The Western Slope Conservation Center is bringing our community stewardship program to new heights in 2018!
What is stewardship? The dictionary definition is, the job of taking care of something, especially something worth caring for and preserving. Today more than ever, public lands are under threat. Under threat of being overused, overloved, and overworked. As avid users of the public lands, trails, and forests it is our responsibility to also look out for them! Stewardship is giving back our time and effort to protect and care for the land that gives us so much.
Interested in digging into some more hands-on stewardship work? In collaboration with the U.S. Forest Service, the Conservation Center puts on trail work days every summer in the GMUG Forest. The work done at these events is highly varied – every project is different! Past projects have included installing low bridges over wet areas, creating turnpikes, fixing tread, removing brush that is encroaching on the trail, and more. Every work day is an opportunity to learn about trail management, the GMUG Forest, have fun, and give back!
This summer, the Conservation Center is focusing its stewardship efforts on the West Elk Wilderness. Hiking in the West Elk Wilderness, volunteers will be helping the Forest Service collect critical solitude monitoring data. In order for the Forest Service to accurately manage it’s Wilderness, it needs to know how much use it is getting! This shared information will then be used to prioritize and plan work and management of Wilderness Areas. For Solitude Monitoring trips, funds can be provided for gas to and from the trailheads. For more information, please contact Ben Katz or Karley O’Connor!
Here are some helpful links for conducting solitude monitoring in the West Elks:
Map of Coal Mesa Trail
Map of Throughline Trail
USFS Protocols for Solitude Monitoring
To learn more about volunteer opportunities, e-mail karley@theconservationcenter.org, give us a call at 970-527-5307, or stop by our office in Paonia.