Announcements for Late November

The Endovalley picnic area along Fall River

The Colorado State Forest Service is now accepting orders on a first-come, first-serve basis for low-cost seedling trees, shrubs and perennials grown at its Fort Collins nursery. More than 100 species/size options are available, with seedlings ordered now to be distributed statewide next spring. Coloradans interested in conservation goals such as creating natural windbreaks, improving wildlife habitat or reforesting properties impacted by wildfire or floods are eligible to purchase the seedlings. CSFS Nursery Manager Josh Stolz says Colorado-grown species are adaptable and ideal for a variety of conservation uses, and that the nursery’s selection has increased over the past few years. For more information about the CSFS seedling tree program, contact a local CSFS district office (locations can be found at www.csfs.colostate.edu/districts), or call the nursery directly at 970-491-8429.

Colorado Coalition of Land Trusts (CCLT) is seeking session proposals for the 26th anniversary event, Conservation Excellence 2017.The deadline to submit session proposals is Monday, November 21, 2016. CCLT's Annual Conservation Excellence Conference is the place for the land conservation community across the Rocky Mountain region to share knowledge and network. With more than 250 attendees annually, CCLT's conference helps define and influence the future of land conservation in the Intermountain West. Please download the RFP guidelines. Registration will open in January. If you are interested in sponsoring, please email them at info@cclt.org.

The Central Rockies Chapter of the Society for Ecological Restoration and the High Altitude Revegetation Workshop are calling for ABSTRACT SUBMISSIONS for the March 7-9, 2017 joint conference to be held in Fort Collins, Colorado. Deadline for submission is November 21, 2016. They are seeking high quality oral presentations and posters by practitioners, scientists, land managers, students and policymakers to enhance our understanding of restoration and revegetation in diverse ecosystems using a variety of methods. For more information, see the conference web page chapter.ser.org. Please email, harcerser@gmail.com, with any questions.

The Colorado Wildland Fire Conference is accepting presentation proposals. The conference will be held April 19 – 21, 2017 at the Pueblo Convention Center in Pueblo, CO. This conference will provide an atmosphere for professionals and landowners to have solutions-oriented discussions about creating communities in Colorado that are adapted to wildfire. This year’s conference will expand on the Fire Adapted Communities concept, providing the framework for moving from awareness to action, messaging to mitigation, and words to work. This is a great opportunity to share your knowledge and expertise about reducing communities’ vulnerability to wildfire. The conference planning committee is looking for presentations that focus on innovative research influencing policy changes; case studies of overcoming barriers to planning and implementation; and success stories of on the ground actions to create Fire Adapted Communities. Submit your presentation proposals online HERE. Presentation proposals are due Friday, November 18, 2016 by 11:59 p.m.

Job Announcements for Early November

Moraine Park in Rocky Mountain National Park, Colorado.

Larimer County Department of Natural Resources is hiring for a Ranger II position. Natural Resources manages Larimer County's great outdoor places, including open spaces and magnificent water-based recreation areas, and fosters responsible land stewardship through weed management and healthy forest practices. Their mission is to establish, protect, and manage significant regional parks and open lands providing quality outdoor recreational opportunities and stewardship of natural resource values. The Ranger II person plays a key role in providing customer service and natural resource management services to the citizens of Larimer County. This position performs as a peace officer; enforces Colorado Revised Statutes and park rules and regulations; contacts violators and issues warning or citation; conducts investigations and arrests; performs a variety of professional work in providing ranger services to the public, including ranger natural resource management and interpretation, ranger and volunteer operations, enforcement of park regulations, supervision of Ranger I employees, seasonal, and assigned staff and minor maintenance tasks. This position will be based at Carter Lake Reservoir. Deadline to apply id November 3, 2016. For more information click HERE.

The Little Thompson Watershed Coalition seeks a full-time Watershed Coordinator to direct its river restoration and rebuilding/construction projects. Take a leadership role in implementing projects to restore ecological health, flood & wildfire resiliency, water quality, and riparian stability. Work with stakeholders to further their success in cleanup, rebuilding, and future planning. The right applicant will have a degree and five years experience, or equivalent, in watershed science, planning, or a related natural resources field, and experience with government grants. Knowledge of watershed issues, regulatory compliance, local, state and federal grants, foundation grants, corporate or private sponsorship opportunities is a major plus. Salary range is $60,000/year plus $6,000 in lieu of health benefits. Paid vacation, sick and holidays. Submit cover letter and resume to jobs@ltwrc.org.

