APRIL INSIGHTS FROM CHLT
  • Farewell from Melinda McWilliams
  • CHLT's New Website
  • National Poetry Month
  • Community News
  • ReFUND CO
  • Upcoming Events

Farewell from Board Member
Melinda McWilliams
Grand County has been my home since 2002. In 2019, I joined the CHLT Board because I aspired to help protect the County’s outstanding beauty and natural resources. At that time, the board had five members and a new executive director. The organization had accomplished much in 22 years, but the opportunity for growth and a greater identity in the community was a challenge. My term has ended, but I leave a robust organization with nine board members with exceptional expertise and talents. Our executive director is now an accomplished and respected veteran within the Colorado land trust community. I know the CHLT will continue to vigorously pursue its mission to conserve and steward the open lands and natural character of the Colorado River headwaters.

CHLT's New Website is Live!

Colorado Headwaters Land Trust recently launched a brand new website! We have worked hard to create a web presence that is user-friendly and inclusive. Funding for the website was provided by the Grand Foundation, the Land Trust Alliance and the Fraser River Valley Lions Club. Take a peek, and let us know what you think.
April is National Poetry Month
Happy #NationalPoetryMonth! Join us as we share our favorite nature, ranching, and outdoor-themed poetry! If you have a poem to share, whether it's your own creation or someone else's work, please send it along: [email protected]
We'll post it on our social channels. Please include your name, and a relevant photo to post alongside your poem.
Ordinarily, I go to the woods alone, with not a single friend, for they are all smilers and talkers and therefore unsuitable.

I don’t really want to be witnessed talking to the catbirds or hugging the old black oak tree. I have my way of praying, as you no doubt have yours.

Besides, when I am alone I can become invisible. I can sit on the top of a dune as motionless as an uprise of weeds, until the foxes run by unconcerned. I can hear the almost unhearable sound of the roses singing.

If you have ever gone to the woods with me, I must love you very much.

Community News
  • Grand County is in the news! And it's in regard to a positive step for the headwaters of the Colorado River. A project to create a 1-mile channel around Windy Gap Reservoir to restore flows and allow fish passage has received a major donation. Read the Colorado Sun article here.
  • Another recent Sky-Hi News article discusses human impacts on the natural world around us. By engaging with the land trust to conserve their land, landowners help prevent further negative impacts by construction and developmental pressures, and they help promote a robust and healthy ecosystem for all of our non-human friends, from the smallest of fish to the largest of moose. Read the article here.
  • Douglas Land Conservancy (DLC), a nonprofit land trust based in Castle Rock CO, is seeking an Executive Director to take the reins of this respected institution. Founded in 1987, DLC holds a portfolio of 84 conservation easements totaling 26,757 acres of public and private open lands in Douglas and surrounding counties. It maintains and cultivates active partnerships with local and statewide agencies and governments. It is accredited by the Land Trust Accreditation Commission and Certified by the State of Colorado. DLC is supported by a long-tenured volunteer board and a cadre of more than 100 local volunteers. Learn more here.
  • The Intermountain West Climate Dashboard provides situational awareness of climate, drought, and water resources for Colorado, Utah, and Wyoming. Check out the latest trends from CU Boulder's Western Water Assessment team here.
  • A new documentary film about where nature and democracy meet is coming to a PBS station near you in April. Forever Wild tells the story of a tenacious community in the historic town of Telluride, Colorado, who unites to save the open land surrounding their town from a billionaire developer. The film portrays how everyday citizens can take action to protect our precious natural habitats and resources. Learn more here.

Did you know that there's a new way to support the Colorado Headwaters Land Trust?
Consider donating your tax refund (all or a part) to support CHLT's work to protect the land we love in Grand County.

Taxpayers should look for the option to "Donate to a Colorado Nonprofit" on their refund or tax software. Then, insert the following:

A) Nonprofit's name: Colorado Headwaters Land Trust
B) Nonprofit's Secretary of State CCSA Registration Number (not the EIN).
For CHLT, this number is: 20023003772
(Both name and number are required to efficiently and accurately make sure that the nonprofit the taxpayer intended gets the donation.)
C) Amount of donation

Please know that when making a donation through Donate to a Colorado Nonprofit Fund the taxpayer can:
- Only designate ONE write-in nonprofit
- Give all or a part of their refund

More information can be found here.
 
Thank you for conserving land in Grand County for perpetuity!

UPCOMING EVENTS
HTA Tap Talk
April 7 (Thursday) 6pm
at Never Summer Brewing
Join Headwaters Trail Alliance for their upcoming Tap Talks event on April 7th at 6 pm MT, hosted at Never Summer Brewing in Granby, CO. Enjoy some happy hour brews while you hear from Jeremy D. Krones, Executive Director of The Colorado Headwaters Land Trust, who’ll be giving a 20 minute presentation on the history of conservation in the United States and how it benefits outdoor recreation today. Register here.
Earth Day Celebration
April 22 (Friday) 3pm - 7pm
at Headwaters Center
Don’t just make Earth Day about appreciating our spectacular planet, make it about preserving it, too. Meet with CHLT and other presenting sponsors for educational games and activities with a focus on environmental conservation for all ages. Kids 12 & under are free, all others are $10 - including admission to Headwaters River Journey immersive museum. Hang out and get comfortable with food, cash bar, and music, too. Learn more here.
CHLT would like to thank the Fraser River Valley Lions Club for their 2021 grant to promote our events and education materials. Learn more here.

Let's Get Social!
Follow us on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter.
Here are a few of our posts from the last month. Find more on our pages.
March 23: "Walk tall as the trees, live strong as the mountains, be gentle as the spring winds, keep the warmth of summer in your heart, and the Great Spirit will always be with you."
- American Indian Proverb
March 11: "It is not so much for its beauty that the forest makes a claim upon men's hearts, as for the subtle something, that quality of air that emanation from old trees, that so wonderfully changes and renews a weary spirit."
- Robert Louis Stevenson
March 7: "You are the sky. Everything else is just the weather."
- Pema Chodron
Recordings of all of CHLT's educational and informative panel discussions are available to view on our YouTube channel! View CHLT's virtual talks here.
You shop. Amazon gives.
Consider an alternative way of protecting the land we love - at no cost to you. Support CHLT through AmazonSmile! Sign up for AmazonSmile and select "Colorado Headwaters Land Trust" as your favorite charity. You shop. Amazon gives. Learn more about AmazonSmile.
Shop Our Conservation Partners!
Support local land conservation by shopping at CHLT's Conservation Partners. These partners believe in the mission of the Land Trust and know that open space enriches our quality of life, protects landscapes, and brings visitors and residents to Grand County. 
Protecting open space is an investment in our environment, our culture and our economy.
Are you interested in becoming a Conservation Partner with no cost to your business? Click here for more information!
Thank you for supporting Colorado Headwaters Land Trust.
YOUR help today allows us to protect the lands we love for generations to come!
P.O. Box 1938, Granby, CO 80446 (970) 887-1177