Job Announcements Late March

The Coalition for the Poudre River Watershed (CPRW) is hiring a Watershed Project Manager. If you are a smart, energetic restoration professional who is passionate about keeping the Poudre River watershed resilient, then CPRW has an opportunity for you to share that passion with others. Applications due close of business on March 25, 2022. For more information click here.

Mountain Studies Institute is seeking multiple individuals for open positions. They are seeking three talented individuals to join as Accountant/Bookkeeper, Finance and Operations Director, and Development and Engagement Director. Apply by March 27th, 2022. View all open positions here.

The Nature and Wildlife Discovery Center (NWDC) is seeking experienced, collaborative, and engaging individuals to join the team as Environmental Educators who will primarily work with our school-age programs. This position will co-facilitate NWDC’s outdoor-based, nature education programs for elementary-middle school age students and have the option to facilitate various special events, programs and camps as needed. For more details and to apply, here.

The Nature and Wildlife Discovery Center is seeking a Sales and Marketing Director. This position is responsible for developing and implementing the sales and marketing strategies that assist NWDC in achieving its mission, raising awareness of the facilities, organization, its programs, and initiatives. The Sales and Marketing Director works closely with NWDC staff members as well as outside customers, partners, vendors, contractors, and media contacts. Click here to learn more.

San Juan Mountain Association is now hiring for a new position on the Grand Mesa, Uncompahgre, and Gunnison National Forests as a Community Outreach Specialist. The Norwood Community Outreach Specialist will be based out of the Norwood Ranger Station to develop and deliver interpretive and educational programming and organize volunteer events to contribute to public lands stewardship in the region. This part-time seasonal position is great for an individual passionate about promoting conservation and stewardship on public lands. Click here for more information and to apply.

San Juan Mountain Association is hiring a lead instructor for our popular environmental education day camp. The camp instructor will work with the SJMA education team to deliver outdoor education programming at SJMA’s Nature Center and on public lands throughout Southwest Colorado. SJMA instructors have a passion for getting youth outdoors, cultivating a deep understanding of natural processes, and encouraging public lands stewardship. Click here for more information and to apply.

Headwaters Alliance, is seeking an Executive Director. This position will provide vision and organizational leadership related to projects, fundraising and strategic action. This position offers autonomy augmented by an effectively functioning Board.This is a unique opportunity to be hands-on with the interconnected web of exciting and timely environmental work to benefit water, the environment and community at the headwaters of the Rio Grande. For the full job description click here. 

Headwaters Alliance is seeking a Program Assistant. This position supports key functions related to communications, event planning, volunteer coordination, and organizational capacity. Ideal candidate possesses exceptional skills in communications and logistics. Proficient with Word, Excel, Adobe Acrobat, Canva, and Google applications; skilled with social media and web maintenance; able to generate craft high-quality marketing and educational messaging. For the full job description click here. 

The Colorado State University Department of Forest and Rangeland Stewardship (FRS) in the Warner College of Natural Resources at Colorado State University (CSU) is seeking applications for an Assistant Professor specializing in forest ecology with experience and/or strong interest in urban environments. This is a 9-month, full-time tenure track faculty position. More information on the position and how to apply can be found in the attached position description. Click here to read the full description.

ERO Resources Corporation is currently seeking a full-time staff biologist to join our natural resources group in Denver, Colorado.  This position will work in collaboration with our natural resources group to support new and existing natural resource projects based out of our Denver office.  The ideal candidate for this position will apply their ecological knowledge to evaluate a variety of project sites for natural resource concerns, provide guidance to clients on those resources, and prepare and review ecological reports and permit applications. Click here for more information.

Announcements Late March

Colorado Parks and Wildlife invites anglers to learn about proposed fishery management changes at Shadow Mountain Reservoir in Grand Lake. Learn more here.

