In response to President Barack Obama’s urging to expand opportunities for young people during the summer while connecting them with the outdoors, the Southwest Conservation Corps and Dolores River Restoration Partnership was one of three Colorado entities selected for summer work on public lands. The U.S. Department of Interior, Department of Agriculture and the chair of the White House Council on Environmental Quality highlighted summer work opportunities for more than 20,000 young people between the ages of 15 and 25 in national forests, national parks, wildlife refuges and other public lands. The partnership is a three-year-old private and public collaboration that is part of the Walton Family Foundation’s Freshwater Conservation Initiative. The project involves 70 to 80 crew members for conservation work along Disappointment Creek in Southwest Colorado. Bureau of Land Management funds for this program were $80,000 while the matching funds totaled $412,000 for the almost $500,000 project. The project will include 50 to 60 young crew members and 18 to 20 crew leaders for 100 weeks of conservation work. Eight-person crews will use chain saws and herbicides to remove invasive tamarisk and plant willow and cottonwood sapling, stem cuttings, grasses and forbs to stabilize banks. The restoration work will be monitored and evaluated continuously to ensure project sustainability.

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