03/13/2012
Volunteer Willow Planting Project Meets with Success!
Thirty volunteers joined the Bureau of Land Management‘s Grand Junction Field Office and Volunteers for Outdoor Colorado on a stewardship project along the Dolores River eight miles south of Gateway, February 25-28. The goal of the project was to help restore native vegetation in areas cleared of invasive tamarisk.
This project was one of several recent efforts using volunteers to supplement the work of the Dolores River Restoration Partnership (DRRP). The DRRP, composed of nonprofit groups, government, foundations, and private landowners, has been working since 2008 toward its vision of a watershed that is dominated by native vegetation, naturally functioning, self sustaining, diverse, and resilient.
Over the four day period, the volunteers harvested and planted over 1,000 willows along the banks of the river. Students from Colorado Mesa University, employees of CPC Solutions and Alpine Bank, and recreational boaters from the Lower Dolores Boating Advocates joined a variety of individuals committed to public lands stewardship.
Helping to keep the volunteers well fed and happy were Gateway Canyons Resort, which provided lunches, Centennial Canoes, which provided hot chocolate and other snacks, and Dana, a second grader from Caprock Academy, who baked cookies for the event.