Washington, D.C. — Today, on the last stop of First Lady Hillary Rodham Clinton’s Save America’s Treasures tour of the Southwest, Mrs. Clinton announced nearly $1.7 million dollars in private contributions to Mesa Verde National Park through Save America's Treasures — a public-private partnership of the White House Millennium Council and the National Trust for Historic Preservation. The private funds will help match the nearly $1.5 million federal grant awarded to Mesa Verde by Congress from the Save America's Treasures Fund, also announced by Mrs. Clinton Wednesday, May 19. Save America's Treasures is a national effort dedicated to preserving and protecting the country's irreplaceable historic and cultural heritage.

"I am especially proud to announce both public and private support to help stabilize and preserve the ancient cliff dwellings of Mesa Verde National Park," said Mrs. Clinton, who is honorary chair of the Millennium Committee to Save America’s Treasures. "Through the Save America’s Treasures public-private partnership, we are giving an irreplaceable gift to future generations."

Mrs. Clinton was joined by National Trust President Richard Moe, who is co-chair of the Millennium Committee, at a ceremony in the park. Gifts amounting to nearly $1.7 million were announced at the ceremony. A generous lead donation was made to Save America's Treasures for Mesa Verde by Sandra G. Wagenfeld and Francine E. Goldstein. Other major contributions include $250,000 from Mobil Corporation through the National Park Foundation, an associate partner of Save America's Treasures; $250,000 from Tauck Tours through the Travelers Conservation Foundation; and $150,000 from the American Express Foundation through the World Monuments Fund. Another $25,000 was given by Chambers Family Fund, Denver, CO, in addition to several other individual gifts.

"Last year, the National Trust named Mesa Verde to its annual list of America's 11 Most Endangered Historic Places," said Richard Moe. "We, as Americans, are fortunate that through the generosity of all those who support Save America's Treasures, this vital piece of our history will have a chance to endure for centuries to come."

The public-private support will help conserve the stone structures that were built into the cliffs by the Ancestral Puebloans at Mesa Verde about 1200 AD. Stretching across more than 52,000 acres of rugged canyon and tableland in southwestern Colorado, Mesa Verde is America's best-known National Park dedicated to archaeological resources. Created by Congress in 1906, the park contains the world's most important and best-preserved collection of pre-Columbian cliff dwellings, remnants of the Ancestral Puebloan culture that flourished in the area from the 6th through the 13th century. In 1978, it was designated a World Cultural Heritage Site. Today, the National Park Service has the resources to provide regular maintenance for only 40 to 50 of the more than 600 cliff dwellings in Mesa Verde. Problems arising from chronically inadequate funding were compounded in 1996 when a fire damaged some sites and exposed others to erosion. To help rally support for the National Park site and to recognize not only its historic and cultural significance, but also its urgent preservation needs, Save America's Treasures designated Mesa Verde an Official Project of Save America's Treasures during today's ceremony.

About Save America’s Treasures

Save America’s Treasures is a public-private partnership between the White House Millennium Council and the National Trust for Historic Preservation, dedicated to the celebration and preservation of our nation’s threatened cultural treasures for future generations, including significant historic structures, monuments, documents, objects and collections that document and illuminate the history and culture of the United States. The Millennium Committee to Save America’s Treasures provides guidance and expertise to the historic effort, and is led by Honorary Chair Hillary Rodham Clinton and co-chairs Richard Moe, President of the National Trust for Historic Preservation, and Susan Eisenhower, granddaughter of former President Dwight D. Eisenhower. As a private-sector partner to the White House Millennium Council, the National Trust coordinates the Save America’s Treasures public awareness and education campaigns and works with two associate partners, Heritage Preservation and the National Park Foundation, to raise funds for the most urgent preservation needs identified at the state and national levels.

About the National Trust