Region Wide Overview
The Southwest Colorado Steering Committee welcomes you to our 2010 Rural Philanthropy Days for Archuleta, La Plata, Montezuma, Dolores and San Juan Counties.
Southwest Colorado
From the canyons of the Colorado Plateau
to the 14,000-f oot peaks of the Weminuche Wilderness,
Southwest Colorado’s geological diversity inspires a
sense of place found no where else in the world. Indeed,
the region’s “hugeness,” with its millions of acres of
untamed public land, long distances between established
communities, and isolation from the rest of the state,
is at once awe-inspiring in its beauty yet demanding of
the residents who live here. You have to want to BE here
to STAY here, and it’s that commitment to living in
Southwest Colorado that brings us together as a regional
community.
Southwest
Colorado Region 9 comprises five counties:
Archuleta,
Dolores,
La Plata,
Montezuma,
and San
Juan. It’s part of a larger region known as the
Four
Corners, where Southeast Utah, Southwest Colorado,
Northwest New Mexico and Northeast Arizona come together
at one point. People from throughout the region drive
long distances for work, shopping, lower real estate
prices, education, and entertainment. It is not unusual,
for example, for a Navajo worker living in Shiprock,
N.M., to travel 200 miles one way to work in La Plata
County. And because of the isolation from our states’
political centers, locals in the Four Corners Region
often joke about seceding from their respective states
to form the 51st in the Union.
Nevertheless, Region 9’s political
fortunes – and our social and economic futures – lie
with Colorado. It is our hope that this regional profile
will help government decision-makers, foundations, and
other funders from Colorado become more familiar with
the challenges and opportunities in Southwest Colorado.
 Southwest Colorado encompasses 6,596
square miles – an area larger than the state of
Connecticut. An important characteristic is the
significant amount of public and tribal lands within the
region. The
San Juan National Forest,
Bureau of Land Management,
National
Park system, and the state of Colorado own 47
percent; the
Southern Ute and
Ute Mountain
Ute Indian Tribes hold 18 percent of the land in
Southwest Colorado. And private land ownership comprises
34 percent of the region’s area.
The San Juan National Forest and BLM are
the largest landowners in the region with more than 2.4
million acres ranging from the canyon lands of western
Dolores and Montezuma counties to the 14,000-foot peaks
in San Juan, La Plata, and Archuleta counties. Two major
wilderness areas are located in Region 9, including the
Weminuche and Piedra. The Weminuche was the first
roadless wilderness area in the United States,
designated by Congress in 1964.
Forest and BLM lands are managed for
multiple use, including livestock grazing, mining, oil
and gas extraction, logging, hunting, and recreation.
Community tensions have erupted in recent years over
appropriate use of public lands, and each county’s
concerns are different. In La Plata County, for example,
traditional extractive uses are increasingly coming
under fire from those who support conservation and
wilderness. In contrast, many Montezuma County residents
intensely opposed the 2000 designation of the
Canyon of the Ancients as a national monument
because of the increased restrictions the designation
might pose to extractive industries.
Clearly, extractive industries are on
the decline in Southwest Colorado, and conservation is
seen as a key component of a healthy economic
development program. A 2004 Sonoran Institute report
indicates that the prosperity of rural western
communities is directly tied to conservation and the
protection of public lands. New businesses, investments
and residents tend to locate near public lands, and the
better protected the lands, the healthier the local
economy.
Just as public land management inspires
intense debate, so do water and water rights. Most of
the water that finds its source in the San Juan
Mountains flows into the San Juan River, which begins
its journey on the west side of Wolf Creek Pass in
Mineral County. It travels through Archuleta County,
into San Juan County, N.M., where it’s stored in Navajo
Reservoir for the Navajo Agricultural Products Industry
project, then back into Utah before joining the
Colorado. It’s fed by the Piedra, Pine, Vallecito,
Florida, Animas, La Plata, and Mancos rivers. Waters
from the Pine and Vallecito rivers are held in storage
in Vallecito Reservoir; Florida waters are held in Lemon
Reservoir. With the completion of the Bureau of
Reclamation’s Animas-La Plata Water Project last year,
water will be diverted from the Animas River to be held
in Nighthorse Lake just west of Durango. McPhee
Reservoir in Montezuma County captures Dolores River
water for use downstream before it enters the Colorado.
