Improving the Health of Forests, Watersheds, & Communities
in the Headwaters of the San Juan River
Next Meeting: January 17, 2024, 9-11am
Archuleta County Administrative Office 398 Lewis St.
Happy Holidays! We hope you had a wonderful end of year and meet us in January for our first meeting of the year. We will be discussing:
The Community Wildfire Protection Plan update progress,
Reservoir Hill Management Plan update,
Opportunities to engage with the 2-3-2 Partnership,
Conversation with the Colorado Cattlemen’s Agricultural Land Trust,
and more!
While we prefer that people join in person, you can attend virtually through this zoom link. All field trips are in person. Reach out to Alex Handloff for more information ([email protected]). Meetings usually occur the third Friday of each month.
Recent Updates:
Forest and Fire Learning Series
In conjunction with the Fire Learning Network, Mountain Studies Institute, Dolores Watersheds Collaborative, 4 Rivers Resilient Forest Collaborative, and the USFS, we’ve created a video series across southwest Colorado interviewing community members and addressing their concerns. Watch the episodes at right and visit the MSI webpage dedicated to the project. A Pagosa episode is coming soon!
The story of the Plumtaw is one that includes a positive takeaway: intervention before a fire can help — and more fundamental than that, we can have a beneficial relationship with our surroundings.
We’re proud to say that the event was a smashing success. Over 200 community members attended the film, the silent auction, and lively discussion panel. Thank you to all who came, our panelists, Christi Bode, and the folks who organized the event! We look forward to future events like these. Stay tuned.
The full movie is now available online.
We’re on the radio!
Our Headwaters members joined Good Morning Pagosa on KWUF 106.1 FM to discuss issues in our area, from fire to water management to infrastructure, and more. A special thanks to Matt Ford.
June: Matt Ford discusses SJHFHP and the value of community engagement and collaboration, and the Weminuche Audubon bird monitoring project.
July: Matt Ford, Tim Haarmann, and Josh Peck discuss working across public and private boundaries to help promote healthy forests and watersheds.
August: Matt Ford and Fred Ellis discuss fuels management on the forest.
Jackson Mountain is a key location for the community with overlapping values, management objectives, and research questions. The San Juan National Forest has a proposal for management work. Take the Virtual Tour to learn more about the area.
Who we are
The San Juan Headwaters Forest Health Partnership is a collaborative group committed to a better, healthier future.
Partnership Members are people and groups representing regional business interests, conservation organizations, local and state governments, federal agencies, recreation interests, ranchers, homeowner associations, scientists, and any interested citizens.
In addition, we add to larger conversations about regional solutions across state and watershed boundaries through our participation in the 2 Watersheds – 3 Rivers – 2 States Cohesive Strategy Partnership (the 2-3-2), the Southwest Colorado Collaborative Forest Landscape Restoration Project, and the Rio Chama Collaborative Forest Landscape Restoration Project.
What we do
We use science-based collaborative solutions.
Since 2009, the San Juan Headwaters Forest Health Partnership works to provide a forum to share stakeholder perspectives in order to develop science-based collaborative priorities for management and monitoring of forests in the Pagosa Ranger District of the San Juan National Forest and on private and tribal land in Southwestern Colorado. Together, we aim to:
- Strengthen regional understanding of methods for improving forest health and watershed resilience
- Leverage collaborative processes and projects to secure state and federal funds
- Broaden knowledge of forest conditions and challenges
- Generate viable management approaches that support ecological and socio-economic needs
- Initiate projects to address identified needs, such as wildfire risk reduction and forest health improvement
- Monitor treatments to guide adaptive management practices
Why we do it
We care for our natural resources and our community.
All across the nation our natural resources underpin economics, recreation, identity, technology, and ecology, to name but a few aspects of our everyday lives. Indeed, the health of our lands is intimately connected to the health of our communities. The inclusive and collaborative management of the forests and watersheds we all all rely upon is essential to improving the health of both the natural and human worlds. The San Juan Headwaters Forest Health Partnership has emerged to meet this need in Southwestern Colorado.
Our work directly leads to additional funding, resources, and projects that protect our infrastructure, water, homes, and the health of our natural surroundings.
