News Release

Christopher Combel Presents for Casa Grande Ruins Speaker Series January 18, 2023

Date: January 9, 2023
Contact: Dave Carney, 520-723-3172 x118

COOLIDGE, AZ – The Casa Grande Ruins Speaker Series takes place weekly through January 18, 2023. On January 18, 2023 Casa Grande Ruins will host Christopher Combel at 1:00 pm.  Chris will present " Wildfires, monsoons, and hurricanes (oh my!)". This is the last speaker of this year’s speaker series. 
 
Christopher Combel is a National Park Service Archeologist at Casa Grande Ruins National Monument and has worked at several stints at units across the Western United States including, Arches National Park, Canyonlands National Park, Hovenweep National Monument, Lava Beds National Monument, Natural Bridges National Monument, Tule Lake National Monument, and Yosemite National Park. Born and raised in New Orleans, Louisiana, Chris has always had a deep fascination with the preservation of history and culture.  

Climate change represents a significant challenge to resource managers. Wildfires, monsoons, and hurricanes (oh my!) all threaten and impact cultural resources in different ways. Join CAGR archeologist Christopher Combel as he discusses the ways he has seen climate change impact sites that he has managed and some of the strategies that land managers are trying to mitigate the impacts of climate change to cultural resources in the National Park Service.  

The Speaker Series is made possible by the Friends of Casa Grande Ruins National Monument (http://friendsofcasagranderuins.org/) with additional support from Arizona Humanities (https://azhumanities.org/). The program begins at 1:00 pm in the Casa Grande Ruins visitor center theater at 1100 W Ruins Drive, Coolidge AZ, 85128. There is no fee for the program, and entrance is free at Casa Grande Ruins National Monument.  

Casa Grande Ruins National Monument protects the multi-story Great House (Casa Grande) and the remnants of other ancient structures built by the Ancestral Sonoran Desert People over 800 years ago. Established as the nation’s first prehistoric and cultural reserve in 1892, the Ruins sparked the beginning of the archeological preservation movement in America. The monument is open daily from 9:00 am to 4:00 pm except for Thanksgiving, Christmas, and Independence Day holidays. Directions and additional information are available on the monument’s website, http://www.nps.gov/cagr. You may call [phone], or follow us on Facebook by searching for Casa Grande Ruins National Monument. 
 

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