 Because water that flows through the San
Juan River Basin is part of the Lower Colorado River
Compact, the region increasingly is finding itself
embroiled in battles to protect its rights with more
powerful downstream users. Another issue that continues
to challenge Southwest Colorado communities is the need
to balance historical water rights claims by the
Southern Ute
and Ute
Mountain Indian Tribes with growing municipal
demands.
Concern about water quality is another
emerging issue. Old mining sites continue to pollute
waterways, including Silver Creek in Rico, the Mancos
River, and La Plata River tributaries. Increasing
mercury levels have been identified in Narraguinnep,
McPhee, Vallecito and Navajo reservoirs. Unfortunately,
mercury sources are difficult to identify and may be
from as far away as China or as close as the Four
Corners Power Plant.
Southwest Colorado is bisected by U.S.
Highway 160, which runs east to west, passing through
Pagosa
Springs,
Bayfield,
Durango,
Mancos,
Cortez and
Towaoc on
the way to the Four Corners. U.S. Highway 160 connects
western Colorado with Interstate 25 to the east. The
main north-south route through the region is U.S.
Highway 550, which connects Albuquerque, N.M., through
Durango to
Silverton. Two mountain passes – Coal Bank and Molas
– separate Silverton from Durango. Silverton is further
isolated by Red Mountain Pass to its north. U.S. Highway
550 is the main route from Interstate 40 in Albuquerque,
N.M., to Interstate 70 in Grand Junction. U.S. Highway
145 connects Cortez to
Dolores
and Rico to
the north. Another north-south route, U.S. Highway 491
(formerly U.S. Highway 666), connects Cortez to
Dove Creek.
This heavily traveled road bypasses the San Juans to
connect Interstate 40 to Interstate 70.
 Weather and geological hazards such as
avalanches and mudslides also play havoc with the
regional highway system. The region has 165 avalanche
runs, with 100 located on Red Mountain Pass alone – the
most in the United States. In Winter 2006, the region
spent $6.2 million to clear roads.
A 2007 study by Gov. Bill Ritter’s Blue
Ribbon Panel of Transportation Finance indicated that 30
percent of Region 9’s highways have a remaining service
life of zero, and that $500 million would be needed to
repair 60 percent of highways to good or fair condition
by 2036. More than 80 percent of highways have
substandard shoulders and 20 percent have none.
County roads also serve as main routes between
communities, and the natural gas industry relies heavily
on local roads to access gas well sites. As the region’s
population grows, so does the traffic, further
deteriorating roadways.
Intercity transit systems to reduce car
miles on highways are limited. The Southern Ute Indian
Tribe, however, does provide the Roadrunner Transit with
a fixed schedule for casino workers and others. Buses
provide round-trip service to Pagosa Springs, Durango,
Aztec, and Bayfield.
Durango offers an inner-city bus system.
And all counties offer on-demand transportation for
seniors.
The condition of roadways in Southwest
Colorado is a concern because it decreases the amount of
funding available for social services and other basic
human needs. Furthermore, wear and tear on vehicles
places an undue burden on citizens already struggling to
make ends meet. And in Southwest Colorado, more
affordable housing options are likely to be farther from
work.
Southwest Colorado has seen near
explos ive growth during the past 20 years. From 1990 to
2000, the regional population grew by 36 percent. From
2000 to 2007, the growth rate slowed to 13 percent. More
than 92,000 people live in Southwest Colorado, according
to the Census Bureau’s 2008 population estimates for the
five counties in Region 9. More than half – 51,400 –
live in La Plata County. Montezuma County is the next
most populous with 26,000. Archuleta County has 12,800
residents; Dolores, 2,000; and San Juan, 550.