Eagle Valley Land Trust (Edwards, CO) is seeking a full-time Development and Communications Director. The Mission of EVLT is to preserve forever their scenic vistas, open space, historic lands, waterways, and wildlife habitats that provide enjoyment, education, and benefit to all who experience this special place. Position duties will include: Leads all development activities and communications of the organization, including individual donor relations, donor solicitation, grant-writing, long-term strategic planning, management of events and social media outreach. Conveys EVLT message effectively and oversees a robust communications program to build awareness of our value to the broader community. Actively participates in strategic decisions affecting the organization. The position will be open until filled. For more information, click HERE.

Boulder County Parks and Open Space Department is looking for a passionate Landscape Architect to join their team. In this role, the Landscape Architect will provide professional landscape, architectural, planning, and construction management expertise to the Project Management and Design Team. This is a full-time, benefited position with the Recreation and Facilities Division of Boulder County Parks and Open Space. Work days are Monday through Friday. The Landscape Architect will work out of their office located in Longmont, CO. Under FLSA guidelines, this position is exempt. Closing date is November 27th, 2016. The full description and application information are available at this link: https://agency.governmentjobs.com.

Yampa-White-Green Rivers Basin Round Table is seeking Applicants to fill At-large vacancies. Ten At-large positions are available for re-election and/or new appointment. The t-large positions may represent environmental, agriculture, recreation, domestic water provider, industrial or community interests. It is not mandatory that applicants own or represent water right holdings nor are they required to reside within the geographic region of the three river basins. The application must be submitted by Wednesday, November 2nd, 2016. Applications will be reviewed at the Round Table meeting in Craig on Wednesday, November 9th, 2016. For information and the application contact, April Mcintyre, 970-985-9924, mcintyreapril6@gmail.com.

Funding Opportunities for Early November

Early morning light and soft water below the dam at Lake Pueblo, Colorado.

The GRO1000 Gardens and Green Spaces Grant Awards Program, an initiative of The United States Conference of Mayors and the Scotts Miracle-Gro Company, promotes mayoral leadership in the development of greenscapes across the nation. Every municipality in the United States may nominate one new or one substantial addition to an existing public garden, edible garden, or green space within their community. All garden and green space projects initiated by city governments are eligible, including projects developed with community garden groups and other community partners. The four focal areas of the GRO1000 program include: Outdoor Play - creating natural playgrounds for youth, Urban Revitalization - transforming vacant and abandoned properties, Nature Gardens - increasing pollinator-friendly gardens and landscapes, and Food Deserts - providing access to fresh healthy foods. Four winning cities will each receive a total of $40,000 in monetary funds and products. The application deadline is November 15, 2016. Visit the GRO1000 website to learn more about the program and to submit an online application.

Applications are being accepted for the Colorado Corn FFA Grant program. The National FFA Organization was founded in 1928, and, with its focus on middle school and high school classes that promote and support ag education, is the largest of the career and technical student organizations in U.S. schools. For a fourth year, the Colorado Corn Administrative Committee is accepting applications from FFA chapters around the state as part of its Colorado Corn FFA Grant Program. The Colorado Corn FFA Grant Program assists FFA chapters in Colorado on projects that lack funding within their school district's budget. The deadline to apply is November 15th, 2016. Click HERE for more information.

Pilot System Water Conservation Program Re-issues RFP. The Upper Colorado River Commission (UCRC) reissued a Request For Proposals (RFP) for the Pilot System Water Conservation Program for the Upper Colorado River Basin. Facing declining levels in Lakes Powell and Mead, the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation, and four major water providers that depend on the Colorado River Basin supplies, have funded a Pilot System Water Conservation Program.  The pilot program is exploring the efficacy of temporary water conservation measures that could be used, when needed, as part of a drought contingency plan. The pilot program has been extended for a 3rd year and is actively seeking proposals for 2017 conservation opportunities that would be voluntary, compensated, and temporary in nature. For more information click HERE.

The Water Research Foundation (WRF) has announced a Request for Proposals on Forging Powerful and Sustainable Relationships Between Clean Water Agencies and the Community (RFP 4678). The objective of these proposals will be to develop an understanding of how leading clean water agencies have leveraged evocative messages and community programs that specifically target the development of emotional motivators to form long-term sustainable relationships within a community by connecting customers and partners to tangibly demonstrate the value of water and the technology that creates clean water. Provide best practices, lessons learned, and evaluation metrics for utilities to use when developing messages and engagement programs to create emotional connections in alignment with community values. Deadline for this Request for Proposal is December 7, 2016.

