From Investing in Indigenous Traditional Knowledge to Capping Abandoned Oil and Gas Wells: Announcing our Summer Grant Recipients
This Summer our Board gathered as we usually do, but this time, we immersed ourselves in a place where one of our Mighty Partners is working to protect—the Tuolumne River. For more than 40 years, Tuolumne River Trust has educated surrounding communities about this river, connecting its waters to their taps; they have advocated for policies to protect the Tuolumne and its surrounding lands for present and future generations; and they have pushed to restore habitat and healthy flows in this special watershed from its headwaters in the Sierras to it confluence with the San Joaquin.
We spent two days and one night on the Tuolumne, navigating rapids, swimming in its emerald waters, and letting its current carry our conversations. And then we sat down on the banks of the river to have a board meeting. No screens, no PowerPoints, just us and the stories of the Mighty Partners we have the great fortune to work with. While this may have been our most fun and splashy board meeting to date, we grounded ourselves in why we come together: We come together to work on something larger than ourselves.
We are honored to do this work, and continue to be humbled, inspired and fired up by the incredible people and organizations that have become Mighty Partners. We are pleased to introduce to you our newest grantees:
Tribal Marine Stewards Network
The Tribal Marine Stewards Network (the Network) is an alliance of Tribal Nations working collaboratively to protect and restore coastal and marine ecosystems of California. Providing support for programs dedicated to cultural practice, land and water stewardship, and education, the Tribal Marine Stewards Network, is working to establish long-term, consistent engagement with state and federal agencies, while implementing Indigenous Traditional Knowledge (ITK) and Tribal Science into management practices. This work includes contributing to California’s Pathways to 30x30 initiative that aims to protect 30% of California’s lands and coastal waters by 2030.
The Well Done Foundation's (WDF) mission is to fight climate change by plugging orphaned or abandoned oil and gas wells. The Environmental Protection Agency estimates that more than 3 million abandoned oil and gas wells are scattered across the US with no owner or operator, and many already leaking methane and other harmful gasses, presenting severe danger to communities, water and air quality, where they are located. WDF works with farmers and landowners, local and state governments, corporations and nonprofit organizations to locate abandoned wells, measure and document the CO2 emissions, then plug the wells and restore the surrounding surface area to its original state. Since launching in 2019, WDF has plugged 29 orphan oil and gas wells in several states, permanently reducing harmful methane gas emissions (80X more harmful than carbon dioxide) by more than 500,000 metric tons of CO2e.
The Water & Tribes Initiative facilitates connections among Colorado River Basin Tribes and other leaders, to build trust and understanding, and create opportunities to explore shared interests and take collaborative action. Historically, Tribes in the basin were not actively involved in planning, problem-solving, and decision-making. The Water & Tribes Initiative emerged in 2017 with two objectives: Enhance the capacity of Tribes to manage water resources and to engage in water policy discussions; and support sustainable water use through collaborative problem-solving.
Winnemem Wintu Tribe Land Back Project
In their origin story, the Winnemem Wintu people were born from Buliyum Puyuuk (Mt. Shasta) and made their homes along the shores of the Winnemem Waywaket (McCloud River), which runs between the Upper Sacramento to the west and the Pit River to the east. Historically numbering around 14,000 people, today, after decades of colonization, the Tribe’s population is around 150 and has never been federally recognized by the US government, meaning they’ve never had access to federal benefits or reservation lands. At this time, the Winnemem Wintu have an opportunity to purchase 1,080 acres of their traditional territories at the feet of one of their sacred sites of Bear Mountain. The opportunity to steward this land will enable them to, “realize our ancestral obligation to bring back our ecovillage, protect the waters, conduct ceremonies in a more secluded way, restore our salmon runs, and raise the next generation of Winnemem Wintu in a safe, sovereign, and traditional way.”
Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership, Rio Grande Project
The Rio Grande River flows from Colorado’s San Juan Mountains, connecting Texas and Mexico, and ultimately meeting the sea in the Gulf of Mexico. The Rio, while lesser known by many, has similar challenges to the Colorado, including climate-fueled drought and aridification and a growing population. Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership (TRCP) is working to bring awareness and resources to this vital watershed. TRCP advocates for cleaner water, healthier flows, stronger conservation policies and enhanced fish and wildlife habitat in the Rio Grande and beyond.
Colorado River Sustainability Campaign
Reaching across two countries, seven states, 30 federally recognized Tribes, the Colorado River supplies drinking water to 40 million people every year, supports 16 million American jobs, generates $1.4 trillion in economic benefits, and irrigates nearly 6 million acres of farmland. The Colorado River Sustainability Campaign (CRSC) serves to provide support, capacity, and coordination to conservation groups’ efforts to ensure that the Colorado, its tributaries, and its delta sustain Tribes that have lived in the basin for millennia, healthy and diverse populations of fish and wildlife, and outstanding recreational opportunities, while providing water to support resilient communities, business, and agriculture.
Volunteers for Outdoor Colorado
Since 1984, Volunteers for Outdoor Colorado (VOC) has been motivating and enabling people to become active stewards of Colorado’s natural resources. VOC works with conservation and land agencies and relies on thousands of people annually to provide a volunteer workforce for outdoor stewardship projects in every corner of Colorado. From constructing and maintaining trails, restoring habitat and managing invasive species, planting trees and establishing urban gardens, providing flood and fire restoration and mitigation, and improving parks and restoring historic sites, VOC has donated $26.5 million in volunteer labor, has more than 131,000 volunteers that have accomplished more than 1,500 projects across the state.
Eight county, state, and federal public land agencies from north-central Colorado are actively collaborating on ways to address the challenges the mountains and foothills in this region are facing from high visitation and a growing population. NoCo PLACES 2050 is committed to sustainable solutions, equitable actions, and beneficial land management practices for the long-term conservation of Colorado’s public lands and the quality of the visitor experience.