Although Southwest Colorado is home to
the state’s only two American Indian reservations – the
Southern Ute and Ute Mountain Ute – the population is
nearly 80 percent Anglo. American Indians comprise about
9 percent of the population, and Hispanics account for
10 percent of the population.
Montezuma County has the greatest
percentage of American Indians at 15 percent; Archuleta
County has the greatest percentage of Hispanics at 15.5
percent; and Dolores County has the greatest percentage
of Anglos at 91 percent.
The average of the median age in all
Region 9 counties – 40.1 years – is slightly older than
Colorado’s median age of 36.5 years. La Plata County has
the youngest median age at 37.4 years, most likely
reflecting the college-age population of students who
attend Fort Lewis
College and
Southwest Colorado Community College. The oldest
median age of 45.8 years may be found in San Juan
County.
The Colorado Demography Office predicts
the regional population will continue to grow, and the
Region 9 Economic Development District postulates that
much of the growth can be attributed to “amenity
migration” – newcomers who move to the area because of
the quality of life, natural resources, educational
institutions, etc. Many newcomers are retirees or second
homeowners.
More than 33 percent of the homes in
Southwest Colorado are owned by non-local residents, who
are not included in population counts. In San Juan
County, more than 83 percent of residential properties
are owned by non-local homeowners. Montezuma County has
the smallest percentage of second homeowners at 21
percent.
Second homes create a dilemma for
Southwest Colorado. While they create a need for more
workers, they also cause property values and housing
costs to rise. Those workers are forced to live farther
away from their place of work. And many are in service
industries that don’t pay wages high enough to purchase
or rent housing in a high-demand market.
In the 2006
Comprehensive Economic Development Strategy
published by the Region 9 Economic Development District,
quality of life, sustainable economic development, and
economic diversification were cited as top economic
goals by the region’s residents. Communities want to
foster economic growth that improves, rather than deters
from, Southwest Colorado’s quality of life.
Most of the jobs in Southwest Colorado –
77 percent – ar e provided through wage and salary
employment, while 23 percent jobs are owner/proprietors,
according to 2007 data provided by the Region 9 Economic
Development District. The service sector provided 38
percent of jobs and 30 percent of job income in the
region. Service-sector jobs include highly paid
professionals, such as engineers, as well as
lower-paying unskilled labor. Government employment also
contributes significantly to the regional economy,
providing 18 percent of jobs and 23 percent of job
income.
In 2007, about $1.16 billion came into
the Region as new dollars drawn into the local economy
through jobs in base industries. Base industries produce
exports or derive their sales or income directly
from outside sources, or indirectly by
providing supplies to export industries. These
activities bring in outside dollars to
circulate within the local economy.
Tourism accounts for 26 percent of jobs
and 19 percent of the income in Region 9, and is
particularly important for the economies in Archuleta,
La Plata and San Juan counties. Agricultural-related
services and forestry remain significant sources of
employment for Dolores and Montezuma Counties, yet
provide relatively little employment income. Regionally,
agribusiness accounts for 7 percent of jobs, but only 2
percent of income. .
 It’s important to note here that the
local food movement has created a new market for locally
grown and locally consumed produce, meats, cheeses and
other commodities. Bayfield, Cortez, Dolores, Durango,
and Mancos all have bustling Farmer’s Markets in the
summer, and a number of beef producers in the region
have increased their profits by selling locally raised,
organic beef, lamb and pork to local consumers, school
districts and restaurants. The economic impact of local
food production for local consumption was not available
at this time.
Households that spend money earned
elsewhere – retirees whose income is derived from
pension payments, for example – are another important
economic driver. This base industry accounts for 21
percent of jobs and 22 percent of the income in the
region. In 2006, retirees brought in about $38.6 million
through transfer payments and dividends, interest and
rent.
