July 24, 2019 | The U.S. Forest Service has embarked on a bit of a science experiment this summer, to see if trees, willows and other vegetation are able to take root on a waste pile near the Brooklyn Mine, located on a mountainside northwest of Silverton, said Gretchen Fitzgerald, a forester with the agency.

“Not much has been done with this waste rock,” Fitzgerald said. “But I wanted to try this.”

If successful, the project could have beneficial effects on water quality and set a precedent for the future restoration of toxic areas.

July 12, 2019 | CREEDE— According to a press release provided by the Colorado Parks and Wildlife Commission, the organization recently approved $4.547 million to fund work on several OHV trails in the state, including one close to Creede— Upper Pole Creek.

July 9, 2019 | Crews from Southwest Conservation Corps will be working on the maintenance and construction of trails on the Alamosa City Ranch. The crews will be here July 8-12 and July 22-26. They will be camping on city property at the North River Pavilion, just north of the Alamosa Disc Golf Course, during these times. The crews are paid through a grant from Great Outdoors Colorado and funded by the Colorado Lottery.

July 4, 2019 | Mountain Studies Institute and Southwest Conservation Corps have received funding from the Colorado Water Conservation Board to assist landowners with control of invasive weed infestation as a result of impacts from the 416 Fire.

July 4, 2019 | San Juan Trail Riders works to dispel stereotypes, educate and advocate for trail use.

Most recently, with the help of other groups such as Trails 2000 and Southwest Conservation Corps, San Juan Trail Riders helped clear downed trees from trails in the 416 Fire burn area. The group cleared more than 400 trees on the Jones Creek Trail alone, in addition to dozens more on the Hermosa, Dutch and Pinkerton/Flagstaff trails.

July 1, 2019 | Colorado Water Conservation Board (CWCB) has generously awarded $60,000 to Colorado Youth Corps Association for a variety of projects across the state! CWCB has selected the following corps projects, which will be completed by three conservation corps between July 1, 2019 and June 30, 2020. One of the selected projects is Southwest Conservation Corps' 416 Fire Local Restoration Project. SCC will partner with Mountain Studies Institute (MSI) to treat weed infestations resulting from the 416 Fire of 2018 on private lands bordering the San Juan National Forest.

June 25, 2019 | Community Stewards Ambassador Morgan Brandenburg is featured on Fox4 Beaumont in preparation for her family fishing event on June 29th at Big Thicket National Preserve. At her event, Brandenburg will teach kids skills in line casting, knot tying, sport safety, fish identification, and size regulations before putting their lines in the water.

June 5, 2019 | In the recent article detailing the Forest Service and the chain saw exemption (“Forest Service sued over decision to use chain saws in wilderness areas,” May 22), retired Forest Service employee Anne Dal Vera is quoted stating that 10 people with cross-cut saws cut 3,000 trees.

While certainly possible, the time for this accomplishment was not mentioned, and it is likely that this was accomplished over an entire summer cutting season.

In 2018, the Pagosa Ranger District trail crews augmented with a Southwest Conservation Corps trail crew and other Forest service partners also cleared 3,000 trees with hand tools.

June 5, 2019 | This Sunday, the Rico Trails Alliance will hold the first of three summer trail work days from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Volunteers are asked to meet at the Ryman Creek/Salt Creek Trailhead, about 5 miles south of Rico. Training and tools will be provided.

May 19, 2019 | The Forest Service’s recent decision to approve using chain saws to cut out downed trees in wilderness areas might strike some as no big deal.

But for longtime advocates for the wilderness concept generally, and supporters of the Weminuche and South San Juan wilderness areas specifically, it’s a troubling precedent both for its disregard of the law and the apparent disinterest in the fundamental reason behind wilderness areas.