In June of 2022, 1% for Open Space funded High Country Conservation Advocates (HCCA) $12,735 to carry out three stewardship projects in the Gunnison Valley. This was the second grant 1% for Open Space has given to HCCA (read about the first grant from 2020 here). We have now been funding stewardship projects regularly for four years and we feel our funding goes further in this realm of conservation work, and the impacts are beneficial and noticeable.
The three projects we funded through HCCA were the Taylor Park Travel Management Project, the Taylor Park Wetland Restoration Project, and the Upper Gunnison Basin Wet Meadow Restoration Project. All three of these stewardship projects aimed to restore the land that has been affected by human influences, drought, or lack of natural systems that keep healthy landscapes in place. The wetland and wet meadows restoration projects focused on building structures that helped re-channel stream flows to restore wetlands/wet meadows which then provide habitat for species like the Gunnison Sage Grouse. The Taylor Park Travel Management Project aimed to restore the watershed health of Taylor Park by closing illegal routes to prevent erosion and fragmentation of the area.
This stewardship work aligns with 1% for Open Space’s mission and vision through the restoration of ecosystems and watersheds, both of which are an integral part of the Gunnison Valley. We continue to pursue land conservation, but maintaining and restoring the land that has already been protected remains of equal importance to us.