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Colorado Canyons Association Helps Support National Conservation Lands

By Amanda Keith posted 06-16-2016 09:44 AM

  

Earlier this year, Colorado Canyons Association was awarded the Public Lands Partnership Excellence Award by the Bureau of Land Management for their work protecting National Conservation Lands in western Colorado and for their educational activities in the tri-county area near Grand Junction.

Whether it’s exploring petroglyphs in Dominguez Canyon Wilderness, rafting through Gunnison Gorge or mountain biking through McInnis Canyons, the National Conservation Lands that Colorado Canyons Association helps support offers a diverse range of opportunities for visitors. With that diversity, also comes challenges in protecting the landscape, a challenge that the organization is able to meet through their outreach programs and community-building initiatives.

 

What are National Conservation Lands?

Established by Secretary of the Interior Bruce Babbitt in 2000, National Conservation Lands comprise 873 federally recognized sites, covering 32 million acres of ecologically and culturally important lands in the American West. These lands are managed by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) and were designated to be conserved, protected, and restored for the benefit of visitors and for future generations. While the lands themselves are said to be “remarkable landscapes of the American spirit,” public awareness of these places is lacking and the lands are underfunded compared to other public land management units.

That’s why nonprofit friends groups such as Colorado Canyons Association (CCA) are so important. CCA helps support activities at three sites: McInnis Canyons, Dominguez-Escalante and Gunnison Gorge National Conservation Areas. Joe Neuhof, Executive Director for CCA explained that, though they are a somewhat new organization, they have been able to accomplish an incredible amount in increasing public engagement with their sites. “We’ve grown a lot in a short amount of time,” he explained. “We opened our doors in 2011 and have grown from one staff to five.” He added that, in that time, they’ve brought over 2,000 students to the lands and have presented interpretive programs and lecture series to at least 600 individuals.

Bringing Students Out to the Lands through Nature Knowledge Days

Through their Nature Knowledge Days, CCA brings third graders to their three land areas and has established learning stations for them to visit. At each station, students learn about local habitats and invasive species, geology and soils in western Colorado and about the history of ranching and land-use to better understand the complexity of these protected lands. This year, alone, CCA brought 1,000 third graders from Mesa, Delta and Montrose Counties.

With the help of retired educators and experts from the community, CCA has also developed standardized curricula so students’ experiences in the field meet state educational standards. “We want to know what students are learning in the classroom,” Neuhof explained. That’s why the organization goes beyond hosting educational opportunities on the land and provides in-classroom learning and follow-up activities that complement what the students are studying in school. Neuhof also mentioned that the thank you letters they receive from the students always brighten his day. The students, many of whom had never visited the lands before, are able to gain a connection to and a knowledge of the land that encourages them to become future stewards.


Students show off their art from Nature Knowledge Day

 

Colorado Canyons Association – a Valuable Partner to the Bureau of Land Management

In addition to their educational work, CCA provides substantial resources to the BLM through providing volunteer-collected trail and habitat monitoring data. By establishing a system of monitoring and reporting information to the BLM, Neuhof explained that they help the agencies make better management decisions. “We’re filling a gap to train volunteers to monitor the health and condition of recreation trails,” he said. Through monitoring, they are furthering the reach of the agency and identifying sites where the BLM can focus its restoration efforts.

Many of these National Conservation Lands include mountain bike trails, equestrian trails and even off-highway vehicle roads, which provide CCA the opportunity to include volunteers from a variety of backgrounds and interests. Neuhof explained that ideally, trail monitors take responsibility for the types of trails they’re likely to use – motorcyclists monitor motorcycle-approved routes, etc. This allows the volunteers to provide data in places they’re likely to visit and encourages them to become advocates for the preservation of the land they enjoy using.

According to Collin Ewing, National Conservation Area Manager for McInnis Canyons and Dominguez-Escalante, "Colorado Canyons Association is invaluable to BLM's education and stewardship programs in the National Conservation Lands.” Through their programs and their ability to provide additional resources to the agency, they help ensure that these newly protected lands are well supported. “We are very lucky to have such a dedicated partner,” Ewing added, noting that the quality of their work and dedication to the lands has helped put McInnis Canyons, Dominguez-Escalante and Gunnison Gorge on the map for both the local community and nationally as a unique and vibrant land area that’s well worth visiting.

 


Volunteers monitoring habitat and collecting data to send to the BLM

 

About the Public Lands Partnership Excellence Award

The Public Lands Partnership Excellence Award is presented biannually by the BLM and recognizes an interpretive association or friends group that has a formal assistance agreement with the BLM and has demonstrated exceptional support for the BLM’s interpretive, educational, and/or public outreach programs.

To learn more Colorado Canyon Association’s accomplishments for this award, click here. To learn more about the Colorado Canyons Association, visit their website at coloradocanyonsassociation.org or their Facebook page here.



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