New Mexico's Kasha-Katuwe Tent Rocks reopens with renewed focus and access
About 40 miles west of Santa Fe, in the high desert of north-central New Mexico, the landscape transforms into a dreamscape of pale, cone-shaped spires. Known as Kasha-Katuwe Tent Rocks National Monument, this surreal cluster of hoodoos — some reaching 90 feet high — was carved by ancient volcanic eruptions that layered the terrain with ash, pumice and tuff.Kasha-Katuwe, meaning 'white cliffs' in the Keresan language of the Cochiti Pueblo people, is a geological wonder and a sacred site of cultural significance. Shuttered since March 2020, first due to COVID-19, then to address over-visitation, the monument reopened to the public in February after a seasonal closure in December, with new measures in place to safeguard this landscape for future generations.
Sacred Land, Renewed Access
Before the 2020 closure, Tent Rocks saw more than 110,000 annual visitors — double what the site could reasonably manage. Crowding became a serious problem, adversely affecting not just the fragile rock formation but the Cochiti Pueblo community at large.The reopening ushers new in era, with the monument now managed through a co-stewardship agreement between the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) and the Cochiti Pueblo people, reflecting a larger federal effort to enhance Indigenous-led stewardship of public lands.'This model strengthens conservation efforts, honoring the living cultures tied to these special places, while encouraging a shared responsibility to protect them,' says Jey Bernal, tribal tourism development officer for the New Mexico Tourism Department.Today, daily visitor numbers are capped, and entry now requires two separate passes:• A $5 timed-entry reservation (first pilot vehicle leaves at 8:00 am, last one at 1:00 pm) available on Recreation.gov, with entry windows limited each day. Kids under 15 are free, and the America the Beautiful pass waives the fee.• A Cochiti Pueblo Tribal Access Pass, available online via PurplePass.com or at the Cochiti Pueblo Visitor Center. Adults pay $20; children 2–15 are $2; under 2 are free.On the day of your visit, visitors check in at the Cochiti visitor center, then follow a pilot vehicle to the monument. 'Through implementing a reservation system, we have the opportunity to customize our visitation flow,' says Jamie Garcia, public affairs specialist for the BLM's Albuquerque District Office. 'This has improved the visitor experience by reducing vehicle wait time at the gate, overcrowding on the trails and trail erosion.'
Deeper Connections
Beyond hoodoos, narrow slot canyons, and sweeping mesa-top views of the Sangre de Cristo, Jemez and Sandia mountains, visitors can connect with the region's deeper heritage, including stewardship practices that honor the significance of Kasha-Katuwe.'The broader public and visitors at large can now gain a richer, more accurate understanding of the land's significance,' Bernal adds. 'This goes beyond standard narratives to include Indigenous perspectives and storytelling, leading to more meaningful visitor experiences.'
A New Model for Public Lands
The new co-management approach is part of a growing shift in how public lands are cared for and shared — one that emphasizes closer collaboration with tribal nations. Visitors can explore natural landscapes and cultural sites jointly stewarded by Pueblos, Tribes and Nations working alongside state and federal agencies.New Mexico is at the forefront of this movement. At the Jemez Historic Site, a partnership with Jemez Pueblo, invites visitors to explore Giusewa Pueblo and a 17th century Spanish mission. Meanwhile, BLM works with Navajo Tours USA to offer guided experiences at Bisti/De-Na-Zin Wilderness. 'These collaborations reflect a vital shift toward centering Native voices in how public land are managed and experienced,' Bernal says.As more public lands embrace co-stewardship models, places like Kasha-Katuwe offer a glimpse into a more thoughtful future — one where conservation, cultural respect and deeper visitor understanding and connection go hand in hand.
