Oct. 4-6, 2022 – RMRI in-person Partner & Leadership Team meeting/field trip RMRI
RMRI is planning the first in-person RMRI Partners Meeting in years. The multi-day event will be held in Durango. If you are interested in attending, email RestoreTheRockies@gmail.com. Past meeting summaries at https://restoringtherockies.org/meeting-summaries.
__________
Aaron Kimple of MSI departs for ERI
RMRI, the RMRI-SW landscape and the Mountain Studies Institute (MSI) bid farewell to Aaron Kimple. Aaron leaves his position as with MSI to take on a new job opportunity with the Southwest Ecological Restoration Institutes. He will stay in Durango with his family serving as a Program Director. Dana Guinn (dana@mountainstudies.org) and Anthony Culpepper (anthony@mountainstudies.org) assume Aaron’s responsibilities. We wish the bets of luck to Aaron Kimple and his family.
__________
CSFS kicks off FRWRM
The Colorado State Forest Service (CSFS) is now accepting applications for the Forest Restoration and Wildlife Risk Mitigation (FRWRM) grant program. The Colorado Legislature established FRWRM in 2017. FRWRM provides state support through competitive grant funds that encourage community-level actions across the state. The application period is August 17 – Oct. 19, 2022. Awards will be made by March 31, 2023. The Request for Applications (RFA), application templates and instructions are posted here.
__________
CYCA to launch Colorado Climate Corps
The RMRI Partner, Colorado Youth Corps Association (CYCA), received $1.7 million from the American Rescue Plan to launch the Colorado Climate Corps. AmeriCorps recently announced that they will provide funding to the Colorado Climate Corps as part of their regular budget for three years, starting in 2023. CYCA has had challenges filling open positions while competing with jobs that provide a better wage.
__________
RMRI bids farewell to Kate McIntire of NWTF
RMRI Coordinator Kate McIntire will be transitioning from the National Wild Turkey Federation (NWTF) to the State of Colorado as the Northern Mountains Regional Manager for the Division of Local Affairs. Her last day with the NWTF will be Sept 2, 2022. Kate said it is a very bittersweet move, but looks forward to continued work collaborating with Partners across the state on many of the same values shared by RMRI. If you'd like to stay in touch with Kate, her email is katemcintire24@gmail.com. The NWTF is currently working on a plan to ensure this transition is as smooth as possible.
__________
USPP finalizes Protocols paving way for improved collaboration RMRI-Upper South Platte
The Upper South Platte Partnership (USPP) completed its review and updates of it Structures and Protocols document originally created in 2015, reflecting changes in the partnership’s evolution. USPP’s next Management & Science Team meeting, Sept. 1, is dedicated to reviewing prioritization areas and identifying new potential collaborative projects. If interested, contact USPP Watershed Coordinator, Audrey Miles-Cherney, at 720-403-4609, a.miles_cherney@colostate.edu.
__________
FACO hiring training assistant
Fire Adapted Colorado is seeking a motivated trainer and facilitator to serve as a Training Specialist to help Coloradans navigate wildfire resilience now and into the future. The Training Specialist will lead learning opportunities for wildfire mitigation specialists and other industry professionals. More…
__________
Partners restore campsites near Buena Vista RMRI-Upper Arkansas
Game Trail residents, Chaffee Rec Rangers from the USFS, and Chaffee County Fire Protection District staff helped clean up the recreation area along CR 365 west of Buena Vista. North Cottonwood Creek is the source for Buena Vista’s water supply, and the drainage has high wildfire danger due to dense forest conditions. The group downsized dozens of campfire rings and spruced up about 50 campsites. The Chaffee Recreation Rangers program started in 2021 under the Chaffee Recreation Council to address soaring visitation as public lands budgets remained flat.
__________
Rec Rangers focus on visitor education in 2nd season RMRI-Upper Arkansas
The Chaffee Recreation Rangers program is in full swing this summer with eight seasonal full-time staff patrolling public lands in Chaffee County. The program started in 2021 under the Chaffee Recreation Council to address soaring visitation as public lands budgets remained flat. The Rec Rangers last year contacted 1,000 visitors, installed nearly 3,500 feet of buck-and-rail fence, maintained or installed more than 270 signs, and dismantled 125 campfire rings between April and October. More…
__________
BEST PRACTICE: Rec Adopters’ sign-up map & mobile app help monito, growing visitation RMRI-Upper Arkansas
You can help land managers address the impacts of visitation to Chaffee County’s public lands when you go to the Chaffee Rec Adopters webpage and click on your favorite recreation area to sign up. Like “Adopt-A-Trail,” the program allows the public to be active participants in preserving the beauty and value of recreational lands. Adopters can sign up to steward their favorite recreation lands in Chaffee County. “Adopters” use the Chaffee Rec Collector App to monitor campsites and other conditions on their adopted lands. Each app entry, called a “survey,” is aggregated in an online dashboard to support planning and management by the U.S. Forest Service, Bureau of Land Management and Arkansas Headwaters Recreation Area. Volunteers can join group cleanup events or steward lands on their own.
__________
MFP invests in biomass utilization RMRI-SW
Montrose Forest Products partners with RMRI to foster healthy, functioning forests to support suitable wildlife habitat and populations. Today, MFP is working on a $15 million project to retrofit the mill to run on its own wood chips. As a leader in biomass utilization, the mill will be capable of producing 1.25 megawatts of electricity—enough to be self-sustaining. The biomass-fired energy plant will be able to produce both the required heat and electricity for the sawmill manufacturing processes.
|