Select Highlights from Our 2024 Events!
This article first appeared in the Winter 2024 edition of Wild Works.
“A Wild Ride”: Storytelling Event
In honor of the 60th anniversary of the Wilderness Act, we partnered with Alya Howe of Writ Large to host “A Wild Ride,” a live storytelling event at The Arts Campus at Willits (TACAW). Throughout the evening, our five storytellers explored their different perspectives on and connections to wilderness. We laughed, we cried and left the event feeling inspired to advocate on behalf of these wild places! (Photo credit: Ayla Howe)
Community Party
This past summer, we celebrated the hard-fought victory of twenty years of protection for the Thompson Divide at our annual Community Party. The evening began with a parade down Main Street and ended with a gathering in Sopris Park with food, live music, activities for kids and other festivities. We also recognized some of the local heroes that made it all possible! (Photo credit: David Clifford)
Homestake Valley BioBlitz
Wilderness Workshop and our partners at Eagle River Coalition, Roaring Fork Audubon and Walking Mountains Science Center recently completed our third annual Homestake Valley Bioblitz community science field day in July. We documented the rich biodiversity present in a rare type of wetland found in the valley called fens. We are cataloging the fens so as to stop a proposed dam in the valley, which would flood this precious habitat. The ongoing bioblitz project on iNaturalist now has over 900 observations documenting over 187 species in the Homestake Valley.
Butler Creek Beaver Dam Restoration Project
Volunteers joined Wilderness Workshop, Roaring Fork Outdoor Volunteers and the US Forest Service to build beaver dam analogues on Butler Creek, near Rifle, with the intent to restore the health of this riparian ecosystem. In the above photo, the wooden stakes form the backbone of the artificial beaver dam and anchor it in place during high stream flows. After being nearly wiped out, beaver populations are now making a comeback in Colorado, in part thanks to projects like these.