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USA Today
a day ago
- USA Today
Peter Malnati gave an epic speech to PGA Tour membership. He walks us through his message
DETROIT – Being a player director on the PGA Tour Policy Board has become hard work. On Wednesday, Zach Johnson, who served on the Tour board from 2009-11, applauded the six players who are currently serving during arguably the most turbulent time in the Tour's history. 'When I served on the board, I had to deal with drug testing – should we or should we not? – and FedEx Cup point realignment. That was the heaviest thing I had to deal with and there never was more than three meetings a year,' Johnson said. 'Since COVID, that hasn't been the case.' Peter Malnati, a 38-year-old two-time winner whose two-year board tenure ends later this year, knew what he was getting himself into but ran for the role anyway. He likely would lead the statistical category Strokes Gained: Positive Thinking if Strokes Gained creator Mark Broadie could devise a way to rank it. Adam Schenk may have summed up Malnati's optimistic outlook best: 'He's so nice and he actually means it.' (In this writer's opinion, he's golf's Ted Lasso.) Malnati's speech was a highlight of player meeting On Tuesday, during the Tour's mandatory player meeting, he gave 'an impassioned speech' – that's how fellow pro Mark Hubbard described it – to those players in the 156-man field at the Rocket Classic. [Not all 156 attended. Some were excused because they already had attended a similar meeting the week before at the Travelers Championship or because the meeting time conflicted with a sponsor commitment or other excused absences.] 'Peter talks from his heart,' said fellow Tour policy board member Camilo Villegas. 'He's had a chance to sit on the board and understand why the decisions that have been made in the last few years have been the right decisions at the moment they were made and how the goal posts keep getting moved in an evolving business and constantly analyzing what's for the best because it's a fast-moving and evolving business.' 'I'm pretty honored that anyone referred to it as an impassioned speech, but it was something that I feel really strongly about,' Malnati said in a voice message to Golfweek. Malnati went on to recount the message he delivered to players on Tuesday, during which he admitted he may have signed off on losing his job someday with the Tour implementing a new policy reducing the number of players who retain fully-exempt status from 125 to 100 beginning this year. [Malnati, who entered the week at No. 194 in the FedEx Cup is exempt for next season as the winner of the 2024 Valspar Championship.] What you're about to read is shades of Jim Colbert, a mid-tier Tour member who would go on to win eight Tour titles, who once famously said at a Tour players meeting in 1983, 'It's real simple, boys. Just play better.' When players make arguments that don't directly benefit their own cause, the professional golf ecosystem should listen its hardest … because they're rare. Malnati does that with these remarks. 'I just wanted to say to the membership that I ran for a seat on the board because I cared – really, really, strongly about not losing opportunities and not seeing the Tour get smaller and in my time on the board, both of those things have happened. And because I was on the inside and I saw the thought process, I supported them – doesn't mean they're easy for me. It doesn't mean they don't hurt because they do," Malnati began. 'I feel like the Tour at its core was built around the idea of maximizing playing opportunities and may the best man win. So it hurts to see the best option be to reduce playing opportunities and to see the Tour shrink." Malnati said shrinking Tour makes sense, even if it hurts Malnati continued to share with the membership that there's tangible evidence of late that validates the thought process. [Over the last six months, the Tour has closed nearly $1 billion in new or renewed contracts. Additionally, CBS reported a 13 percent year-over-year ratings increase and a 19 percent year-over-year increase at signature events. Many other metrics are ticking in the right direction, such as its digital platforms.] 'Seeing the success in renewing full-field title sponsorships for long-term deals in the 9-plus-million-dollar per range that's impressive – that's really impressive. It speaks to the fact that these full-field events feel that they're getting good value. And you know it's marked and measurable to see that their fields are stronger than they were when the invitational events that had 120-player fields and then obviously the first year of signature events, they still played at their regular field sizes. That was crushing the full field events and sponsors were really concerned and now to see the momentum where sponsors are back supporting the full-field events at really nice purse levels – that's a huge win for the entire membership.' Malnati wanted them to hear that directly from him and also address the elephant in the room, what he termed 'the thing that we all hate the most, which is the smaller fields and the signature events and the upcoming reduction of fully-exempt cards from 125 to 100 for next season. 