Labor Day Weekend Stewardship Recap

This year's Labor Day weekend, High Country Conservation Advocates (HCCA) partnered with Wildlands Restoration Volunteers, the Bureau of Land Management, the US Forest Service, Colorado Parks and Wildlife, and the Upper Gunnison River Water Conservancy District to restore riparian and wet meadow habitats in sagebrush shrublands, strengthening the resiliency of our local environment.

Over the course of the weekend, 28 local residents joined HCCA and volunteered 168 hours to build 38 rock structures on Flat Top Mountain, north of Gunnison. East of Gunnison, volunteers built 5 beaver dam analogs and 4 rock structures along Monson Gulch. Volunteers used innovative, yet simple, restoration methods, specifically small rock structures and beaver mimicry structures to raise the water table to support plants and insects needed by wildlife (including the Gunnison Sage-grouse).

In addition to the hard work of our volunteers, we are grateful for support from Chopwood Mercantile, for Mountain Maid Coffee, keeping all the volunteers perfectly caffeinated, to Firebrand Deli and Jermaine’s for making delicious lunches, and for Zuni Street Brewing, providing the much-deserved beer at the end of each day.