River Park Work Day, Tuesday Nov 15th, 10am to Noon

Probably our last River Park work day of 2022! We'll be moving gravel around the classroom structure to level out the edges a bit, removing exposed landscape cloth from the trail, and tackling other minor clean up projects as needed. We also want to talk about a plan for rebuilding the labyrinth and see who might be interested in helping with that! Please RSVP using this link.

River Watch Training and QA/QC Event, Monday Dec 12th, Noon to 5pm

On December 12th at 3pm, representatives from the River Watch organization will be meeting us at the CSU lab in Hotchkiss to do a quality control check on our analytical methods. This is a critical element of a volunteer-run water quality testing program, and also a great time to meet with and talk to the experts. We’ve also decided this would be a great time to schedule a pre-meeting (Noon - 2:30) with River Watch volunteers where Jake will provide a comprehensive overview and orientation to the RW program and solicit input on how we can most efficiently manage our program with increased volunteer support going forward. Please RSVP to jake@theconservationcenter.org if you can join us. This event is open to both experienced and new RW volunteers.

Community Meeting, Wednesday, Dec 14th, 6pm to 8pm
See below under Public Lands update.

Mountainfilm on Tour - Paonia: RESCHEDULED TO JAN 20

Mountainfilm is coming back to Paonia! It’s just coming back a little later than initially expected…. We originally planned to screen Mountainfilm at the Paradise Theatre on November 18, but we’ve rescheduled for Friday, January 20, to give the Paradise time to order a repair part for their projector. What better way to spend a dark, cold winter’s evening than to go to the local theater to take in some artful and inspiring films! Tickets are on sale now at : westernslopeconservation.org/mountainfilm-2022

This past month WSCC and the Town of Somerset celebrated a native planting day at Somerset Park followed by a community BBQ. Eight volunteers (and a few dogs) came together to plant 35 native shrubs and trees to add shade and beautify the town park.  Many thanks to the Aspen Environmental Foundation for the funding event and Somerset Domestic Water District for organizing! 

The Aspen Environmental Foundation is also funding WSCC’s ongoing Upper North Fork Bromide Study to determine where and how bromide is entering the Somerset domestic water treatment process. Bromide is a naturally occurring compound not typically found outside of coastal waters. While bromide itself does not pose a health risk to humans, it can produce elevated disinfectant byproducts when mixed with chlorine and organic matter during the domestic treatment process. WSCC has been sampling monthly at 11 different sites in the North Fork, upstream of Somerset since March 2022. Early results reveal that while bromide has not been present in the river samples, it is intermittently found in the groundwater near the river. Recent results have shown bromide levels to drop below lab detection limits at all sample sites. More data is needed to develop seasonal trends and determine results. WSCC will be collecting samples through March 2023 and will report on their findings after the work is completed. To learn more about this interesting project email Jake@theconservationcenter.org