“As a lifelong lover of Nature, trained forester/entomologist, avid birder and devotee of the Arts, I see Willowtail Springs as important in myriad ways. Ecologically, its spring, umbilical to an invisible aquifer in the midst of an arid pinyon-juniper forest, breeds life. The structures and plantings exist in harmony with, and in some cases enhance, the native landscape. Perhaps its strongest asset in this age of increasing human disconnection from “wildness” and over-obsession with technology is its celebration of two things: our proper oneness with the environment and the resultant creativity that reunion ignites. Education, perhaps our species’ most noble enterprise, is rampant at Willowtail Springs. The place, together with its creative owners and adoring visitors, deserves to reach its boundless potential.”
~David Leatherman, CO State Entomologist
“This is a place that is timeless. The only voice you hear is the stillness and quiet, the present. Inspired by the wilderness and the creatures that inhabit it, the sounds of the breeze and the view of the setting sun. In nature we gain deeper understanding of ourselves and our place on this earth. This knowing comes from the land, is apparent to almost anyone who arrives. It’s immediate and almost magical. Only poetry can best describe what is felt in this place. To some it may feel sacred, to others it’s a connection lost. There is a growing list of retreats and residencies available in this graceful setting”.
~Margy Dudley, artist and photographer
“Willowtail Springs is located on Diné Bí Kéyah, traditional Navajo land, near the escarpment of the northern sacred mountain, Dibé Ntsaa. It is also part of the open range of the Ute people, now living on the Ute Mountain Ute and Southern Ute Tribal Allotment reservations to the southwest and southeast. Additionally, Mesa Verde and the surrounding lands in Montezuma County and the Four Corners Region were occupied by the Ancestral Puebloan People a thousand years ago. We honor the past, present, and future indigenous people residing in this region and recognize them as long standing stewards of this land, amplifying our work by their historical presence and their living contributions to land preservation efforts across this region.”