The Water Research Foundation (WRF) has announced a Request for Proposals for Guidance on Implementing an Effective Water Loss Control Plan (RFP 4695). The objectives for this proposal is to create a guidance manual and decision framework to help utility practitioners develop an actionable water loss control plan to reduce non-revenue water that aligns with the utility’s strategic goals, local circumstances, and financial parameters. Deadline for this Request for Proposal is December 15, 2016.

Request For Proposals, City of Boulder Open Space and Mountain Parks Funded Research Program. The Open Space and Mountain Parks Department (OSMP) of the City of Boulder has funding available through its funded research program for scientific inquiry on OSMP lands. Proposal deadline is Jan 13, 2017. Full details are available HERE.

The United States Forest Service has a Wood Innovations funding opportunity.  Applications are due January 23, 2017.  Expansion of (1) wood-energy markets and (2) expansion of wood products markets are the two application categories.  Under a cooperative agreement with Region 2, CoWood is providing outreach assistance for this announcement along with technical assistance in supporting applicants across Region 2 (Colorado, Kansas, Nebraska, South Dakota, and Wyoming) in developing and preparing successful proposals.  CoWood staff is available to provide guidance on project/proposal development, competitiveness, eligibility, and compliance with application requirements and instructions. Complete program information, eligibility criteria and application instructions is available at http://www.na.fs.fed.us/werc/wip/2017-rfp.shtm and/or by contacting Tim Reader with the Colorado State Forest Service at Tim.Reader@ColoState.Edu.

The Bureau of Reclamation will begin to provide funding for the Cooperative Watershed Management Program (CWMP) Phase II watershed management projects in fiscal year (FY) 2017, to support local watershed groups in implementing collaborative solutions to water management issues. All funding will be awarded through a competitive process, using established criteria. The FY 2017 Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) for CWMP Phase II projects will be posted to grants.gov in January 2017. For information on FY 2017 funding opportunities for the CWMP, please see Reclamation’s website at www.usbr.gov.

Trainings for Early November

Yampa River Winter, Steamboat Springs, Colorado

EPA’s Source Water Collaborative’s (SWC) Learning Exchange will be hosting 2 webinars early in November that focus on funding.

• November 2nd, 2016 from 1:00 pm - 2:30 pm ET: Funding Source Water Protection: Virtual Panel Discussion: "Accelerating Investment in Watershed Protection" will feature a distinguished panel from across the source water protection field that will share perspectives and answers your questions on establishing and growing successful watershed investment programs.
• November 10th, 2016 from 1:00 pm - 2:15 pm ET: Funding Source Water Protection will focus on accessing and combining the State Revolving Funds for source water protection along with other sources including public-private partnerships. 

Please visit the SWC website to sign up for either or both of these webinars.  Also in case you missed previous month’s  webinars or will miss one of these, they are recorded and posted also on this website,  sourcewatercollaborative.org. 

NOVEMBER 7th – 8th, 2016: Colorado Climate Fundamentals - Colorado Regional Workshop #1. The Association of Climate Change Officers (ACCO) is offering a series of 2-day training academies in Golden. These academies will provide curriculum on topics including understanding climate science and variability, identifying climate hazards and conducting vulnerability assessments, basics of greenhouse gas accounting, explanations of the food-water-energy nexus, and fundamental governance and stakeholder engagement strategies. Workshop participants will learn from experts about the implications of climate change with a regional focus added for Colorado and the Rockies. Professionals from the public and private sectors, higher education and the NGO community will benefit from the classroom-style, interactive training activities. For more information go to climatefundamentals.org.

NOVEMBER 15th, 2016:  High Park Fire Post-Fire Science Restoration & Research Workshop. The Coalition for the Poudre River Watershed is hosting this one day workshop from 8:00 am - 4:30 pm at the North Aztlan Community Center, 112 Willow St, Fort Collins, CO 80524. The workshop is designed for natural resource managers, restoration practitioners, water utility staff, researchers interested in wildfires and post-fire ecology and impacts. It will cover transmission of key research findings from work done in the High Park Fire (and regionally) on key topics, implications for post fire restoration management decision making and identification of barriers to rehab/restoration action & knowledge gaps. Researchers from Rocky Mountain Research Station, CSU, and other regional institutions will present results from their work since the High Park Fire. Space will be limited - Please RSVP by November 4th with Jennifer Kovecses, Executive Director, Coalition for the Poudre River Watershed at 970-222-5754, www.poudrewatershed.org.

