A detailed investigation was begun in 1978 with an archaeological project under the direction of Bruce Dahlin (The Catholic University of America) and Ray Matheny (Brigham Young University).
Although most of the visits to these more prominent sites involve day trips, there are also many jungle tour operators that showcase less-known, remote Mayan jungle ruins such as Nakum, Yaxha, and El Mirador.
Plan objectives include the development of tourist infrastructure, the installation of a small tourist train from the town of Carmelita to El Mirador, and the creation of a new university for the study of regional biodiversity, genetics, and Maya studies.
Florence Bartlett had a winter home, El Mirador, in Alcalde, New Mexico, near Los Luceros, the home of Mary Cabot Wheelwright, founder of the Wheelwright Museum of the American Indian, also in Santa Fe.