Our Last Events Of The Spring!!

Hikes

• May 18th Wildflower hike in McInnis Canyons NCA 9-11: Join a local wildflower expert for an identification hike on Pollock Bench in McInnis Canyons NCA.

• RSVP required for all hikes. Contact Joe Neuhof at 970-263-7902 or email joe@canyonsassociation.org for more information.

Education events

Photo: Rosa Brey

• May 13-16 4th Annual Devils Canyon Scavenger Hunt: Colorado Canyons Association is hosting our 4th annual scavenger hunt for 3rd graders at Devils Canyons. Each year, we provide the opportunity for local students to learn about the wonderful natural resources our public land has to offer with stations about botany, wildlife, cultural history and outdoor etiquette.
  
• May 15 Rock Art of western Colorado's NCAs: Join CCA and the Chipeta Chapter of the Colorado Archaeological Society for a lecture on the rock art of western Colorado's NCAs at the Montrose Methodist Church at 7pm. This event is free and open to the public. 

A Great Fall for Education

This fall, Colorado Canyons Association supported over 800 students in our three regional National Conservation Areas for various education opportunities! Thanks so much to all the volunteers and partner organizations that helped make these three wonderful events a huge success!

Partnering with the Bureau of Land Management Uncompahgre Field Office and Trout Unlimited, we brought more than 600 6th grade students from Delta, Montrose, Olathe, Hotchkiss, Paonia and Crawford to Cottonwood Campground along the Gunnison River to learn about riparian ecosystems, the web of life and a little about fly fishing. This wonderful experience also helped the students learn about Leave No Trace and allowed them the time to sit and reflect about their time "in nature."

In September, we launched our first annual Colorado River Restoration and Education field trip with students from Central High School's Advanced Placement Environmental Studies program. With support from Adventure Bound River Expeditions and the Grand Junction BLM, we provided an overnight rafting excursion through Ruby/Horsethief with the opportunity for students to learn about riparian ecosystems, restoration projects and the chance for many of them to raft through our beautiful NCA for the first time! In return, these students helped us work on Beaver Tail Camp, a  new campsite across the river from Rattlesnake Canyon. We hauled and piled tamarisk cuttings, pulled cockleburs from the beach and wrapped cottonwood saplings with chicken wire to protect them from beaver. Although it was a little rainy, this was definitely a trip to remember! 

In October, we held our first ever Dominguez-Escalante Scavenger Hunt. Mimicking the model we've used in McInnis Canyons for the past three years, we hosted nearly 100 Delta 3rd graders at Captain Smith's Cabin for a day of outdoor inquiry. Students worked their way through 10 stations learning about the cultural and natural history of the canyon. Volunteers from the BLM, Colorado Parks and Wildlife, the Palisade Insectary, Western Colorado Interpretive Association and other organizations helped make this first annual event a huge success.

We've had a great fall of education opportunities for local students in McInnis Canyons, Gunnison Gorge and Dominguez-Escalante NCAs. Keep an eye out for volunteer opportunities for our spring events!

Watch CCA's New Video Short!

Escalante Canyon lecture and tour a success!

Escalante Forks schoolhouse. Photo: Greg Gnesios

Colorado Canyons Association and the Western Colorado Interpretive Association collaborated to provide a public lecture and tour of the history of Escalante Canyon by Bernice "Bernie" Musser last month.

Nearly 200 people packed a conference room in the Bill Heddles Recreation Center in Delta, CO on June 14th to hear Bernie discuss life in the canyon as she showed pictures of the area from her time living in two different residences, one at Escalante Forks and the other near the Gunnison River. In addition to telling her story in the canyon, she also provided some great local history of the area including a discussion of the road and bridge building that occurred during the 1940s to make the canyon more accessible and stories about some of the more interesting characters that lived in the canyon.

On Saturday, June 16, Bernie accompanied nearly 50 interested participants into the canyon to discuss the sites in more detail. We had the opportunity to explore Captain Smith's cabin and look into the old Escalante Forks schoolhouse. Bernie's wonderful knowledge of the area provided a great insight into our local history of ranching and homesteading in one of the most beautiful canyons around!

Another Great Educational Program!

Students show off their creations at the art station

Colorado Canyons Association hosted the 3rd annual Nature Scavenger Hunt on May 21st, 22nd and 23rd in McInnis Canyons National Conservation Area. With the help of BLM staff and dozens of volunteers, we had more than 350 third grade students out for three educational days as we continue our mission to connect classrooms to these treasured landscapes.  The students enthusiastically explored information about topics ranging from wildlife to geology all while hiking through the Devils Canyon area. 


This year we also had the opportunity to film the students as they worked their way through the stations. Working with Mara Ferris, of Gen9 Productions, we were able to interview many of the volunteers and even some teachers. Check back for this short video in mid-June!


We are looking forward to more educational hikes for adults this summer and getting hundreds of students out to Dominguez-Escalante NCA in the fall to learn about the rock art and cultural resources.  If you would like to lead an educational hike for children or adults please call or email Rosa Brey at 970-263-7902 - rosa@canyonsassociation.org

Historic Gateway documentary and exhibit

Colorado Canyons Association and the Museum of Western Colorado are pleased to announce the premier of a new historical documentary and exhibit on the Gateway area. Award-winning videographer Mara Ferris, of Gen9 Productions, has created a documentary chronicling the rich history and natural wonders of this region just south of Grand Junction. This film is accompanied by a new exhibit on the cultural, paleontological, and natural history of the area created by museum curator Zebulon Miracle.

Stories from the Land is a thirty-minute documentary that includes numerous interviews and photographs from the Gateway area south of Grand Junction. The documentary was commissioned by the Colorado Canyons Association in 2011 to highlight the rich cultural and natural history in this stunning Colorado canyon country. The Museum of Western Colorado partnered with the filmmaker to conduct oral histories and locate never-before-published historic photographs of the area. Twenty-five individuals who represent a wide range of uses and historical connections to the area were interviewed for the film, creating hours of new perspectives and stories that will be housed at the Museum.