Welcome to the CORTEZ CULTURAL CENTER |
| History of the Preserve Over the centuries many different cultures inhabited the lands that are now Hawkins Preserve. Archaeological surveys have found evidence of people from the Pueblo I and II period living in and around the Hawkins Pueblo going back to at least 900 AD. Today, the Preserve is located within the southern city limits of Cortez. The land was donated to the Cortez Cultural Center by Mr. Jack Hawkins in the 1990s. In 2004 the Cortez Cultural Center placed the entire 122 acres into a conservation easement held by the Montezuma Land Conservancy to protect public access to the natural and archaeological resources at Hawkins Preserve from development for generations to come. |
Plant IdentificationSearchable database of common plant species in the Four Corners
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Protecting the Preserve Hawkins Preserve is a valuable site of cultural resources, natural features and plant & animal communities within the Cortez city limits. Please help protect the Preserve by observing the following rules: Dogs must be on leashes at all times. Please use the waste baggies provided at the trailheads along Mesa View Trail. Please stay on trails or rock surfaces and obey signs. Leave no trace – carry out your trash. Look, touch and enjoy – but please leave artifacts, plants, etc… where you find them. No campfires allowed. Access below the rim, including rock climbing, is by permit only. Please complete the permit application and forward to info@cortezculturalcenter.org. Permits are also required for groups, including school classrooms, visiting for educational or scientific purposes. Please contact the Cortez Cultural Center at info@cortezculturalcenter.org or 970-565-1151. Please consider giving back as a volunteer or making a donation to The Cortez Cultural Center. |
Acknowledgements: We would like to thank Al Schneider, Dean Palmquist, and the City of Cortez for help acquiring the signs at Hawkins Preserve and the Cortez Cultural Center Plaza |