The book, “Biological responses to stream nutrients: a synthesis of science from experimental forests and ranges”, was recently published by the US Forest Service, and is now available for download, free of charge here. This book draws together, for the first time,  current science from 17 experimental forests nationwide to make it readily available to the water quality regulatory community. Of particular importance to Colorado, this book summarizes the rich collection of headwater stream studies on this important topic at Fraser Experimental Forest (chapter 9), in the Colorado Front Range, and the Glacier Lakes Ecosystem Experiments Site (chapter 10) in the Wyoming Snowy Range, which are useful especially as well-documented, reference reaches for addressing water quality issues in the Rocky Mountains ecoregion.

 View American River's Story Map for an interactive and in-depth introduction to the people and way of life of San Luis Valley, and the Valley's deep and enduring roots to the water of the Rio Grande.

 An easy-to-understand primer about agriculture! Get up to speed on the basic facts about land and water resources related to irrigated agriculture in the Colorado River Basin. View the fact sheet.

Irrigated agriculture in West faces an uncertain future. The Babbitt Center spotlights two communities that have distinct approaches to keeping their agriculture roots and economy intact. Watch the video.

Every ten years NOAA updates the 30-year average they use to represent the "new normals" of the changing climate. That update happened last year and this is the first winter we are using those new averages to assess snowpack levels. Every decade has been getting warmer than the last and those new normals might give us an "inflated sense of confidence" as stated by RFC's director of science and policy, Heather Lewin. Listen to the rest of the story to hear how others are observing changes in our climate.

Conferences & Events Late March

MARCH 19th, 2022, 6:30-9pm | A Benefit for the Uncompahgre River – Fly Fishing Film Tour. Come out to enjoy fun and inspiring films about outdoor adventure and conservation through the love of fly fishing, and support projects that protect and restore your local river. This year’s venue is the Ouray County Event Center to provide lots of elbow room! Masks currently required – stay tuned for updates. 100% of proceeds go to the Uncompahgre Watershed Partnership for maintenance and improvement of riparian areas, fish habitat and recreation areas. Sponsored by RIGS Fly Shop & Guide Service. Click here for more information.

MARCH 22nd, 2022, 8am- 8:45 | Colorado’s Watersheds Support All of Us. Join for a legislator-focused discussion to learn more about timely and critical water issues in Colorado. During part one of this three-part series, hear from a panel of expert speakers on the importance of Colorado's watersheds and resilience to wildfire impacts. This event is free. Register here.

MARCH 31st, 2022 | State of the Animas and Hermosa | Mountain Studies Institute. Learn the most up-to-date status of the bugs and fish in Animas River and Hermosa Creek from Scott Roberts with MSI and Jim White with CPW. This is an in-person gathering at Outdoorsy in Durango and hosted by Five Rivers Trout Unlimited. There is also a virtual option available. Click here for more information.

APRIL 1st, 2022 | Navigating Shortage | Southwestern Water Conservation District’s 38th Southwest Water Seminar. This seminar will discuss these challenges, strategies, and successes under the umbrella of the theme “Navigating Shortage." Regional and local climate experts will discuss data showing southwest Colorado squarely in the bullseye of a regional aridification trend. Keen local negotiators will discuss Colorado water’s holy grail: striking the balance between multiple needs in times of drought. How do we keep agricultural producers in business, protect the environment, provide water for our communities, and maintain water-based recreational opportunities? For more information and to register for this virtual event, click here.

APRIL 9th, 2022, 9am | 10th Annual Raptor 5K Run. Join the Friends of Barr Lake for our 10th Annual Raptor Run! Run or walk to help raise funds to support the park. Registration fees are $40 until March 19th. The fee will go up to $45 on the day of the event. Children 15 and under and senior 60 and older receive an $5 discount from each of the fees. Race day registration and packet pick up begin at 8:00 a.m. on April 9th. Register by March 19th to guarantee correct t-shirt size! Click here to learn more and to register.

APRIL 12th-14th, 2022 | HAR SER-RM 2022 Conference. The Society for Ecological Restoration Rocky Mountain Chapter (SER-RM) is pleased to announce our 2022 conference. This scientific meeting will be held at Colorado State University in Fort Collins, Colorado, and all who work in the varied fields of habitat restoration or simply have a passion for restoring our natural resources are welcome. Click here for more information and to register.

