Comments Needed on GMUG Draft Forest Plan by November 12
There’s one month left to submit comments on the Draft GMUG Forest Plan and Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS). High Country Conservation Advocates (HCCA) is asking all of our members and supporters to comment today to help shape the future of our incredible National Forest lands.
GMUG draft revision reexamines Wild and Scenic eligibility
The GMUG forest plan revision process is a once-in-a-generation opportunity to influence how the USFS manages a huge chunk of Colorado’s public lands. The GMUG has in it 36,000 miles of rivers and streams, some of which wind through the Western Slope’s most remote landscapes. Yet the Forest Service is considering less than 4% of those miles as eligible for protection under the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act.
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.
Polis administration pushing green agenda, but isn’t objecting to coal mine royalty cuts worth millions
All six coal mines operating in Colorado last year won cuts to the royalties they paid to the federal or state government, denying treasuries millions of dollars and flouting policy claims by President Biden and Gov. Jared Polis to curb coal’s intense pollution.
Community Action Needed! Attend Tuesday’s Virtual Gunnison Ranger District Open House
On Tuesday, September 28, from 5:00 to 7:00 pm, the Forest Service’s Gunnison Ranger District will host a virtual open house to discuss the GMUG’s draft forest plan and its alternatives. High Country Conservation Advocates (HCCA) is asking all of our members and supporters who care about the future of the Gunnison National Forest to attend and speak up on behalf of wilderness, wildlife, and sustainable recreation.
National Public Lands Day
On this year's National Public Lands Day HCCA partnered with the BLM to host a volunteer workday at Chance Gulch near Gunnison. We had 7 community members volunteer to spend their morning restoring and preserving critical mesic meadow habitat.
One Dam at a Time
The newly rewetted land made a satisfying squelch underneath rubber boots as volunteers walked upstream. The small creek wove through the basin down toward the mountains, but something was missing.
Union Park Stewardship Projects Update
Last fall our intrepid volunteers headed out in the field to harvest and plant willow stakes as part of a restoration project on a heavily eroded stream crossing in Union Park. We planted stakes along banks reconstructed with willow plugs and wads. We also did some experimental plantings with leftover willow stakes to determine if the soil up above the floodplain could support new growth.
Trail Creek Beaver Dam Analogs
We had 15 HCCA volunteers join Forest Service personnel to implement 9 beaver dam analogs (BDA) and plant native willow harvested on-site along Trail Creek in Taylor Park. This project uses low-tech process-based restoration methods to strengthen the resiliency of riparian systems, improving watershed health. Mimicking beaver structures helps attenuate water in the landscape and return complexity to poor riverscapes, allowing more wetland vegetation to grow.
Attention Boaters, Anglers, and Water Rats: Wild & Scenic River Comments Needed
During the forest planning process, the public has the opportunity to weigh in on the unique qualities of our local creeks and rivers and to comment on whether certain segments are eligible for inclusion in the National Wild & Scenic Rivers System.
September Stewardship Opportunities
We are hosting THREE days of volunteer stewardship projects next week across the Gunnison Valley and are in need of your help in stewarding our public lands! Please consider volunteering for one of our upcoming stewardship projects listed below. Visit our Stewardship Page to view all volunteer events and read about past projects.
Sampling Outstanding Waters
Our work takes us to beautiful places! Fall means that our staff get to sneak outside for stewardship projects and to collect data demonstrating that special protections are warranted for some of our favorite ecosystems. Protecting our streams requires that we collect data to demonstrate that these streams meet Colorado’s highest designation for water quality protections.
Annual Meeting 2021 - “What kind of ancestor do you want to be?”
The talk and following conversation with Dr John Hausdoerffer got us all thinking. Not only about “What kind of ancestor do we want to be?” (the title of his latest book) but also about what kind of ancestor the Gunnison Valley is to us. Certainly these lands and waters provide for us in many ways.
Flat Top Mountain Tour Day
On Friday, September 3rd, HCCA hosted an educational tour day of wet meadow restoration structures located on Flat Top Mountain, north of Gunnison. The restoration sites are located on land managed by the US Forest Service.
HCCA Meets With Senator John Hickenlooper
HCCA's Public Lands Director Matt Reed joined other community members last night for dinner, drinks, and conversation with Senator John Hickenlooper. They discussed public lands issues and opportunities facing Western Slope communities. Thank you Sen. Hickenlooper for listening and for sharing ideas.
Letter to County Supporting the Proposed Amendment to the County Land Use Resolution
On Tuesday, September 7, Gunnison County Commissioners will hear public comment on a proposed amendment to the county land use resolution (LUR). This amendment, recommended by the Gunnison County Planning Commission, would decrease the maximum use-by-right square footage of new residential construction.
Taylor Park Travel Management Workday Recap
With 25 total hours of volunteer time, this group built 4 fences (totaling 24 linear feet), installed 3 USFS travel management signs, and restored roughly 600 feet of previously impacted roads which will improve watershed health and terrestrial wildlife in Taylor Park.
Draft forest plan flops among conservationists
Conservation advocates this week began digesting the more than 1,300 pages of documents that make up the U.S. Forest Service draft plan for much of the Western Slope. The plan includes detailed environmental impact analyses and reams of source materials. But even a cursory look yielded a warning sign for many groups: a dramatic increase in the amount of land designated as “suitable timber” for logging.
Draft forest plan for GMUG soliciting public comment
The long awaited draft revision plan for the Grand Mesa, Uncompaghre and Gunnison (GMUG) National Forest was released last week on August 13 and the public will have 90 days to make comments on the proposal. The plan is the major guiding document on how things like recreation, logging and wildlife are managed on the nearby national forests.
HCCA Hikes Finish with a Bluebird!
Day, that is. Topping off a wonderful season of ten spectacular hikes, ten intrepid hikers enjoyed Oh-Be-Joyful valley in the Raggeds Wilderness, as we have for many years on our last hike of the season. The smoky skies were nowhere to be seen, nor was a cloud, all day long.