THE PUBLIC LANDS FOUNDATION presents the Dolores River Restoration Partnership with its 2011 Landscape Stewardship Certificate of Appreciation and this Citation. The Foundation grants this recognition to honor private citizens and organizations that work to advance and sustain community-based stewardship on landscapes that include, in whole or in part, public lands administered by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM).

The Dolores River Restoration Partnership was formed in 2009 by the Walton Family Foundation, the David and Lucile Packard Foundation and the Nature Conservancy to bring together the large number of partners necessary to work on one of the region’s toughest and most important restoration challenges. The partnership is focused on restoration efforts along the Dolores River Corridor from the McPhee Dam in southern Colorado to the Dolores’ confluence with the Colorado River in eastern Utah.

The Partnership developed the Dolores River Riparian Action Plan, a watershed-wide tamarisk control and restoration strategy. The Action Plan emphasizes ecological goals and work needed to achieve a “thriving Dolores River system that is ecologically, socially and economically sustainable in a multiuse context.”

The Partnership helps to ensure a coordinated and collaborative approach on a watershed-level scale between private landowners, federal and state land managers, county weed managers, non-profit organizations, volunteer groups and many others in southwestern Colorado and southeastern Utah to treat invasive species and restore riparian ecosystems. As of January 2011, Partnership efforts have treated or removed 500 acres of tamarisk and 150 acres of Russian knapweed along 55 miles of the Dolores River on federal, state and private lands. The Partnership also arranges bi-annual meetings for the entire group; coordinates with committees that meet on specific topics as needed, such as monitoring, funding, grazing practices, etc.; hosts field trips and river trips that allow on-the-ground information sharing between groups; and sends out newsletters.

The Partnership also aims to develop and inspire the next generation of land stewards. To accomplish this, the Partnership has developed relationships with regional Conservation Corps groups that consist mostly of rural and Native American youth.

The Partnership also develops funding sources for restoration actions, associated monitoring efforts, as well as public education and outreach efforts. It pursues grants, contracts and donations, and strives to leverage other public and private resources.

The Public Lands Foundation is pleased to present the Delores River Restoration Partnership with its 2011 Landscape Stewardship Certificate of Appreciation and this Citation for invaluable contributions to the stewardship of America’s public landscapes.

September 7, 2011