Photo: Juli Williams
SAN LUIS — Cielo Vista Ranch has announced the hiring of Kate Perdoni as Community Liaison. In this role, Perdoni will facilitate communications and special projects with community members, including families with access rights to graze livestock and collect firewood and timber across the expansive mountain range.
Perdoni brings to the role years of expertise and community work, including tribal relations, fieldwork with the Natural Resources Conservation Service, oral histories and documentation across two decades, research fellowships with the Gates Foundation and Colorado College’s Hulbert Center for Southwest Studies and teaching support at Centennial School. Perdoni has created documentary film, written and radio work about local land and water rights for regional and national outlets and will continue to collaborate with residents to document and archive community history while providing updates and opportunities from Cielo Vista Ranch.
As part of the Ranch’s archival efforts, Perdoni is working with Colorado College Special Collections to create and maintain an educational digital database of historic media. A program of tribal relations will continue to honor these mountains as the ancestral homelands of the Jicarilla Apache, Moache Ute, Diné and other tribes.
“Partnering with the community is essential as we work to preserve the health of the ecology and cultural significance of the Mountain,” said Perdoni. “I’m beyond honored to work with generations of families who are dedicated to the legacy and care of this extraordinary place.”
“Cielo Vista Ranch is deeply committed to honoring the ecological and cultural heritage of the region while promoting sustainable stewardship of the land. We value relationships with local residents who rely on the mountain for grazing, firewood and timber gathering,” said Cielo Vista Ranch owner William Harrison. “Adding this role to our staff reflects an effort to listen, learn and work together to care for this remarkable landscape for generations to come.”
Perdoni is meeting with watershed residents, access rights holders, county staff, local agencies and organizations by appointment by contacting 719-680-1027 or via email at kperdoni@cathexis.com.
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