The entire community has been anxiously awaiting the specifics of a national monument for a ruins-rich region west of Cortez, expected to be announced very soon by the Clinton Administration. So it is no wonder that the arrival of Interior Secretary Bruce Babbitt to Mesa Verde on Thursday spurred such local interest, with many believing it to be an opportune time for the announcement.

But Secretary Babbitt’s stay at the Far View Lodge was brief, lasting Thursday night and part of Friday morning, according to a member of the board of directors of the National Park Foundation. Babbitt kicked off a series of private meetings held by the National Park Foundation, a group responsible for fund-raising for the park service.

The board’s bi-annual meeting is always held at a national park, "otherwise no one would come," the unidentified board member said.

"Mr. Babbitt stayed overnight, introduced the board and left the area; I know that he had a very busy schedule," he said.

Babbitt said April 13 during a conference call with the Montezuma County Commissioners that a monument for the vast, high desert environment was imminent, noting that "(President) Clinton has not turned me down yet," on his monument designation recommendations.

But many questions are yet to be answered concerning the proposed monument including whether promises that grazing and CO2 extraction rights will be protected under the plan, if there will be a visitors’ center and where, and if an advisory board made up of local representatives will be named to begin negotiating the management plan.

The mystery of specifics has opponents and supporters of the monument nervously watching for any signs that Babbitt or President Clinton will announce it.

Although Babbitt told the commissioners that "they would not wake up and read about this," Commissioner Kent Lindsay said he hopes Babbitt will go a step further and meet with the commission in person before making an announcement.