Our Public Lands and Watershed are in Jeopardy!

ADVOCACY ALERT!

Over the last 6 weeks, we’ve been hearing from community members with concerns about how the new Administration’s heavy handed executive policies will impact the North Fork Valley. WSCC shares many of these concerns and as a community based advocacy organization we are committed to educating our members and providing them the tools they need to speak up for our shared values here on the Western Slope. Below are some of the top concerns we’ve been hearing from our community and more information about how you can get involved. 

Speaking out with a collective voice is one of the most powerful ways to enact change. All concerned citizens should call or write our Members of Congress (more details below!) or consider joining WSCC at any of our upcoming community events to learn more. 

There are lots of other ways to stay involved locally, like by attending a meeting of our Public Lands Committee or Watershed Stewardship Committee. Prefer to get your hands dirty? Sign up to participate in our River Watch program or for a WSCC-led public lands stewardship project. Looking to build connections within our community? Come along on a volunteer-led Mike’s Hike or visit us at community events throughout the year, like WSCC’s RiverFest at the Paonia River Park in early June.

Community Impacts and Concerns: 

• Cuts to federal funding and staffing are having a harmful local impact on everything from family owned agricultural businesses to public lands recreation.
  • Drought mitigation, habitat restoration, and wildfire preparedness projects have been indefinitely delayed across Western Colorado. 
  • Federal employees throughout Colorado have already been terminated without cause, with the promise of more firings to come, impacting far reaching programs like agricultural conservation, weather forecasting, and public lands management.
  • Federal employees and public lands are important parts of our communities, and these cuts will reverberate throughout our local economies.
• Congress must stand up for their Constitutional authority to spend federal funds by unfreezing appropriated funds and retaining the federal employees within our communities. 
• Any budget or appropriations bills should resist efforts to sell-off public lands and fully fund programs and staffing in the U.S. Department of Agriculture and Department of the Interior. 
• Protect public lands and our watershed by opposing the “Energy Dominance” agenda which aims to take public lands and outdoor access away from the public in favor of extractive uses that will primarily benefit private companies, the wealthy, and well-connected. 

Call or write your Congressman and Senators!

Sharing your name and address will help offices verify you are a constituent and be responsive to your concerns. Feel free to reference the talking points above, but personalized comments will be the most meaningful, so please do not hesitate to share your own concerns about how your family or business may be impacted. 

Congressman Jeff Hurd (CO-03)

Senator Michael Bennet

Senator John Hickenlooper