APRIL 20th, 2022, 9am-12:30pm | Western Slope Virtual Funder Rountables. Virtual Funder Roundtables are an opportunity to directly engage with staff from foundations and grantmaking agencies of your choosing - to introduce yourself, share a bit about your work, ask questions about fit, and speak to your needs and plans. This three and a half hour session will provide participating nonprofits and local governments with the opportunity to connect with up to six funders throughout the morning, while providing ample breaks to ensure you can take care and refresh yourselves. Nonprofits will sign up for sessions with the funders of their choice to be a small group with other organizations from their region. We will limit the number of participants to four in each round to ensure meaningful engagement and foster regional relationship building. Click here to learn more and register.

MAY 7th, 2022,9 am | 19th annual Spring Up the Creek | The Town of Castle Rock. The Town of Castle Rock hosts this event in conjunction with Douglas County, Castle Pines Metropolitan District and Chatfield Watershed Authority. Groups, schools, businesses, media and the community are also integral to making this event a success each year. About 200 volunteers gather to pick up trash and debris from the banks of East Plum Creek and Sellars Gulch in an effort to keep our waterways clean. For more information click here.

JUNE 25th, 2022 | A Night In The Park | Mountain Area Land Trust. Join MALT at "A Night in the Park" on as they celebrate the 30th year of land and water conservation! "A Night in the Park" is MALT's signature gala and the must-attend event of the summer! Former Denver Bronco Reggie Rivers will be back with his amazing energy and enthusiasm to emcee our evening and other special guests will be honored as part of the celebration. Read more and purchase your tickets here.

JULY 11th-29th, 2022 | Forecast Informed Reservoir Operations (FIRO) Colloquium | The Center for Western Weather and Water Extremes (CW3E). The Center for Western Weather and Water Extremes (CW3E) would like to announce the Forecast Informed Reservoir Operations (FIRO) Colloquium, which will be held 11-29 July 2022 at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography in La Jolla, California. Scholarships for travel expenses are available. The application deadline is February 1st 2022. Read more and apply here.

Trainings & Workshops Late March

MARCH 23rd, 2022 | Water Smarter with Smart Irrigation | Resource Central. Are you tired of trying to remember to turn off the sprinklers when it rains? Wondering how water quality can impact your lawn and garden? Well you are in luck! Water quality and irrigation expert, A.J. Brown, will be teaching about the technology that is helping to decrease water use and increase consumer knowledge! This webinar will cover the basics of irrigation scheduling, how smart irrigation controllers work, water quality for urban irrigation, and how this all plays a role in water quality here in Colorado. Click here to register.

MARCH 31st, 2022 | Source Water Protection | EUCI. Source Water Protection is a volunteer planning process conducted by local water utilities, as well as regional or national government agencies, to protect drinking water sources from overuse and contamination. This course will explore the elements of source water protection planning, sources of contamination and assessment of current supply sources, action planning as well as resources for collaboration and outreach and implementation. For more information and to register click here.

April 5th-6th, 2022 | Stormwater Control Measure Inspection and Maintenance Certification. The Colorado Stormwater Center provides a 1.5 day workshop on stormwater control measures (SCM) inspection and maintenance. All SCMs require regular maintenance to remain operating as designed. In this 1.5 day training workshop, we teach participants how to recognize SCM maintenance needs and how to perform maintenance correctly. The workshop includes 8 hours of presentations/discussion in a classroom setting, a 2-hour field trip and a 2-hour written exam (optional). Participants that successfully pass the written exam receive certification from Colorado State University Extension and are recognized on our website. Click here to register. 

The Uncompahgre Watershed Partnership presents 14 videos to help community members learn about how water is managed, restored and monitored in the upper Uncompahgre River watershed. Take advantage of this new education resource to learn about your watershed including mine reclamation, water monitoring, recreational use, water conservation, drinking water and waste water treatment and distribution, aquatic life, water scarcity, agricultural use, management, infrastructure, and more. Watch the video series here.

Master Irrigator Program- San Luis Valley. Over four sessions, this 32-hour program reviews water law and administration, history of water development, and gives participants the tools and strategies to improve water and energy use efficiency and conservation, soil health, and profitability on their operations. Those who complete the course will also receive a $2,000 stipend. To be eligible for this course you must farm in either Rio Grande, Alamosa, Costilla, Conejos, Saguache or Mineral County. Details will be available soon here.

