WSCC held its 2022 Annual Meeting via Zoom on March 20th. The meeting included the election of two new board members, announcement of the 2021 Conservation Heroes, an engaging keynote speaker, and much more.
Keynote Speaker: Lizzy Potter, an attorney with Advocates for the West who is currently involved in litigation related to the BLM Uncompahgre Field Office’s Resource Management Plan, provided the keynote address. She talked in very specific terms about how public support and public pressure can influence – and change – public lands management, and why litigation alone cannot win the battles. A video recording of her presentation is available at this link: https://youtu.be/Rs_zcbRhYio
New Board Members: The membership unanimously approved two new members for the WSCC Board of Directors: Kate Graham and Cobun Zweifel-Keegan. We will soon be updating the BOD page on the website to introduce them to you.
Treasurer’s Report: WSCC Treasurer Mike Burkley gave a brief overview of WSCC’s finances. Here are some excerpts from his report followed by two charts he presented:
“2021 was a very good year as far as our finances were concerned. We ended up with a $25k net income. This can be attributed to the efforts from our great staff and board members, but most importantly the many contributions from our volunteers and members. This net income allowed us to reach a few financial goals: 1) pay our staff a competitive salary; 2) increase our operating reserves as we strive to build our reserves to eventually equal six months worth of our administrative expenses, and 3) pay down the principal on our mortgage.”
Strategic Planning Update: Board Chair Alex Johnson talked about the intensive strategic planning process the Board undertook over the past year. This plan received final approval from the Board at their March 24th meeting. Read the Executive Summary here.
Year in Review/Looking Ahead: WSCC staff produced a 16 minute video describing the organization’s 2021 accomplishments and expectations for 2022. You can view the video at this link: https://youtu.be/RY5VvnWvQmA
Conservation Heroes: WSCC announced its individual and business Conservation Heroes of 2021. Tom Beckendorf received the individual award. Tom is one of the “regulars” in WSCC’s River Watch program, sampling and analyzing water samples from around the valley several times a year. He is also a frequent volunteer on stewardship projects. Thanks Tom for all you do!
Seek Outside, a small, family-owned backcountry gear manufacturer based in Grand Junction was awarded the Conservation Hero award for business. In 2021 they wanted to help WSCC and donated essentially an entire lightweight hunting camp – tent, stove, backpacks – all of the highest quality and lightest weight. We chose to hold a fall raffle for the gear. It was a great fundraiser and a really fantastic way for us to engage with folks in conversations about conservation at community events. We were thrilled to talk up their gear and also talk to them about the GMUG planning process on their podcast last fall. Thank you again to the whole crew at Seek Outside!
Special Recognitions: Karen Ortiz was recognized for her eight years of board service, and Viva Kellogg was recognized for over eight years of handling accounting duties for WSCC. We can’t thank them enough for all they contributed to WSCC!