April 11, 2019 | Young people searching for work can often get stuck because they lack a powerful network of adults to advise them and connect them with ideas and opportunities. A major new national campaign that launched this week aims to help young people make those connections.

Led by the America's Promise Alliance, which long has focused on high school graduation issues, the "YES Project"—short for Young, Employed and Successful—brings together more than 450 organizations across the country that work in education, business, philanthropy, and youth development. The idea is that they'd all contribute to a brain trust to help young adults develop the skills, connections, and support to find—and succeed in—jobs.

April 8, 2019 | "One of the many remarkable actualities about a hike in the Picture Canyon Natural and Cultural Preserve is the ever-present opportunity to be awed by wildlife. I've been surprised by elk sightings there, but the time I witnessed a herd of 10 - six of which being fawns - moving quietly through the woods was a truly marvelous moment."

April 3, 2019 | The county’s Recreation in Balance (RiB) leadership team gathered at the United States Forest Service (USFS) office in Salida April 2, to discuss the RiB program, a component of the Common Ground program funded by voters last November when ballot issue 1A passed. Cindy Williams, board president of the Central Colorado Conservancy (CCC), facilitated the meeting, which focused on the creation and rollout of the RIMS smartphone application and assessment criteria.

April 1, 2019 | Beckley Mayor Rob Rappold has declared April 2, 2019, as National Service Recognition Day in Beckley. “National Service is a vital resource for Beckley," Rappold said Monday at his office as he made the proclamation. “AmeriCorps members and Senior Corps volunteers make our counties better places to live.

"As mayor of Beckley, I am grateful for the dedication and sacrifice of these exceptional citizens, who are helping make Beckley stronger, safer and healthier."

Rappold joined thousands of other local leaders across the county who are part of a national, bipartisan effort to highlight the impact of national service in tackling local problems, according to April Elkins Badtke, Interim Executive Director of Stewards Individual Placement Program.

March 13. 2019 | Students can be very impactful in advancing interest in what they care about. They provide unfiltered, thoughtful and heartful opinions delivered with passion. This is what happened at the recent Preserve America Youth Summit held in Washington, DC March 11-13, 2019 in a Summit funded in part by the State Historical Fund, a program of History Colorado.

March 26, 2019 | Giving to nonprofits and residents in need through the Community Foundation Serving Southwest Colorado increased 20 percent in 2018, and that’s not even counting the $700,000 donated to help those affected by the 416 Fire.

Giving through the foundation totaled $3.17 million last year, which came from private residents, companies and private foundations. It also includes funds the foundation manages for other nonprofits.

March 4, 2019 | Trail-building season will begin this spring with $150,000 going toward the construction of three trails totaling 9 miles on Midland Hill near Buena Vista, thanks to a Colorado Parks and Wildlife grant.

February 28, 2019 | Trail building season will begin this spring with 150,000 more dollars going toward the construction of three trails totaling 9 miles of trails on Midland Hill thanks to a Colorado Parks and Wildlife grant announced last week. The project will also restore and close 1.5 miles of unauthorized trails.

February 28, 2019 | In the far western stretches of Socorro County, in the mountainous San Mateos, Cibola National Forest is preparing for another prescribed burn. Cibola National Forest’s Magdalena District Forest Ranger Kim Obele said the burn is needed to reduce dead and down woody debris from the forest floor, help restore the natural fire regime to the ecosystem, recycle nutrients, and increase wildlife habitat diversity.

“These treatments protect nearby communities by decreasing the amount material available to burn during a wildfire, lessening the overall impact to private and public land,” Obele said.

The first phase of a prescribed burn is clearing out fuel, in other words, small junipers, tiny Ponderosas and dead and down trees, all of which can make the burn uncontrollable.

February 12, 2019 | RiversEdge West captures the human spirit of riparian (riverside) restoration in their Riverside Stories series. In this video, we meet Emily Kasyon, Watershed Program Coordinator for the Southwest Conservation Corps. Emily dedicates her time to managing invasive plants like tamarisk along the stunning Dolores River in Colorado. She often finds herself overseeing conservation corps crew members who use chainsaws and herbicide to reduce invasive plant populations, as well as monitoring and reestablishing native plants along this river corridor for the benefit of the community and wildlife, alike. This work plays into a larger collaborative effort to restore the Dolores River's riparian ecosystem which is being led by the Dolores River Restoration Partnership and RiversEdge West.