As we celebrate national volunteer month (April), we’re excited to introduce you to two of Crow Canyon’s newest and inspiring volunteers, Chris Alger and Kathleen Isaacson.

A married couple from California, Chris and Kathleen have long been interested in the American Southwest and traveled extensively in the area, visiting ancestral sites and learning about the area’s histories.

Their connection to Crow Canyon began after hearing Dr. Susan Ryan (EVP Research Institute) talk about the Chaco Outliers project.

“I offered to do some pro bono LiDAR processing for Crow Canyon,” shares Chris. “And our involvement stemmed from that point.”

Intrigued by Crow Canyon and our work, Chris and Kathleen participated in an archaeological research program on campus in 2024, further expanding their knowledge of and interest in the area’s histories.

“The class we took was so important,” explains Kathleen. “We had always wondered about the people and that experience gave us a better understanding of the habitation of these areas. That has really engaged us, especially how they managed water resources.”

During that program, Chris and Kathleen met several Crow Canyon staff, including Crow Canyon educator and researcher Jeremy Grundvig, and immediately began looking for ways to get more involved.

“We reached out to pitch our involvement as research associates on a volunteer basis,” shares Chris.

When they learned that Jeremy was embarking on a project to research ancestral water systems at the Hampton site (stewarded by The Archaeological Conservancy) they didn’t miss a beat. Supported by a History Colorado State Historical Fund grant, the project brings together a multidisciplinary team of archaeologists, geospatial scientists, geohydrologists, and Indigenous collaborators to investigate how Berm-Swale systems enhanced water availability for agriculture.

As geologists with hydrogeologic and geomorphologic practice experience, Chris and Kathleen are providing support and participation to the project’s LiDAR mapping and water resource reconstruction efforts.

As Kathleen explains the project, “These sites are in areas of drought. We know that the ancestral people were able to manage water to maintain agriculture, for personal use, and for building. We also know there were periods of times when droughts would become more severe—sometimes so severe the people migrated to other areas. What we’re looking at first is the fact that there were people who stayed through the drought period. We’ve identified a way they were able to manage water because they had resources not only from surface waters and rivers but could also get water from springs. We’re looking at how water was used and managed, so that they could sustain the activities of their sites.”

While this project is just getting off the ground, Chris and Kathleen are thrilled to be a part of it and will be traveling from their home in California to Cortez, Colorado periodically to participate in the fieldwork.

“This is what I wanted to do, to volunteer with,” says Kathleen. “We’re both drawn to it because we’ve spent a lot of time in the Southwest exploring and appreciating the breadth of habitation, how the people lived, what they were doing. This just adds a huge dimension to our interest—learning and being able to apply our expertise.”

Chris adds, “I love doing surface analysis. We’ve walked the landscape for 30 years looking at features. From our perspective this is a chance for us to feel our excitement while also making a contribution and not starting at point zero.”

Stay tuned for more to come on this exciting project!