Over 100 attend Western Slope Conservation Center’s 4oth Anniversary Annual Meeting on Sunday, February 12th 2017 
A packed house of Conservation Center members, staff, and board brought their chili, thoughtful questions, and checkbooks to celebrate a remarkable year of conservation on the Western Slope and to prepare for another big year ahead.
The agenda included a powerful talk by Dr. John Hausdoerffer, Professor of Environmental Sustainability & Philosophy at Western State Colorado University. Dr. Hausdoerffer 
spoke about how we as a community draw inspiration from the land with an interactive talk titled “A Land Ethic for the 21st Century.” It was a special opportunity to take a few minutes to think careful about why we will continue to work to protect our incredible home here on the Western Slope. You can listen to the talk here.
WSCC Finances and Fundraising
The event included a report on WSCC’s 2017 Budget with very positive trends, including a 40% projected increase in operational income, due to successful of grant income and a banner year for fundraising and donations – nearly $40,000 in total donations. Over the course of the Annual Meeting evening, we raised over $800.
WSCC’s 2017 fundraising goal is $46,000, which includes our Trailblazers program, our flagship events including River Fest, and sales of our new schwag, including t-shirts and stickers.
We are also thrilled to announce that we now boast 500 active members (who have donated in the last year), up 100 from two years ago! The more members, the greater our voice in advocating for our home.
“40-in-40” – During the Annual Meeting we 
announced a 2017 goal of recruiting 40 new monthly donors in our 40th year, and we’re pleased to announce that 7 new donors signed up just at the Annual Meeting! That means we have 33 more to meet our goal. Go to our membership page to sign up today, or email [email protected].
40th Anniversary Photo Mosaic!
We also unveiled an incredible commemorative image that features photos from hundreds of the people and places that have made the Western Slope Conservation Center what it is over the last 40 years. The base image was created by Celia Roberts, and a large format print was donated to WSCC thanks to an anonymous donor. Check out our incredible image and look for yourself in there.
2016 Western Slope Conservation Center Accomplishments
- Successfully completed 1st year of 3-year strategic plan with three goal areas of Public Lands, Watersheds, and Education
- Completed our 40th year of conservation in the North Fork Valley and Western Slope
Public Land Advocacy
- Made our local voices heard during the draft BLM Uncompahgre Field Office Resource Management Plan (UFO RMP) comment period, with over 1000 unique and substantive comment letters requesting the inclusion of the North Fork Alternative and other significant conservation protections in UFO RMP, engaging local groups, organizations, and agencies
- Organized over 400 people to attend WSCC-sponsored, BLM, and municipal meetings about the fate of our local public lands
- Submitted over 220 pages of substantive comments on behalf of our members to various public land management decision-making processes
- Engaged in radio, print, social media and email updates as well as community outreach on latest public land concerns
- Communicated frequently with BLM and USFS staff throughout the past year, building open lines of communication regarding planning and decision-making
- Successfully advocated for withdrawal of 25 illegally issued White River National Forest leases within Thompson Divide
- Earned the Brian O’Donnell Excellence in Conservation Leadership Award for our innovative grassroots approach to protecting our local BLM lands and the National Conservation Lands system, which includes Gunnison Gorge and Dominguez-Escalante National Conservation Areas. The award garnered a $5000 cash prize
- Attended frequent strategy meetings and conference calls with environmental groups across the region, state, and nation
- Hosted monthly Public Lands committee meetings
Public Land Partnership and Stewardship
- Hosted three volunteer trail days during which WSCC volunteers built or improved over 1-mile of trails within the North Fork and Lower Gunnison Watershed in partnership with the US Forest Service, Great Outdoors Colorado (GOCO), Bureau of Land Management (BLM), and Colorado Parks & Wildlife (CPW)
- Engaged community in SBEADMR (Spruce Beetle Epidemic and Aspen Decline Management Response) public engagement process, including hosting an educational hike on Sudden Aspen Decline (SAD) in the Gunnison National Forest above Paonia
- Partnered with Gunnison Public Lands Initiative (GPLI) to host a hike and joint-meetings to engage in legislative land protection working group in Gunnison County
- Completed first year of Healthy Forests Initiative Americorps VISTA program, which has proactively engaged in building partnerships between WSCC, federal agencies, and other local organizations to support improved coordination of public land and watershed stewardship end education
Education and Engagement
- Helped over 650 Western Slope students to get outside and engaged in natural resource sciences through the Youth Outdoor Network (YON) and Conservation Days
- Sponsored over 10 hikes and outings with over 100 adults and youth participating
- Sponsored 6 geology lectures across Delta County led by the renowned Dr. Dave Noe, who recently produced Colorado Geological Survey quads of the North Fork and Lower Gunnison Watersheds
- Organized over 10 additional educational community events that were attended by over 1000 community members in total. Events included: North Fork River Float & Fest, Conservation Days, Wild & Scenic Film Festival, River Park Volunteer Days,
- Key supporting member of The Nature Connection – a GOCO Inspire grant program to promote outdoor education in Delta County. It aims to get kids off the couch and outside in any and every way we can, from backyards to the backcountry.