Announcements for Early November

Hanging Lake

The Watershed Wildfire Protection Group meeting will be held on Friday, November 18th from 9:00 am - 3:00 pm MST at the Colorado Parks & Wildlife Administrative Offices at 6060 Broadway in Denver. Please RSVP by November 11th in order for them to have an accurate head count. They will have coffee, morning snacks, and lunch available for participants. In the week prior to their next meeting, they will also send out a meeting web-link and call-in number for those unable to participate in person. Call, reply, or stop by with any concerns and/or questions to Richard M. Edwards, CF, Assistant Staff Forester, Forest Management Division, 970) 491-8036 or Rich.Edwards@colostate.edu.

The Central Rockies Chapter of the Society for Ecological Restoration and the High Altitude Revegetation Workshop are calling for ABSTRACT SUBMISSIONS for the March 7-9, 2017 joint conference to be held in Fort Collins, Colorado. Deadline for submission is November 21, 2016. They are seeking high quality oral presentations and posters by practitioners, scientists, land managers, students and policymakers to enhance our understanding of restoration and revegetation in diverse ecosystems using a variety of methods. For more information, see the conference web page chapter.ser.org. Please email, harcerser@gmail.com, with any questions.

EPA is pleased to announce the release of a new document: The National Nonpoint Source Program - A Catalyst for Water Quality Improvements, – and known more simply around the agency as The Nonpoint Source Highlights Report. This report is the first-ever national snapshot of the agency’s work to reduce water pollution from nonpoint sources through its Clean Water Act Section 319 Nonpoint Source (NPS) Pollution Management Program. Under Section 319, states, territories and tribes receive EPA grant funding to support a wide variety of activities including technical assistance, financial assistance, education, training, technology transfer, demonstration projects and monitoring to assess the success of specific NPS pollution implementation projects. This report offers a glimpse of NPS activities underway across the United States and major program accomplishments. Since the program began in 2006, more than 6,000 miles of streams and 164,000 acres of lakes have been removed from EPA’s impaired waters list due in part to EPA Section 319 grant assistance. To read the report, visit www.epa.gov/nps/highlights.

The World Resources Institute (WRI) has released a new publication entitled, “Protecting Drinking Water at the Source: Lessons from U.S. Watershed Investment Programs,” along with an accompanying blog and podcast. The report provides ideas for watershed program investors and practitioners by sharing experiences and lessons from 13 watershed investment programs from across the U.S.  The report is also based on a 3-year comparative case study analysis, and serves as a roadmap to guide utilities and communities as they work together to protect precious source waters.  Check out the report, blog, and podcast on WRI’s website.  They will also be presenting this information on the Source Water Collaborative Learning Exchange webinar next Wednesday, November 2nd at 1:00pm (eastern).

The Colorado Water Conservation Board (CWCB) has created a website devoted to the Colorado Emergency Watershed Protection (EWP) Program available at http://coloradoewp.com/. The website provides current information on the EWP Program for the public, as well as resources to assist watershed coordinators, local governments, landowners, and other interested parties with the implementation of watershed recovery projects.

Partner with the San Juan Resource Conservation & Development Council. The San Juan RC&D offers a cost-effective way to implement new projects, host annual events, bring together groups of people to collaborate on solving community issues and try new approaches to resource conservation and economic development. Their fiscal sponsorship services offer an advantage to small, grassroots groups that may not otherwise be able to enter the nonprofit sector due to unfamiliarity with 501(c)3 regulations or a budget that doesn’t include the expense of acquiring and maintaining 501(c)3 status. Under the umbrella of their financially sound 501(c)3 motivated individuals or groups can save time and resources to focus on achieving their vision. Projects will benefit from their long history of excellent service in fiscal sponsorship, management of finances, project implementation, grant reporting and IRS compliance.  They are currently work with three groups interested in water quality issues: the Animas Watershed Group, the Animas River Stakeholders Group and the Pine River Watershed Group.  For more information contact 970-382-9371 or  sjrcd@hotmail.com.

The Colorado Wildland Fire Conference is accepting presentation proposals. The conference will be held April 19 – 21, 2017 at the Pueblo Convention Center in Pueblo, CO. This conference will provide an atmosphere for professionals and landowners to have solutions-oriented discussions about creating communities in Colorado that are adapted to wildfire. This year’s conference will expand on the Fire Adapted Communities concept, providing the framework for moving from awareness to action, messaging to mitigation, and words to work. This is a great opportunity to share your knowledge and expertise about reducing communities’ vulnerability to wildfire. The conference planning committee is looking for presentations that focus on innovative research influencing policy changes; case studies of overcoming barriers to planning and implementation; and success stories of on the ground actions to create Fire Adapted Communities. Submit your presentation proposals online HERE. Presentation proposals are due Friday, November 18, 2016 by 11:59 p.m.