Lamar to Host Canyons & Plains Annual Meeting

Canyons & Plains of Southeast Colorado will hold its annual meeting on Thursday, Dec. 5, from 9 a.m. to noon at the Prowers County Annex Building, 1001 S. Main Street in Lamar, Colo. The meeting will be followed by lunch at Becky’s Restaurant located at 105 Lee Avenue. Anyone interested is invited; you do not need to be a member of Canyons & Plains to attend

Canyons & Plains recently received a grant from the Gates Family Foundation in partnership with Palmer Land Trust, Guidestone and Rocky Mountain Bird Observatory. The goal of the grant is to engender a comprehensive approach to conservation and promotion of agricultural and natural resources, wildlife, agritourism and heritage tourism. Additional implementation partners in the grant include The Nature Conservancy, National Park Service and Pinon Canyon Expansion Opposition Coalition.

As a result of the grant, Canyons & Plains recently hired Rick Manzanares as its Executive Director. He grew up in Manzanola, Colo., and has worked in different parts of the State in cultural and heritage projects for 20 years. He recently retired as the Museum Director for the Fort Garland Museum in Fort Garland, Colo. While at Fort Garland, Manzanares worked on the development and federal designation of the Sangre de Cristo National Heritage Area. Consideration of a National Heritage Area will be one topic of discussion at the Annual Meeting.

The business agenda will include a presentation of the Annual Report and election of new Board Members. Vacancies for the Board exist in Prowers, Crowley and Baca Counties.

All interested individuals are urged to attend the Annual Meeting. The coming year promises to be one of the most exciting in the organization’s history. For additional information or questions regarding the Annual Meeting, please call Rick Manzanares at 719.688.5026.

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Canyons & Plains (formerly known as the Southeast Colorado Regional Heritage Task Force) is a heritage tourism development organization. Formed in 2003, C&P serves seven counties—Baca, Bent, Crowley, Kiowa, Otero, Prowers and eastern Las Animas. The non-profit group promotes visitation to and stewardship of the unique historical, natural and cultural assets of south-eastern Colorado among resident, state, national, and international audiences. Since its formation, C&P has garnered over $1 million in funding for projects in the area.