it final.
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Read more about The Beauty of Loss
Podcast Episode The Beauty of Loss Pete McBride spent 20 years photographing the Colorado River. His new book showcases the depths of its crisis — and reasons for hope.
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Read more about Arizona Program Manager
Staff Sanober Mirza Sanober joined NPCA in September 2023 as the Arizona Program Manager.
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Read more about The Skeleton Crew
Podcast Episode The Skeleton Crew A new fossil discovery at Glen Canyon could deepen our understanding of ancient mammal-like reptiles that lived among some of the earliest dinosaurs. The scientists share their findings.
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Read more about Major Gifts Officer
Staff Jarrod Fasching Jarrod brings more than a decade of fundraising and philanthropy experience to serve the incredible donors and partners who support NPCA. Having spent years supporting arts education and higher-education institutions, he is thrilled to bring his abilities to advocate for and protect his greatest passion, the national parks and the natural world.
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Read more about Communications Manager
Staff and Media Personnel Caitlyn Burford Caitlyn Burford joined NPCA in 2023 as a communications manager representing the Northwest, Southwest, and Pacific regions, along with NPCA’s work on national energy policy.
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Read more about Planned Giving Officer
Staff Natalie Gupta Before joining NPCA, Natalie spent the majority of her career in client-facing roles, and defines herself as a true "people person."
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Read more about Regional Haze Pollution in EPA Region 9
Resource Regional Haze Pollution in EPA Region 9 Strong state regional haze plans are critical to restoring clean air and clear skies to treasured places like Grand Canyon, Redwood and Yosemite National Parks. Unfortunately, states in EPA’s Region 9 are failing to adequately cut air pollution affecting national parks and wilderness areas. EPA’s Region 9, also known as the Pacific Southwest region, includes California, Hawaii, Arizona, and Nevada.
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Read more about Regional Haze Pollution in EPA Region 8
Resource Regional Haze Pollution in EPA Region 8 Strong state regional haze plans are critical to restoring clean air and clear skies for treasured places like Zion, Rocky Mountain, Theodore Roosevelt and Glacier National Parks. Unfortunately, states in this region are failing to adequately cut air pollution impacting these parks and wilderness areas and communities.
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Read more about Regional Haze Pollution in EPA Region 6
Resource Regional Haze Pollution in EPA Region 6 Strong state regional haze plans are critical to restoring clean air and clear skies for treasured places like Carlsbad Caverns, Guadalupe Mountains and Big Bend National Parks, and Caney Creek Wilderness Area. Unfortunately, states in EPA’s Region 6, also known as the South Central region, are failing to adequately cut air pollution impacting these parks and wilderness areas and our communities.
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Read more about Arches National Park: 2022 Pilot Timed-Entry Visitor Experience Survey Technical Report
Report Arches National Park: 2022 Pilot Timed-Entry Visitor Experience Survey Technical Report This Utah State University report provides the findings of a study of visitor experiences with the pilot timed-entry system implemented in Arches National Park in 2022.
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Read more about New Mexico Program Manager
Staff Maude Dinan Maude is motivated by efforts that foster our alignment with nature, one another, and collective well-being. Always drawn to natural spaces, Maude believes protecting public lands offer scalable practices to address some of our most concerning issues, such as social injustice, mental illness, and climate change.
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Read more about The Little Jewel Box
Podcast Episode The Little Jewel Box Winter can be an ideal time to travel. These 5 stories offer inspiration to put on a coat and explore.
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Read more about Ozone Fact Sheet
Fact Sheet Ozone Fact Sheet Ozone threatens the health of park visitors and contributes to the disease and death of park species such as the black cherry tree in the East and aspen and ponderosa pine in the West. National park ecosystems across the country are already showing damage from ground-level ozone pollution.
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Read more about The Undiscovered Cave
Podcast Episode The Undiscovered Cave Explorers in a remote area of Grand Canyon National Park discovered a cave they believe human beings had never entered before. Inside this maze of limestone passageways, researchers found thousands of fossils that could change our understanding of one of the country’s quirkiest animals — bats!
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Read more about The Healing Ceremony
Podcast Episode The Healing Ceremony For the last four years, Bears Ears National Monument has been at the center of a critical fight over Indigenous land rights. This awe-inspiring, culturally rich site was part of the largest removal of federal public land protections in U.S. history. But now that the monument is restored, could it serve as a model for Tribal collaboration in our parks?
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Read more about Southwest Regional Office Park News
Report Southwest Regional Office Park News NPCA’s Southwest Regional Office sends a quarterly email that focuses on the parks and people of this special part of the country. We also highlight some of the very complex and challenging threats our parks face.
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Read more about Chaco Canyon: A journey through land and time
Video Chaco Canyon: A journey through land and time Explore and learn about Chaco Culture National Historical Park, its uniqueness and formation, and the ways we can work to protect it.
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Read more about Ask Congress to Support the Amache National Historic Site Act (H.R. 2497/S.1284)
Fact Sheet Ask Congress to Support the Amache National Historic Site Act (H.R. 2497/S.1284) Introduced by Congressman Joe Neguse (D-CO) and Ken Buck (R-CO) and Senators Michael Bennet and John Hickenlooper, the bipartisan Amache National Historic Site Act (H.R. 2497/S.1284) would make the Granada Relocation Center, a World War II Japanese incarceration site in Colorado known as “Amache”, a National Park. The legislation has passed in the House and will be up for a vote in the Senate.