The American Stormwater Institute, LLC now offers courses in a live setting and online that deal with developing the knowledge and skills required to conduct stormwater inspections. Our courses are based on a “Real World” attitude of finding implementable solutions to the challenges that stormwater inspectors face every day. The state and federal regulations require that “QUALIFIED PERSONS” conduct inspections related to stormwater permits. The overarching goal of the ASI classes is to ensure that our students are well qualified to conduct these inspections. For a list of all classes offered click HERE.

Non-standard MS4 Permit PDD Template and Program Strategy Templates. SPLASH members and SEMSWA worked with CP Compliance to create resources to educate permittees. It may also assist permittees with implementation of the new Non-standard MS4 Permit. Please click HERE to access the material.

San Juan Expedition Avy Course based at Thelma Hut. The AIARE Avy 1 Hut Course is designed to give you a full introduction to backcountry travel. Based out of the Thelma hut on Red Mountain Pass, you will spend day and night with your peers and instructors learning the foundation of avalanche education. In a hut format, you spend more time skiing, more time learning from and observing your instructors, and more time in the mountains—all with lodging and food included. When you take your level one with San Juan Expeditions you will get hands-on experience analyzing the avalanche hazard and using your observations to make decisions in the field. Click HERE for more information.

MSU Denver developed the noncredit Water Studies courses for people interested in safeguarding this precious resource. Students will learn history, law, management, and water trends in Colorado and the American West. The courses have recently been improved, offering the same high quality, but shortened to meet your busy schedules. The course structure has been redesigned for each class to be one month long to improve the learning experience and accommodate the schedules of busy professional students. Click HERE for more information.

Colorado Master Irrigator offers farmers and farm managers advanced training on conservation- and efficiency-oriented irrigation management practices and tools. This program is the product of efforts led by several local producers, district management representatives, and others. Colorado Master Irrigator is modeled on the award-winning Master Irrigator program created and run since 2016 by the North Plains Groundwater Conservation District in the Texas panhandle. Topic experts from Colorado and adjacent Ogallala states, serve as instructors over the 32 hours of the program. Colorado Master Irrigator's interactive class format is designed to encourage peer-to-peer exchange among participants and instructors, helping forge useful contacts that graduates can reach out to after their participation in the program. Click HERE for more information.

The Clean Water Certificate (CWC) training program for workforce development provides high quality training opportunities that promotes job growth in the stormwater industry and delivers industry-specific, job-readiness skills and knowledge. Click HERE to learn more about this training program offered by the Center for Watershed Protection.

Silt Removal - Positive Impact on Crop Yields, Water Use Efficiency, & Irrigation Systems. Presentation from the 2021 World Ag Expo on sources of silt, its impacts, and current and new methods of removal. Watch the presentation here!

“Returning Rapids Project: A discussion with Peter Lefebvre and Mike DeHoff” | Colorado River Studies. The Returning Rapids Project seeks to document the recovery of river resources once inundated by a full Lake Powell, and now being exposed as reservoir storage declines. Peter Lefebvre and Mike DeHoff, principal investigators of the Returning Rapids project and professional river guides in Moab, Utah, are working to record these changes. They will share their preliminary findings and matched photographs in the talk. Watch the full video HERE.

Funding Opportunities Late March

The Colorado Healthy Rivers Fund page is updated with 2022 submission materials and the application is live. The lead applicant should be a local community-based organization, which could include conservation districts. The CHRF is not intended for federal, state or municipal governments, but their participation is encouraged. The deadline for submissions is March 30th, 2022. Apply now!

The Colorado Water Conservation Board is pleased to administer a $2,000 one-year scholarship for a Colorado high school student interested in western water issues planning to attend a public institution of higher education in Colorado. Applications are due April 1, 2022. Read More

Upper Gunnison SPP Funding. Please see the attached solicitation for project proposals from CDPHE's Hazardous Materials and Waste Management Division for the Upper Gunnison River Basin. The deadline for proposal submission is April 1, 2022.

