The power of partnerships catches BLM Director’s eye

It looks like any other morning for the Southwest Conservation Corps crew. On task are corps members enlisted to SCC’s Dolores River Restoration Partnership (DRRP), and they are making war on invasive tamarisk. Chainsaws are buzzing and heaps of tamarisk pile up in front of red rock walls along the scenic Dolores River Canyon. One crew member calls aloud “falling!” while another calls for an herbicide application to a freshly cut stump. Then, from the direction of nearby Gateway, Colo., a line of seven clean, white SUVs drive into view. Parking near the workers, a group of 30 people descend on the site, suddenly taking this typical day in the field to anything but typical. Removing tamarisk is an every-day task for the SCC crew, but it has caught the attention of this shiny motorcade of visitors. Bob Abbey, National Director of the Bureau of Land Management steps out. From another steps Helen Hankins, Colorado State’s BLM Director. They’re followed out by more and more people, some dignitaries, some conservation leaders and a handful of representatives from other corps.

They represent partnerships, both of the present and future. The DRRP’s groundbreaking approach to developing partnerships has been impactful and, obviously, people have noticed. As budgets get tighter, federal agencies look for solutions to stretching available funds through partnerships. Today, the DRRP gets its day in the sun, a shining example of how a partnership can bring more to the table then a single non-profit or agency.

By gathering resources into one partnership, the DRRP, private dollars are included with federal funding. Additionally, the partners share in scientific knowledge, community engagement, job training for young adults, conservation education, and increased economic activity in the local communities along the Dolores River. SCC has been fortunate to have played a key role as one of the founding members of the Dolores River Restoration Project (DRRP) along with the Walton Family Foundation, The Nature Conservancy, Tamarisk Coalition, Canyon Country Youth Corps, and the BLM.

Since the DRRP’s inception in 2008, the number of partners has grown, the miles of river restored each year tripled, and funding sources have diversified and increased to a multi-million-dollar effort. These amazing results are what have brought Abbey, Hankins and all other participants to visit this site on an otherwise typical day of an SCC crew. They have now seen the DRRP partnership in action and how conservation can be much more than numbers on a spreadsheet.

For more information on the Dolores River Restoration Partnership, see

http://ocs.fortlewis.edu/drrp/default.htm