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Read more about Park Talks
Regional Events Park Talks Join our NPCA community for virtual "Park Talks" to learn about our work and ways you can get involved.
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Read more about Laws Waived for Border Wall Construction
Resource Laws Waived for Border Wall Construction The Department of Homeland Security is waiving the following laws to build proposed sections of border wall in Arizona and California near national park lands.
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Read more about Senior Director, Energy and Landscape Conservation
Staff Matthew Kirby Matt has spent the last decade running campaigns to protect the public lands he loves. Currently he oversees NPCA's work to protect parks and the landscapes that surround them from energy development.
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Read more about Colorado Senior Program Manager
Staff Tracy Coppola Tracy Coppola is based in Denver and serves as the Colorado Senior Program Manager for the Southwest Regional Office. She is proud to have the opportunity to celebrate her state's incredible parks and advocates.
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Read more about 10 Ways to Be a Park Advocate
Resource 10 Ways to Be a Park Advocate Want to be an advocate for parks, but don't know where to start?
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Read more about Senior Visitation Program Manager
Staff Cassidy Jones Born and raised in Utah, Cassidy comes to NPCA with an inborn interest in parks, public lands, and political-cultural conflict.
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Read more about Protecting Sensitive Resources near Mesa Verde National Park
StoryMap Protecting Sensitive Resources near Mesa Verde National Park NPCA and our partners at FracTracker invite you to explore this interactive map documenting some of the wildlife habitat, scenic views, recreational opportunities, and cultural sites that deserve protection under the Master Leasing Plan.
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Read more about Southwest Regional Director
Staff Ernie Atencio Ernie Atencio fell in love with parks and wild places at a young age and has spent most of his career working in and for those places.
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Read more about Campaign Director, Southwest Region
Staff Erika Pollard Erika is a campaign director in the Southwest region. She focuses primarily on issues concerning the national parks in Utah.
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Read more about Campaign Director, Southwest Region
Staff Cory MacNulty Cory MacNulty’s role as Campaign Director for the Southwest Region of National Parks Conservation Association (NPCA) is to serve as a lead strategist in protecting the scenic views, air and water quality, natural quiet, dark night skies and visitor experiences in the national parks of the Southwest Region with an emphasis on the 13 national parks in Utah.
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Read more about Director, Communications
Staff and Media Personnel Kati Schmidt Kati Schmidt is based in Oakland, CA, and leads media outreach and communications for the Pacific, Northwest, Northern Rockies, Alaska, and Southwest regions, along with NPCA's national wildlife initiatives.
Explore Our Parks
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A–H
- Amache National Historic Site ›
- Arches National Park ›
- Aztec Ruins National Monument ›
- Bandelier National Monument ›
- Bent's Old Fort National Historic Site ›
- Black Canyon Of The Gunnison National Park ›
- Bryce Canyon National Park ›
- Canyon De Chelly National Monument ›
- Canyonlands National Park ›
- Capitol Reef National Park ›
- Capulin Volcano National Monument ›
- Carlsbad Caverns National Park ›
- Casa Grande Ruins National Monument ›
- Cedar Breaks National Monument ›
- Chaco Culture National Historical Park ›
- Chiricahua National Monument ›
- Colorado National Monument ›
- Coronado National Memorial ›
- Curecanti National Recreation Area ›
- Dinosaur National Monument ›
- El Malpais National Monument ›
- El Morro National Monument ›
- Florissant Fossil Beds National Monument ›
- Fort Bowie National Historic Site ›
- Fort Union National Monument ›
- Gila Cliff Dwellings National Monument ›
- Glen Canyon National Recreation Area ›
- Golden Spike National Historical Park ›
- Grand Canyon National Park ›
- Grand Canyon-Parashant National Monument ›
- Great Sand Dunes National Park & Preserve ›
- Hohokam Pima National Monument ›
- Hovenweep National Monument ›
- Hubbell Trading Post National Historic Site ›
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I-O
- Manhattan Project National Historical Park ›
- Mesa Verde National Park ›
- Montezuma Castle National Monument ›
- Mormon Pioneer National Historic Trail ›
- Natural Bridges National Monument ›
- Navajo National Monument ›
- Old Spanish National Historic Trail ›
- Oregon National Historic Trail ›
- Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument ›
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P-Z
- Pecos National Historical Park ›
- Petrified Forest National Park ›
- Petroglyph National Monument ›
- Pipe Spring National Monument ›
- Pony Express National Historic Trail ›
- Rainbow Bridge National Monument ›
- Rocky Mountain National Park ›
- Saguaro National Park ›
- Salinas Pueblo Missions National Monument ›
- Sand Creek Massacre National Historic Site ›
- Santa Fe National Historic Trail ›
- Sunset Crater Volcano National Monument ›
- Timpanogos Cave National Monument ›
- Tonto National Monument ›
- Tumacacori National Historical Park ›
- Tuzigoot National Monument ›
- Valles Caldera National Preserve ›
- Walnut Canyon National Monument ›
- White Sands National Park ›
- Wupatki National Monument ›
- Yucca House National Monument ›
- Zion National Park ›
Preserve Our Parks
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