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A starring role for Southwest Colorado on ‘Sunday Morning with Jane Pauley’

With its autumn colors giving their first hint of the show to come, the San Juan National Forest played starring role on “Sunday Morning with Jane Pauley.”

The CBS show, which has been on the air since 1979, historically ends with its “Moment in Nature” segment, featuring natural wonders from around the planet.

On Sunday, footage of the San Juan Mountains near Molas Pass earned its minute of tribute on the venerable morning program. The segment was shot during the unlikely late-summer snowfall that left a dusting on San Juan Mountain peaks Sept. 9.

The segment is silent except for the sounds of nature, and it begins at 1:01:15, at the end of the show.

Theresa Blake Graven, tourism and communication director with Visit Durango, said the footage aired nationally and later was picked up by an additional 54 CBS affiliates across the country.

“It had huge reach in major markets like New York, San Francisco, Portland, Philadelphia and so on. According to our media monitoring software, this one segment reached a total of 2.35 million people for an advertising equivalent value of $183,000,” she said.

National Parks are attracting more national media attention since the out break of the COVID-19 pandemic.

“It’s great brand awareness for Durango and the San Juan National Forest,” she said.

With increased tourist interest rural locales, Blake Graven said, it’s important for Visit Durango to emphasize responsible travel practices such as maintaining social distancing, wearing face masks and frequent hand washings, all of which is central to the message in Visit Durango’s “Care for Durango” campaign launched in April.

Visit Durango’s website provides information to travelers about responsibly visiting Southwest Colorado during the era of the novel coronavirus, she said.

Herald Staff



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