Total personal income, the sum of all
income paid to Region 9 residents, amounted to almost
$2.6 billion in 2007, down about 10 percent from 2006.
Per capita income in Region 9 remains
below Colorado and national averages. Per capita income
in the region is $31,324 compared with $41,192 in
Colorado and $38,615 nationally. The lower income,
combined with higher housing costs, fuel and food
prices, makes it difficult for the average family to
make ends meet in the region.
Housing costs continue to be a major
 deterrent to economic development and community health
in the region. Without affordable housing for their
employees, new employers are reluctant to move to the
area and existing employers have a hard time keeping
employees. For those families who choose to stay here,
many must commute long distances to work to live in
affordable housing. That in turn, increases
transportation costs, adds to traffic congestion and air
pollution, and reduces families’ time together.
With only 34 percent of the land in
Southwest Colorado in private hands, developable
property is limited. Lack of infrastructure or funds to
pay for infrastructure, escalating land and development
costs, and continuing demand from second-homebuyers and
wealthier retirees all contribute to rising housing
costs. The recent economic downturn has slowed the rate
of rising housing costs, but has not had a significant
impact on lowering housing prices.
Housing costs vary widely from county to
county and even within communities in the same county.
In 2007, the average of the median prices of homes in
the region’s rural areas and incorporated towns was
$221,875. The highest median price – $350,000 – was
found in Durango and the lowest median price of $50,000
was found in Dove Creek.
A 2008 study of housing prices and
incomes conducted by the Region 9 Economic Development
District in partnership with Wells Fargo reveals that 55
percent of families in the region cannot afford the
mortgage for a median-priced home in their communities.
More than 70 percent of the families in Rico, Durango,
and Silverton cannot afford a mortgage.
Lower-than-average wages also complicate
a family’s quest to obtain affordable housing. Region 9
calculates that a single person renting a one-bedroom
apartment must earn $11.19 an hour to make ends meet; a
single parent with one child renting a two-bedroom
apartment, $23.42 an hour; and a family of four renting
a three-bedroom home, $33.82 an hour – or about $70,345
annually. The average of the median family income in the
region is $50,120.
A number of organizations are working to
address the needs of affordable housing in the region,
including the Regional Housing Alliance of La Plata
County, the Housing Authority of the County of
Montezuma, Housing Solutions for the Southwest, Habitat
for Humanity, Colorado Housing, Inc., and Mercy Housing.
Our sense of the past in Southwest
Colorado is informed by the physical reminders of the
people who came before us. Whether we visit the
Ancestral Puebloan cliff dwellings at
Mesa Verde
National Park or take a train ride on the
Durango &
Silverton Narrow Gauge, we are reminded that we live
in a place that humankind has found attractive for
thousands of years. Our historical legacy, both ancient
and modern, finds expression in the architecture of our
main streets, the collections in our museums and
libraries, the detritus of old mines and mill sites,
still-standing water towers and railroad bridges, art
galleries and authentic stagecoach rides.
Our history IS our culture, and it plays
an important part in our economic well being and sense
of community.
 The
Southwest
Colorado Travel Region is participating in the
Colorado Heritage Tourism Pilot Program to market the
state’s unique culture and history as part of Colorado
tourists’ travel experience. More than 300 cultural and
historical assets have been included in a heritage asset
list that, while not comprehensive of all the assets in
Southwest Colorado, nevertheless provides a working
inventory to further develop heritage tourism in the
region. In addition, the Colorado Historical Society
recognizes that Region 9 has thousands of cultural
resources, both prehistoric and historic, that are
eligible for the Register of Historic Places. La Plata
County and the Town of Silverton are conducting
large-scale cultural resource surveys, and the Town of
Bayfield is conducting a smaller survey as well. Most
communities in Southwest Colorado have adopted historic
preservation policies.
