Youth to Consult on Public Lands and Archaeology
Students and Teachers Shape Policy for Tourism, Public Lands and Archaeology  

Colorado’s First Lady Jeannie Ritter will serve as Honorary Chairman for the 2009 Colorado Preserve America Youth Summit which will take place June 9-12, 2009 in Cortez, Colorado. Over 100 students and teachers will tour historic properties over three days and conclude their program with recommendations to shape policy for Tourism, Public Lands and Archaeology. 

Background: The only program of this type in the nation, students are tasked with consulting with federal and state agencies, tourism officials and nonprofit organizations to advise on how youth can be better engaged in heritage education, public land policy, tourism and archaeology and provide recommendations. Students will present their recommendations to officials of the National Park Service, Untied States Forest Service, Bureau of Land Management, Colorado Tourism Office, Colorado Historical Society and other federal, state and local officials in a closing program at Mesa Verde National Park, a World Heritage Site, on Friday, June 12, 2009.

The Colorado Preserve America Youth Summit is presented by Colorado Preservation, Inc., Colorado’s only statewide nonprofit member organization dedicated to advancing and promoting historic preservation in partnership with Colorado Historical Society, the National Park Service, Bureau of Land Management, San JuanNational Forest and other Teaching with Primary Sources.

Click here to find more on the 2009 Colorado Preserve America Youth Summit.

And be sure to check out student blogs from the Preserve America Youth Summit at http://swarchexp.wordpress.com/

For more information contact Youth Summit Coordinator Ann Pritzlaff at savingplaces@aol.com (303-475-9403) or Teacher Liaison Michelle Pearson at michelle.l.pearson@adams12.org (303-877-5380) or Mesa Verde National Park Public Information Officer Tessy Shirakawa at  tessy_shirakawa@nps.gov (970-529-4628) or visit the Colorado Preservation, Inc. website: www.coloradopreservation.org