Healthy Landscapes
RFOV believes that healthy landscapes make for healthy people. Together, we can restore degraded rivers, wetlands, lakes, habitats, and ecosystems.
RFOV invites individuals and groups of all interests to engage in the restoration of our shared outdoors. Opportunities vary each year, but can include reseeding, replanting (shrubs, trees), vegetation management, and wetland stabilization.
A catalog of project sites which RFOV has worked since our founding in 1995 can be found by clicking here.
Which sites are prioritized?
In Pitkin, Garfield, Eagle, and Gunnison counties, numerous landscapes need restoration projects that surpass the current capacity for implementation. To address this challenge, RFOV follows a two-fold approach:
First, we prioritize sites and projects aligned with the long-term goals of our land management partners. Second, our staff works closely with these partners to plan and coordinate specific sites, projects, or comprehensive restoration plans. This collaborative effort aims to maximize the impact of our restoration initiatives across these landscapes.
Healthy Landscapes in practice: Lazy Glen Open Space
2021 – present
ORIGINS: The Lazy Glen Project was identified by RFOV partners at Pitkin County Open Space & Trails as a priority in 2020. As a former agricultural and pastoral landscape abutting the Roaring Fork River, the area was already in the process of human-assisted and unaided ecosystem restoration. Still, streambank health and non-native invasive species were noted.
PLAN: A multi-year, multi-stage project was conceptualized to address stated concerns. In practice, this means RFOV will return as frequently as needed on an annual basis to plant riparian tree species or perform vegetation management. Technical advice and tools are provided by staff and consultants during half-day projects.
ANNUAL ACTIONS: In the early-spring, RFOV staff visits Lazy Glen to consult with county staff in order to identify the year’s scope-of-work and to plan how we can best direct volunteers to plant trees in an ecologically sensitive manner. In 2021, RFOV hosted 1 community volunteer project in the preserve. Staff returned regularly to check on the health of the plantings.
FUTURE HEALTHY LANDSCAPES: Restoration projects are staff, time, and resource intensive. However, community enthusiasm for habitat and riparian restoration grows every year. RFOV hopes to build internal staff capacity and develop stable funding streams to ensure our Healthy Landscapes program can meet community needs.