The first people in Southwest Colorado
arrived in about 10,000 B.C. They were hunters and
gatherers who stalked wild game and lived in seasonal
camps. A handful of seasonal camp sites remain in
Southwest Colorado, one of which may be found in the San
Juan National Forest near Pagosa Springs. By 7,000 B.C.,
people began to settle in one place, gathering and
storing food during what archaeologists call the Archaic
Period.
By the start of Christianity, the
Ancestral Puebloan culture began to flourish in the
area. The earliest Puebloans lived in pithouses, hunted,
and raised beans and squash in nearby fields. As the
culture evolved, the Puebloans began construction of
elaborate, above-ground, multi-room complexes and
developed a sophisticated trade system between
communities. Evidence from Chaco Canyon National
Historic Park in New Mexico indicates that the Puebloans
were trading with communities as far south as the Aztec
Nation near present-day Mexico City. A number of sites
in Southwest Colorado have been identified as Chacoan
outliers, including the Chimney Rock area and Lowry
Ruins near Yellowjacket. About A.D. 1200, the Ancestral
Puebloans began their move into the alcoves and cliffs
of the region’s canyons, the most famous remains found
at Mesa Verde National Park. By 1300 A.D., the Ancestral
Puebloans migrated south to settle along the Rio Grande
River in northwest New Mexico. Today’s Pueblo Indians
are their descendants.
 The Utes have occupied the region prior
to written history, but their exact date of arrival
continues to be debated by archaeologists. The Utes
originally were divided into seven bands that occupied
all of Colorado and parts of Utah. The Mouache and
Capote make up the present-day Southern Utes with
headquarters in Ignacio. The Weeminuches are now called
the Ute Mountain Utes with headquarters in Towaoc. The
Southern Ute Indian Tribe is a major economic force in
Southwest Colorado. Its Tribal Growth Fund has
investments in real estate and natural resource
development nationwide. Locally, the Southern Ute Indian
Tribe has invested in the Three Springs development in
La Plata County, headquarters to the new
Mercy Regional
Medical Center facility, and is completing work on a
new museum in Ignacio.
The Navajos lived along many of the
rivers that begin in Colorado, and their sacred sites
include Chimney Rock and Mesa Verde. Archaeological
research indicates that the Navajos moved south of the
San Juan River and out of Colorado in the early 1700s,
partly because of conflicts with the Utes. Navajo land
is extensive and borders both the southern and western
boundaries of Southwest Colorado, covering New Mexico,
Arizona, and Utah. Navajo Indians comprise the largest
American Indian student population at Fort Lewis College
in Durango, which has a historical commitment to provide
tuition-free education to qualified American Indians.
The Spanish began exploring the area in
the 1700s. The Spanish exploration routes are best known
in Southwest Colorado by the route of 30-year-old Fray
Francisco Atanasio Dominguez, the recently arrived
superior of the Franciscan missions in New Mexico, and
Fray Silvestre Velez de Escalante, 26, a missionary who
had been stationed at Zuni. The priests searched for a
route between Santa Fe and the missions of California
(Monterey area). They left Santa Fe in late July 1776,
and traveled northward into southwest La Plata County
before following the Dolores River and heading west and
south into present day Utah and Arizona. A little bit
later, in 1828, Antoine Robidoux established a fur
trapping and trading business at Fort Uncompahgre near
present day Delta.
The lure of gold and silver brought
permanent change to the region, as prospectors first
trickled into and then flooded the mountains. The
temptation of so much wealth was too much for the U.S.
Government. In 1874, under intense American pressure,
the Utes ceded large amounts of land to the U.S. About
two years before Colorado became a state, the region saw
its first legal white settlers.
 Railroads, roads, farms, ranches, towns
and industries all followed the rush. The story of the
development of every community in Southwest Colorado has
its own twists and turns. Towns like Telluride, Lake
City, Silverton and Ouray rose from mining camps, while
Durango and Dolores were railroad real-estate ventures.