'That is simply a re-prioritizing of PGA Tour members that takes guys who go out and play a season on the Korn Ferry Tour and finish in the top 20 and says to them you deserve starts in all the full-field events and I think that's absolutely true now. Is it a great accomplishment to finish in the top 125 on the PGA Tour? It is, it's really good. Is it an even greater accomplishment to finish in the top 100? Yes, I've achieved that twice in my 10 seasons on Tour. I shared that with the membership yet I still think this was the right thing to do because the point of everything we're doing is to identify players who can become superstars and drive the brand forward and so we've got to give those guys that graduate from the Korn Ferry Tour a fair shot to play and so I think going from 125 cards to 100 and then putting the guys that finish 101 to 125 in the next-best conditional category after the Korn Ferry Tour graduates was absolutely the right thing to do even though in a way I was cutting my own head off.' New PGA Tour system to closer mimic Formula 1 How many players would support a decision that might be 'cutting their own head off?' Malnati realizes that barely any players outside the top 100 on Tour generate standalone attention. Sure, there are exceptions like Joel Dahmen (and Tiger Woods wouldn't be Tiger Woods without fields of 156 to beat up on). 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'So, yes, the signature event model caters to top players, it does, but the thing that I want everyone in that room and everyone on Tour and every fan and every partner to realize is that even though smaller fields are inherently a little bit less competitive because there's fewer guys, the system (we're implementing) right now there's no rules that rule out anyone. J.J. Spaun was not exempt into a single signature event at the start of this year … and he's currently ranked eighth in the world. He played his way there. Maverick McNealy played his way into the top 10 in the world – I think he's 14 right now but he was top 10 in the world. Ben Griffin and Andrew Novak, in terms of everything they're able to accomplish now on Tour, they have played their way into that group of top players. They're going to qualify for the BMW Championship this year, be fully exempt for signature events next year and they've played their way into it. 'This system is aspirational,' Malnati continued. 'The funnel is small, but the opportunity is there and it's still objective. It's still golf. If you shoot low enough scores, you will be there, so, I closed by saying my challenge to Brian Rolapp is to continue to grow the opportunity on the PGA Tour. I want to see him grow it for top players, I want to see him grow it for every single member and my challenge to all the members in the room was to go be as competitive as you can be and believe. But the guys who shoot the best scores are our top players and the more that we do that, the more that we go out and put on a show and strive to become top players, the better our product is, the more fans are going to engage with it and the more opportunity will be for everyone. So that was my spiel …. I'm glad someone thought to call it impassioned. I felt very passionate about it. I still feel very passionate about it but it's definitely been hard.'
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Yahoo
Aussies ditch United States for new favourite holiday destination: 'Huge reversal'
I love America. Their cities are the world's brightest. Their mountains among the most beautiful. The deserts — spectacular. Live music in that country is incredible. The place is a giant smorgasbord of great destinations, coast to coast, Chicago to Austin. And let's not overlook Hawaii. But would I go there now? Noooo! No way! And most Aussies are like me. We are avoiding the Land of the Free. Hard pass. In fact, if you make a list of major destinations and check how much travel has changed since 2015, America is way down the bottom of our no-go list. As the next chart shows, the United States is down near Papua new Guinea and Cambodia. While at the top is Japan. Not only has America seen less growth in tourism from Australia since 2015, it has actually gone backwards. Fewer planes coming from Australia, with more empty seats. It's a huge reversal for a destination that was not only once popular, but literally our favourite place to go. RELATED Price hike warning for Aussies travelling to Europe as US-Iran tensions escalate Centrelink payment alert for 58,000 Aussies in caravans Inheritance warning ahead of $5.4 trillion transfer as 'avoidable' money 'traps' exposed As the next chart shows, America racked up 10 months where it was our most popular destination between 2013 and 2017. (It had more months in the number one spot during 2020-2021 but many of the world's borders were closed then so it doesn't count). It was, during this period, always in our top three, alongside New Zealand and Indonesia. But recently, nope. Since the world's borders re-opened, America has struggled to regain its desirability. It fell to third place, then fourth place, fifth and even as low as eighth in January this year. Why? Well there's the