Stepping into snowy forests and towering mountain ranges, I'm always reminded of why so much of my time is spent under the sun and clouds. The blue sky reminisces of painted brown trout, and the red mountains foreshadow twighlight's show of colors.
The love I have for our wild, untamed land is deep. I express it with each drive to the river and trek beyond the treeline. Yet, such a flame only shows itself through the actions I do. I can be grateful for the things around me, but awe is only awe. When considering how I could develop my relationship with the living world, I turned to the concept of stewardship.
What does it mean to be a steward?, I kept asking myself. Could it simply mean leaving my lands cleaner than when I found them? Or would more involvement be required?
I pondered these questions as I embarked on a new journey to start serving the wild around me.
The first of my efforts took form in time spent on restoration projects. This was part of my work with High Country Conservation Advocates (HCCA), an organization dedicated to the preservation of public lands and waters in my local area.
Our projects made use of low-tech process-based restoration to retain water in wetlands. Essentially, this meant using simple structures to mimic natural functions and processes. We planted willows in wetlands to restore flows and made use of rock structures to prevent further erosion in wet meadows.
By doing this, I witnessed how I could be a positive agent of change in my ecosystem. I could truly show my love for land by bettering it for myself as well as others. This was especially true when considering the outcomes of our work.
One of our restoration projects took place in a wet meadow above a local reservoir, where we spent the day building Zeedyk structures. These were constructed from rock, at the bottom of the meadow, and helped retain water during runoff season while reducing erosion. However, one of the most interesting outcomes of these structures was the benefits they provided native species. By developing an area for water retention, we also promoted nesting zones for Gunnison sage-grouse, an endangered species endemic to our lands.
The other part of my volunteer work included helping others find the same connection I do to the rolling sage hills and snow capped peaks around me. While my time with HCCA centered around restoring habitats for local wildlife, my next project would shape the land I loved. I attended several trail work days with Gunnison Trails, who are responsible for building countless hiking and biking trails throughout the valley.
The work was straightforward. With the lineup of a pick mattock, rake, and shovel, we built trails. In the time that I volunteered with the organization, we finished the South Rim trail near town– mostly used for mountain biking.
As I continued in trailwork, I felt that this work was also meaningful to me. But I was taking out sage and clearing space to lay out a trail– almost the complete opposite of planting willow branches and restoring ecosystems weeks before.
So why was this meaningful to me and my question of what it meant to be a steward?
Despite the differences in each group’s work, I recognized the alignment of values between Gunnison Trails and HCCA. More than anything, both organizations dedicated themselves to forming relationships with the environment.
Gunnison Trails opened doors for others to connect with nature by building trails, and encouraged people to practice stewardship by providing a firsthand experience of the work that goes into trail maintenance.
Meanwhile, the conservation done by HCCA showed the potential well-being that humans can bring to their local ecosystems.
Thinking about my role as a steward in these lands, I am still at the beginning of my journey. My time with nonprofit organizations has taught me how to deepen my relationship with the natural space around me. Yet, I still have many years to work toward purposeful actions as a steward.
Aside from warm weather adventures, this upcoming summer brings me excitement to work with both groups again, and to express my love for these lands and waters in more meaningful ways.
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