Cortez and Gunnison owe their growth to water and
agriculture. Pagosa Springs started out as Fort Lewis
and later became a tourist destination for its hot
springs.
Fort Lewis holds a particularly
interesting
history. After relocating to a 6,000-acre military
reservation south of Hesperus in 1880 to be closer to
the settlements of Animas City and Mancos, it became a
boarding school for American Indian students in 1892. In
1911, the federal government ceded the school and lands
to the state of Colorado for a high school with the
caveat that American Indians would continue to be
educated for free at Fort Lewis. As the school evolved
from a high school to junior college to a four-year
college now located in Durango, Fort Lewis has continued
to offer qualified American Indians free tuition. Today,
American Indians comprise a quarter of the student
population and represent more than 50 tribes nationwide.
At the turn of the 20th century,
President Theodore Roosevelt’s administration sought to
protect the public domain and established the Gunnison,
Cochetopa, San Juan, Montezuma and Uncompaghre Forest
Reserves in1905. Mesa Verde, the first World Heritage
Cultural Site designated by the United Nations, was
designated a National Park in 1906. Because evidence of
so many of our early beginnings still exist in our
communities, history lives all around us.
From classical music festivals to
rodeos, art galleries and historical museums, Southwest
Colorado residents celebrate the beauty, talent, and
history of their region in many ways. No one central
entity or association tracks all the visual,
educational, and performing arts programs that enhance
the quality of life in our communities, so tracking a
comprehensive list isn’t possible at this time.
Regional events include the
Music in the Mountains Festival, which offers
concerts in Archuleta County, Durango, and Durango
Mountain Resort. The
San Juan
Symphony performs at San Juan College in Farmington,
N.M., and Fort Lewis College in Durango, and draws upon
musical talent from throughout the Four Corners.
The three-day
Iron
Horse Bicycle Classic held over the Memorial Day
Weekend, brings cyclists from throughout the world, who
race the train from Durango to Silverton over two
mountain passes. The area offers bluegrass and rock
festivals, a raucous winter festival called
Snowdown, a
Renaissance Fair, a balloon festival, a birding
festival, and much, much more.
The region’s non-profits also contribute
to the fun with community-wide special events that tap
the talents of local artists for silent and live
auctions, music, promotional materials, and donor gifts.
A comprehensive list of arts and
cultural activities and programs may be found through
each community’s Web site.
Southwest Colorado is blessed with
educational opportunities from pre-school Head Start
Programs to long-distance master’s degree programs
offered by Alamosa State College, the University of
Colorado, Denver University, and more.
The region supports the following K-12
public school districts:
According to data provided by the
Colorado Department of Education, per pupil
expenditures in all but Dove Creek and Silverton were
below the Colorado average. Dove Creek and Silverton
received significantly more state funding per student
because of their small populations and isolated
locations. The economic downturn has hit the K-12 public
education system particularly hard. Cortez-Montezuma
School District cut the school week to four days in
2008-09, and Durango School District is struggling with
declining enrollment and the need to cut more than $3
million from its budget.
Graduation data indicate that the graduation rates
are dropping in all but Dolores and Mancos. Data for
Silverton is difficult to trend because of the very
small number (less than 70) of students enrolled.
A number of private schools are located
in the area as well, including
St. Columba Catholic School and
Timberline Academy,
both in La Plata County. The area has only two charter
schools –
Animas High
School in Durango and Southwest Open High School in
Cortez.
Adult education programs are offered in
Archuleta, La Plata, and Montezuma counties. All offer
GED preparation classes, basic reading classes, English
classes for non-English speakers, computer skills
classes, finance, and adult enrichment classes. Adult
education programs in Colorado, as a rule, do not
receive per-pupil state funding unless they contract
directly with school districts to provide services to
qualifying students. Most rely on fund-raising and
grant-making to support their programs.