Apply for a Yampa River Fund Grant! The spring grant cycle is open and applications are due April 4th, 2022. The Yampa River Fund is a community-based collaborative dedicated to identifying and funding activities that protect the water supply, wildlife habitat, and recreational opportunities provided by the Yampa River. Launched in September 2019, the Fund was created through a partnership of twenty-one public, private and non-profit entities representing the entire Yampa Basin coming together to create the Board that governs the Fund. Click here to learn more information and to begin the application process.

NEW - PFAS Grant Program. The PFAS Grant Program provides money to eligible entities through three project categories:

  1. Sampling - for standard sampling and independent environmental studies.

  2. Emergency Assistance - for communities and water systems affected by PFAS.

  3. Infrastructure - treating existing PFAS and strategies for preventing upstream sources of PFAS.

 Drinking water providers can apply to test their treated drinking and source waters. Each PFAS grant program category has different criteria. Review the 2022 Request for Applications and apply on the PFAS Projects webpage. The application period ends April 2022.

Beginning immediately, the Colorado Outdoor Equity Grant Board is accepting applications through April 8 to fund programs that bring about transformative change throughout communities. These grants are designed to widen accessibility to the outdoors for Coloradans from underserved communities and provide environmental, experiential, outdoor, stewardship and conservation education for Colorado youth or families, and that address inequities Coloradans face in accessing the outdoors.

The Colorado River District’s Community Funding Partnership was created in 2021 to fund multi-purpose water projects on the Western Slope in five project categories: productive agriculture, infrastructure, healthy rivers, watershed health and water quality, and conservation and efficiency. Funding for the program was approved by Western Colorado voters as part of ballot question 7A in November 2020. These funds provide a catalyst for projects that are priorities for residents in the District to receive matching funds from state, federal and private sources. Click here for more information and to apply.

The Colorado Strategic Wildfire Action Program (COSWAP) was created after the devastating 2020 fire season by the Colorado legislature through the bi-partisan supported SB21-258 in the summer of 2021. COSWAP is designed to quickly move $17.5 million state stimulus dollars to start on-the-ground work on fuels reduction projects and increase Colorado's capacity to conduct critical forest restoration and wildfire mitigation work that will increase community resilience and protect life, property and infrastructure. Learn more about these opportunities here.

HUD: Authority to Accept Unsolicited Proposals for Research Partnerships Notice. HUD’s Office of Policy Development and Research (PD&R) has the authority to accept unsolicited research proposals that address current research priorities. HUD is making up to $2 million available for Lead and Healthy Homes Research Partnerships and approximately $1 million available for Research Partnerships for other topics. HUD is interested in increasing participation of Minority Serving Institutions (MSIs) of higher education and Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) in all program areas. To learn more, click here.

In response to the impacts of COVID-19, Great Outdoors Colorado (GOCO) has launched the Resilient Communities Program (RCP). The $15 million program aims to fund one-time, immediate needs or opportunities that have emerged in direct response to the pandemic. It will help partners advance outdoor recreation, stewardship, and land protection projects in a manner that best reflects community needs and priorities at this moment in time. Capacity and operations support, stewardship efforts, projects that support community vitality, and urgent and emergent land acquisition opportunities will be considered. For more information, including eligibility criteria and application forms, click HERE.

The Colorado Water Conservation Board Water Supply Reserve Fund (WSRF) Program provides grants and loans to assist Colorado water users in addressing their critical water supply issues and interests. The funds help eligible entities complete water activities, which may include competitive grants for: Technical assistance regarding permitting, feasibility studies and environmental compliance; Studies or analysis of structural, nonstructural consumptive and nonconsumptive water needs, projects or activities; and structural and nonstructural water projects or activities. Basin Account application timelines vary by basin. Statewide Account applications are brought before the board in March and September. For more information click HERE.

The Colorado Water Conservation Board offers numerous loans and grants to water providers and other entities statewide for a variety of water-related projects, studies, planning documents, awareness campaigns and other activities. Click HERE to find out more about the CWCB’s funding programs.