EDUCATION AND ECONOMY

Education is vital to advancing our collective understanding of and vision for land health and a robust rural economy. Through education, we bridge divides, pass on a strong land ethic to the next generation, and support local economies through rural development and poverty alleviation. Whenever possible, we seek opportunities to promote education and rural economic development that are integrated with our other programs. For instance, the Prescribed Fire Training Exchanges (TREX) we host are an opportunity to outreach to the community, informing citizens on the use and purpose of prescribed fire, wildfire impacts, and mitigation strategies. We also provide training opportunities for community members and landowners interested in becoming fire certified, job skills that are in demand both regionally and nationally. By integrating our conservation, education, and economic objectives we maximize our impact while stretching our grant and donation dollars to best effect. Below we highlight a few of our specific projects related to education and economy.

If you are interested in learning more about the concept of a natural resources economy we suggest, The Rise of New Natural Resource Economies in the Intermountain West, by Daniel Lokic.

CURRENT AND PAST PROJECTS

HIGH SCHOOL SCHOLARSHIPS

The Alliance offers scholarships to graduating high school seniors at Escalante and Pagosa Springs High Schools to support advanced studies at any university or technical college. These scholarships are sponsored by 262 Ranches, of Tierra Amarila, New Mexico, and donors like you!

Click here if you are interested in supporting these amazing students.

Students do not need to be majoring in conservation or the biological sciences, but must write an essay describing why private land conservation is meaningful to them. First place awards of $1,000 and runner-up awards of $500 are given to as many students as the fund can support each year. Application materials are available through each school's counselor's office during the winter semester of the school year.

AMERICORPS VISTA VOLUNTEER

From 2016 through spring of 2019, the Chama Peak Land Alliance partnered with the Bureau of Reclamation to host both organizations’ first VISTA Volunteers. Vista is a national AmeriCorps program focused on poverty reduction in communities throughout the United States. During their year-long term of service VISTA Volunteers work to increase the organizational capacity of the nonprofits, tribal and local governments in which they work implementing programs that last beyond their term as volunteers. In the Chama region, the VISTA is assisting with community outreach, long-term resiliency and ecological restoration goals of the projects partners. Additionally, the VISTA will assist with applying for grants to support Alliance and Partnership work, and Alliance member communications.

Will Donahoo was our first VISTA and began his service in May 2016, Emma Kelly served from 2017 until 2018, Caitlin Barbour served from 2018 through 2019, Jared Daniels served from 2019 through 2021, Hannah Whitaker from 2021 through 2022 and our current VISTA Brittany Ference who has served from 2022 through current. This was the first Bureau of Reclamation VISTA Volunteer position in the nation! In 2019, CPLA and the Bureau support San Juan-Chama Watershed Partnership with the VISTA.

FIREWOOD FOR SENIORS

In the CPLA region a lot of the community solely heats their home by firewood, especially the elders in the community with older styles of housing. Many seniors and disabled are not able to go for fuelwood and no longer have younger generations around to support them with preparing for the long winters in northern New Mexico. For several years, CPLA has worked to get firewood to members of the community. This program has the additional benefits of finding homes for forest restoration byproducts and educating the public about the need to protect our crucial watersheds through forest thinning and wildfire mitigation.Since 2016, CPLA has created partnerships to support the Chama Valley Firewood For Seniors Program. The assets built through these partnerships include:

● a wood yard located at Upper Chama Soil and Water Conservation District (UCSWCD) available for year round use for this program

● CPLA’s Program Director, Sage Faulkner who is engaged in as the point person for the program

● Multiple avenues of advertising

● Local partners and volunteer networks in place to support wood transport, processing, and delivery when necessary.

● plenty of wood available on our private lands partners that needs thinning to reduce the threat of severe wildfire

● UCSWCD owns a log splitter(donated by CPLA) that can be used on site or loaned out to support the community membersAs of early June 2023, CPLA is receiving volunteer support from an individual intent on helping elderly and disabled folks who are in the greatest need of help.