Fort
Lewis College is the region’s only four-year
college. Its general education program is founded upon
the principles of the liberal arts, and the college
offers more than 30 degree and certification programs.
Fort Lewis College also offers a
Professional Nonprofit Management Certificate
Program.
Southwest Colorado Community College, the result of
the recent merger between Pueblo Community College’s
Durango campus and San Juan Basin Vocational Technical
School, offers pre-college and college classes as well
as technical certification classes.
Licensed child care is a critical need in Region 9. A
Head Start study of Archuleta, Montezuma and La Plata
Counties, showed that licensed child care is available
for only 13 percent of infants, 28 percent of children
ages 1 to 2, and 56 percent of children 2 to 4 years
old. The region also needs overnight care and care for
children whose parents work 12- and 24-hour shifts.
Local child-care advocates say that the region needs
more capacity, additional subsidies for families to pay
for child care, donations, and more child care at work
sites.
 Rural communities often struggle with
access to health care because of a lack of facilities
and a dearth of primary-care providers and physicians.
Low reimbursement rates for Medicaid, Medicare, and
CHP+; higher costs of delivering services; fewer
physicians selecting primary care as a field of study;
and service economies with businesses that don’t provide
employee health insurance all contribute to the lack of
access to health care in the region.
In addition, more and more physicians
are not accepting Medicaid, Medicare, Child Health
Insurance Program, and some private insurance patients,
because they lose too much revenue in their treatment.
Lack of access to a primary care
physician forces patients to seek care in an emergency
room, further driving up the cost of medical care for
individuals.
A 2007 study of Southwest Colorado by
the Colorado Health Institute estimated that 21 percent
of the region’s residents lack health insurance compared
with 17 percent statewide. Mercy Regional Medical Center
in Durango and Southwest Memorial Hospital in Cortez,
both non-profits, provide millions of dollars of charity
care annually. Those costs are shifted to higher fees
for lab tests, hospitalizations, and routine procedures,
and in turn, result in higher premiums for those who pay
for insurance.
In 2007, 23 percent of the patients seen
by emergency rooms at Mercy and the private Animas
Surgical Center lacked insurance. About 25 percent of
patients at Southwest Memorial Hospital’s emergency room
lacked insurance. Emergency room care is the most
expensive and the least preventive type of health care.
In La Plata County, Mercy Medical
Center, the City of Durango, La Plata County and several
private practices established a Health Services Clinic
in 2007. The clinic is seeking federal designation as a
Rural Health Clinic to obtain higher reimbursement rates
for Medicare and Medicaid. Southwest Memorial Hospital
in Cortez received designation as a Rural Health Clinic
for its Primary Care Clinic in 2007.
Durango High School established a
school-based health clinic in late 2007 and treated more
than 1,500 students its first full year in operation.
Southwest Open High School in Cortez also operates a
school-based health clinic and treated 165 students in
2007.
Other clinics include one in San Juan
County, Indian Health Services clinics in Ignacio and
Towaoc, a health clinic in Dove Creek, and a new 10-bed
acute care hospital in Pagosa Springs.
The San Juan Basin Health Department
serves La Plata, Archuleta, and San Juan counties and
provides a number of direct services, including prenatal
care, administration of the Women, Infants, and Children
nutrition program, home visits for new parents,
home-health services for the elderly, and preventive
care programs such as smoking cessation and healthy
heart screenings. The Montezuma County Health Department
offers similar programs though not as extensive as San
Juan Basin.
Southwest Colorado Mental Health Center
offers mental health and substance abuse services in
stand-alone clinics in all five counties of Region 9.
The center also works closely with the school-based
health centers at Durango High School and Southwest Open
House School in Cortez, the Dove Creek Health Center,
Southwest Memorial’s Primary Health Clinic, and in April
2010, will begin working with Pediatric Partners of
Durango.