- Developed the unique Youth Outdoor Network, in conjunction with The Nature Connection, the GMUG National Forest, and other state and federal agencies, which engaged 100 high school students in the Delta County School District and Olathe High School, providing education on career, educational, and recreational pathways on public lands.
- Participated in a Delta High School forest science day on the Grand Mesa.
- Hosted monthly Education committee meetings
Watershed Stewardship
- Boated 150 people down the North Fork of the Gunnison River during the River Float & Fest, including over 200 people who attended the first annual River Festival!
- Produced a brand-new water quality report that analyzes 15 years of volunteer water quality monitoring data within the North Fork Watershed
- Completed and published the Tongue Creek and Smith Fork Watershed Assessments to identify projects that would improve irrigation infrastructure, stream health, water quality, and quantity
- Completed our 15th year monitoring surface water quality through the River Watch Program, with over 15 committed volunteers participating monthly
- Worked with local water resource partners including the North Fork Water Conservancy District, supported by the Colorado Water Conservation Board (CWCB), to assess infrastructure and environmental resource needs
- Regularly tested the North Fork of the Gunnison at the Paonia River Park for E.Coli to assure local swimmer safety
- Attended regional and state conferences to network and strategize with other watershed groups and agencies
- Led the effort to develop the Hotchkiss Boat Ramp at the Delta County fairgrounds, working with Delta County representatives to move forward with construction and to identify funding
- Hosted monthly Watershed committee meetings
Paonia River Park
- Constructed ½ a mile of trail at the Paonia River Park!
- Hosted a Youth Conservation crew for 6 weeks of trail construction
- Installed infrastructure including new interpretive signs and a safety fence
- Completed the incredible ADA Ramp built by Ira Houseweart, with a lei-cutting ceremony during the 2016 River Float and Fest
- Completed the design and began installation of directional and rule signs
- Developed style guide for the North Fork and Lower Gunnison River corridor
- Engaged the local community through social media and email regarding education on what improvements were happening at the Paonia River Park
Organizational
- Increased total active membership list to 500. A membership is active if the household has donated in the last 18 months. This number is up from 450 last year!
- Recruited 4 new board members
- Applied for 18 grants in 2016, securing over $225,000 in grant income in 2016, and an additional $177,000 in restricted and unrestricted grant funding already for 2017.
- Two board members and two staff members attended the Conservation Lands Foundation Friends Rendezvous in Las Vegas, NV, where our Executive Director, Alex Johnson, spoke during the evening gala event, and where WSCC was honored with the Brian O’Donnell Excellence in Conservation Leadership award
- Through the Trailblazers campaign and other flagship events, we raised just under $40,000 in fundraising and development in 2016, a new organizational record!
- Printed the 2016 edition of the Tater Heap newsletter, an annual WSCC newsletter named for the peak in the West Elk Mountains
- Sent out 12 monthly update emails to our incredible list of over 1000 supporters
- Surpassed 1000 page fans on Facebook (and we’re already at 1100!)