Welcome
Working Group's Report, Phase I: July 2012
THE UPPER SAN JUAN MIXED-CONIFER WORK GROUP (Working Group) started in the fall of 2010 and is focusing on the warm and cool mixed-conifer forests in the Pagosa Ranger District, which is a unit of the San Juan Public Lands in Southwest Colorado. The charge to the diverse stakeholder group is to participate in a year-long working group process that includes education, speakers and field trips, along with public meetings, facilitated dialogue and consensus-building. The goal is a shared vision for management of the mixed-conifer forests tied with concrete actions and recommendations.
Three roles for the future of the Working Group have emerged:
1. Continued education for key stakeholders and the general public, including:
a. Keeping a committee that formed during Phase I in place to develop a detailed education/outreach plan and implement it, including securing necessary funding.
b. Exploring the idea of a funding mechanism organized around the concept of “Protect Your Watershed.”
c. Partnering with groups that have related interests such as Firewise of Southwest Colorado, the Mountain Studies Institute, Fort Lewis College and the San Juan Mountains Association.
d. Forming and organizing a speakers’ bureau and participating in other group’s meetings.
e. Highlighting demonstration projects and organizing experiential learning.
f. Having high-quality educational materials via various media forms with a particular emphasis on tailoring messages to various audiences.
2. Continued existence but with a less frequent meeting schedule to provide feedback on new projects. Keeping the Web site active for the next phase. Expanding the focus to other vegetation types, particularly ponderosa pine. Developing more of a watershed focus. Explore hiring a coordinator for Phase II.
3. Promoting adaptive management through a process of project review, coupled with monitoring and evaluation of effects of implementation, and fed back into planning and design of similar, upcoming projects. As part of that strategy:
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Partnering with CFRI, MSI, Fort Lewis College, Colorado State University and other entities to develop a monitoring and evaluation strategy.
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Seeking information from similar projects elsewhere, including research publications and other monitoring/evaluation efforts, to increase education regarding implementation strategies and results.
The group is made up of: ecologists, ranchers, educators, forest-related businesses, fire personnel and EMS, Home Owners’ Associations, representatives from federal, state and county government and entities, consultants, conservationists, staff from the Pagosa Ranger District Office (USFS) – and interested citizens.
The specific activities the group is undertaking include:
- sharing and strengthening understanding of appropriate methods of maintaining and increasing health and resiliency in the mixed-conifer landscape;
- broadening knowledge of current conditions, conservation needs, and opportunities;
- developing a set of restoration approaches, actions, and projects;
- initiating and recommending projects that address high priority needs and opportunities for restoration; and
- establishing follow-up monitoring methods to guide adaptive management.
While the group is advisory in nature, the intention is to craft a plan in such a collaborative fashion that it will assist the USFS in their decision-making related to the mixed-conifer forests for years into the future.
The Upper San Juan Mixed Conifer Workgroup is committed to collaborative approaches to improving the health and long-term resilience of mixed-conifer forests and the communities located near them in southwest Colorado. The Workgroup will focus on strengthening understanding, sharing knowledge and lessons learned, developing management approaches, initiating high priority projects, and monitoring results using an adaptive framework.
This project is funded by a grant from the National Forest Foundation, and in-kind contributions from many organizations and volunteers. The San Juan Resource Conservation and Development Council serves as the fiscal agent.