Southwest Colorado Mental Health is
launching an exciting initiative to convert the
50-year-old regional community mental health
organization to a fully integrated health system that
incorporates primary health care services with mental
health services, substance abuse treatment, and some
public health care programs. The center has purchased
property in Cortez and will complete a new integrated
health care facility in the next 12 to 18 months – the
first of its kind in Colorado. Southwest Colorado Mental
Health will rename itself Axis Health System and hopes
to establish similar integrated treatment centers in the
remaining four counties of Region 9.
Nonprofit organizations in Southwest
Colorado provide critical support services for people
that government agencies otherwise would not serve.
Whether they need shelter, food, and clothing, or an
outlet for their artistic talents, the people of
Southwest Colorado can turn to any number of non-profit
organizations in the region.
As of 2007-08, Southwest Colorado
nonprofits account for 7.2 percent of all jobs in the
region and generated nearly $11.3 million in net
revenues, according to the Colorado Nonprofit
Association’s report, “Return
on Investment.” That money circulated in the region
to have a direct and indirect impact of $26.5 million in
net revenues.
More importantly, Southwest Colorado’s
nonprofits contribute substantially to the quality of
life in the area by ensuring that families have homes,
children have health care and enrichment activities, and
residents enjoy a positive sense of self within their
communities from the many cultural and performing arts
activities that the bring them together.
Although no one agency acts as a
clearinghouse for all the non-profits in the area, a
recent analysis by the
Community Resource
Center found the following:
-
There are 239 active 501(c)3
nonprofits in the five-county region. (For the
purposes of this document, “active” means they
showed income or assets on their FY08 Form 990.)
-
Last year (FY08), their assets
totaled more than $201,864,480.
-
Their revenues in FY08 totaled
$128,350,797.
The region has 24 nonprofits with annual
budgets over $1 million. By annual revenue, the biggest
nonprofits are:
-
Southwest Health System
-
Southwest Colorado Mental Health
Center
-
SUCAP
-
Community Connections
-
Crow Canyon
-
Fort Lewis College Foundation
-
Campaign for America's Wilderness
Number of Active 501(c)(3) Nonprofits in the Region,
By Budget Size
|
Budget Size |
Nonprofits |
|
$1 to $9,999
|
26
|
|
$10K to $24,999
|
18
|
|
$25K to $99,999
|
73
|
|
$100K to $499,999
|
82
|
|
$500K to $999,999
|
16
|
|
$1MM to $4,999,999
|
21
|
|
$5MM to $9,999,999
|
2
|
|
$10MM to $49,999,999
|
1
|
501(c)3 Nonprofits in SW Region, By Mission Area
|
Unspecified
|
52
|
|
Arts, Culture & Humanities
|
29
|
|
Education
|
19
|
|
Environmental Quality & Protection
|
19
|
|
Animal-Related
|
9
|
|
Health: General & Rehabilitative
|
15
|
|
Mental Health & Crisis Intervention
|
5
|
|
Crime or Legal-Related
|
4
|
|
Food, Agriculture & Nutrition
|
2
|
|
Housing and Shelter
|
8
|
|
Public Safety, Disaster Preparedness & Relief
|
5
|
|
Recreation, Sports, Leisure, Athletics
|
19
|
|
Youth Development
|
8
|
|
Human Services: Multipurpose and Other
|
19
|
|
International, Foreign Affairs & National
Security
|
2
|
|
Civil Rights, Social Action, Advocacy
|
1
|
|
Community Improvement,
Capacity
Building
|
4
|
|
Philanthropy, Volunteerism, and Grantmaking
Foundations
|
12
|
|
Religion-Related, Spiritual Development
|
7
|
Each County Profile should provide you
with a comprehensive list of nonprofits serving their
areas.
Special thanks to Deb Uroda of the
Women's Resource Center for her primary authorship of
this profile. We would like to thank the following
organizations for the information contained in this
profile:
|
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