obvious. But we should not overlook the basic economics of it. America used to be cheap. That's a big reason. As the next chart shows, there were some glorious years where an Australian Dollar bought more than a US dollar. Those were the years where we planned and booked our trips to America, and when America first rose to the top of our list of favourites. It held on as a favourite for a few more years even as our dollar began its slide. But when we came out of our Covid reverie we had to admit America was expensive now. With our dollar under 65 cents (at time of writing) you can't just pretend the two currencies are equal and round up. You have to admit that while a US Big Mac looks cheap at US$5 that's actually A$7.50, which is basically the same as home. And over there they add tax and tip to everything. America's tipping culture has been subject to insane inflation. You are sneered at if you don't add 20 per cent now. Even though tipping is a percentage, right, so the tips are rising as the cost of goods rise! America is actually cheap for groceries and fuel, while it is expensive to stay in the big cities and eat at restaurants. It is not just the prices stopping us from hitting America in big numbers. It is the fact you can show up and have the border guards simply turn you round at the border and send you home. Which is a much better scenario than being strip-searched and then sent home. America's border police are mean at the best of times. I've travelled to America with someone who, long ago, had a work visa to work in the US. That reliably sets off a ping in the system and they would get dragged off for interrogation — we are there for a two-week holiday but the system presumably worries this person is back trying to work in America illegally. You wouldn't want to have a connecting flight. If America was weird about their border before, it is way worse now. The odds are still good, you'll get in — hundreds of Australians are still going to America every day. But if you have tattoos or have ever posted something mean about America on social media, you may feel better not going. If it's purely a leisure trip, Tokyo Disney seems like a much safer option than Disneyland LA. In Japan the populace is not rioting and the police are not arresting foreigners without due process. You can catch a subway instead of renting a Chevrolet Traverse the size of a semi-trailer, and your odds of being involved in a mass shooting are much lower. There's been 199 mass shootings in America so far this year and, it seems, none in Japan since 2023. I would really like to see the Grand Canyon one day and maybe spend some time in the Rocky Mountains. But I might wait for the Aussie dollar to rise and America's insecurities to fall, before I in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data
Chicago Tribune
2 days ago
- Chicago Tribune
South Shore Line fares increase 10% on Tuesday
Planning to ride the South Shore Line in the next couple of months? There's still time to buy fares before they go up 10% on Tuesday. One-way tickets are good for 90 days, and multi-ride tickets – 10 or 25 rides – are valid for a year. With the increase, the standard fare between Dune Park in Chesterton, where the railroad is headquartered, and Millennium Station in downtown Chicago will increase $1, to $10 each way. Senior citizens and some other groups qualify for reduced-price fares. Seniors pay half price. To sweeten the pot, the railroad has increased discounts on multi-ride tickets, raising 10-ride ticket discounts from 5% to 10%, and 25-ride ticket discounts from 10% to 20%. This is intended to better serve riders whose commuting habits have shifted, especially those now traveling to Chicago fewer days per week. 'We hope these increased savings offer added value to our frequent travelers,' General Manager and President Michael Noland said. The monthly ticket provides a 33% savings based on a 21-day work month. It's for passengers who ride 18 days or more within a single month. The buy one, get one free offer for monthly tickets is ending as part of the fare increase. The 10% increase comes after the South Shore Line has held rates steady for seven years. During the COVID-19 pandemic, ridership plummeted. The Northern Indiana Commuter Transportation District board, which oversees the South Shore Line, opted not to increase fares during that time, burning up cash reserves in the process. Noland said the fare increase was needed not just to generate additional revenue but also to show state lawmakers a commitment to raising money while going to the General Assembly, hat in hand, to request additional funding from the state. The increase comes as the railroad has spent hundreds of millions of dollars on improving operations by adding a set of tracks between Gary and Michigan City to speed travel along the traditional route of the South Shore. Another giant expenditure is building the West Lake Corridor route between Hammond and Dyer, a project that has been decades in the making. Operations along that route are expected to commence around the end of the year. Another big project, at about $250 million, is adding a fourth set of tracks into Millennium Station, further reducing delays.
