2018 Annual Meeting – “Building Power for Lasting Change”
On February 11, Western Slope Conservation Center Board of Directors, staff, and members gathered for our Annual Meeting and Chili Potluck at Memorial Hall in Hotchkiss. Conservation Center board and staff members provided updates to the organization’s finances, programs, and ongoing plans to build power to create lasting change for the lands, air, waters, and wildlife of the Lower Gunnison Watershed and Western Slope of Colorado.
See the Delta County Independent’s article here!
2017 By the Numbers
New donors: 101
Total members: 600+
Youth engaged: 800+
Volunteer hours: 1200+
Community members engaged: 1200+
Total partners: 50+
New Full-time Staff: 2
Board Members: 9
Average social media post reach: 550 people
Giving Tuesday: $6,000+
Annual Appeal: $11,000+
Trailblazers: $20,000+
$ invested in local communities: $320,000!
WSCC Financial Report
Program Updates
The Conservation Center continues to engage in projects and programs across the Western Slope that will have a lasting impact on our lands, air, water, and wildlife:
Public Lands
- UFO Resource Management Plan
- GMUG Forest Plan Revision
- Gunnison Public Lands Initiative
- Methane Working Group
- Delta County Planning
- Oil and Gas
- Agriculture
- Recreation
- Conservation Lands Defense
- GOCO and Statewide Initiatives
Watersheds
- River Watch
- Event-based Water Quality Monitoring
- Groundwater Monitoring
- River Corridor Development
- Hotchkiss Boat Ramp!
- Paonia River Park Working Group
- River Cleanup Days
- Invasive Species Management
- Stream Management Planning
- Habitat Mitigation
Engaging Multiple Generations
- The Nature Connection & Youth Outdoor Network
- Conservation Days
- Film Festivals
- Western Slope Float Fest
- Every Kid in the Park
- Lectures and collaborative events
- Partnership Building
- USFS Trail Stewardship
- BLM Land Stewardship
2017/18 Conservation Heroes
We also had the chance to honor our 2017/18 “Conservation Heroes” – volunteers who went above and beyond in 2017. These dedicated volunteers were vital to the success of our programs and organizational goals. We owe a debt of gratitude to all our volunteers for helping us build power and create lasting change!
Hannah Stevens, Chair of the Watershed Committee
Heidi Reese, Watershed
Mike Burkley, Public Lands
Mike Wiley, Public Lands
Susie Johnson, Outreach & Education
Erin Jameson and Art Wisehart, Trailblazers
Reaha Goyetche, Healthy Forests Initiative AmeriCorps VISTA
Keynote Speaker – Dr. Suez Jacobson
The Conservation Center was honored to present Professor and Documentary Filmmaker Dr. Suez Jacobson as our Keynote Speaker. Dr. Jacobson spoke about finding solace and value in wilderness, and how these wild places can do more for people’s happiness than economic gains. An economist, Dr. Jacobson detailed studies how, despite vast improvements in the economy over the past 30 years, people are not happier now. She argued that we should not seek economic growth at the expense of our wild places; rather, we must embrace and protect wilderness for its value in making people content.
Dr. Jacobson showed a trailer for her upcoming documentary, Wild Hope, which is scheduled to be released this Summer. According to the film’s website, “Wild Hope tells the story of our deep spiritual connection to the natural world, a connection that has the power to rewire our brains, take us back to our deepest roots, and change how we think and act in a world needing our care.”
