Improving the Health of Forests, Watersheds, & Communities
in the Headwaters of the San Juan River
Next Meeting: November 15, 2024, 9-11am
Location TBD
We have a great meeting coming up with a presentation from the Pagosa Ranger District of the San Juan National Forest. They will be sharing all the work that happened this year with photos and discussing the proposed work for 2025.
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 (alex@mountainstudies.org).
Recent Updates:
We’re on the radio!
Listen to Good Morning Pagosa on KWUF 106.1 FM the 4th Thursday of each month at 8am, and you may just hear Headwaters members 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.
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.
The Dirt and Dust podcast explores personalities, places, and peculiarities of the 2 Watersheds – 3 Rivers – 2 States Cohesive Strategy Partnership (2-3-2) landscape which works collaboratively, bringing together government agencies, tribal partners, non-profits, community members, and more to make decisions collectively about our forests, rivers, wildlife, and communities.
Hear the episode, Water is Life, that takes place in our landscape!
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.
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