Cultural Demonstrations are scheduled at Walnut Canyon
May 1-3 10:00-4:00 Janet Yazzie- Navajo acrylic artist
May 8-10 10:00-4:00 Eric Kayquaptewa – Hopi kachina carver
May 15-17 10:00-4:00 McHale Alcott and Carol Hatathlie – Navajo silversmiths
New Acting Superintendent
Penny Wagner the current superintendent for Montezuma Castle, Montezuma Well and Tuzigoot has been tasked with the responsibility of acting superintendent for the Flagstaff National Monuments for the foreseeable future. FOM met with her and found her energy inspiring. Wagner was born and raised in Rimrock and received her MA in Anthropology at NAU. She has worked for the National Park Service for over 15 years. She will travel to Flagstaff at least once a week and otherwise will manage remotely. Welcome Penny!
Don Howard, the newest member of the Friends of Flagstaff National Monuments (FOM) board recently joined Chief of Interpretation Richard Ullmann on a visit to Sunset Crater to meet two interns whose positions were funded in part by FOM. If you have ever pondered whether donating money to FOM is valuable, keep reading!
April 15, 2026
Today, Richard, the Chief of Visitor Services of the Flagstaff National Monuments and I traveled out to Sunset Crater Volcano to meet up with two AmeriCorps interns who are serving their commitment at our National Monuments. As you can imagine, Olivia and Lisa are very special young women. Olivia received her master’s degree from Northern Arizona University writing about research she did on the pollinators in the Southwest. We all understand the importance of pollinators and her research was able to continue comparisons done in prior years, so we better understand how multiple factors impact the myriad of flora species in the Southwest.
Lisa graduated from a Massachusetts University in Environmental Sustainability. She developed a love for the out of doors at an early age and doesn’t really know where it came from since both her parents work in more technical fields. She moved out West and worked with both the U.S. Forest Service and Coconino Conservation Corps and applied for the internship through the AmeriCorps program.
The Friends of Flagstaff National Monuments (FOM) support their internship through the AmeriCorps Program with funding that has been donated to and generated by FOM. I can’t think of a better use of this funding than to support young people in their educational journey. Olivia and Lisa referred multiple times to a love of our public lands. Their experience as interns allowed them to see the multiple layers of work and opportunities that exist in the National Park Service. They particularly enjoy sharing information about the monuments and the intrinsic value parks and monuments provide to visitors from all over the world.
The pleasure was all mine in meeting Olivia and Lisa. They communicate so intelligently their thoughts and feelings for our public lands as well as what their future might hold in impacting our world in a positive way. They are both at the Sunset Crater Visitor Center Sunday-Tuesday and I encourage you to travel out and say hello. I’m sure you will be impressed as much as I was. Talking with these two gives me great hope for our future and the future of public lands.
—Don Howard
Fall 2025: Protecting Parks, Supporting Rangers, Inspiring Visitors