Workshops
As part of WEST's mission we strive to promote and enhance the educational activities available to the many agencies and landowners throughout the San Luis Valley. We also participate in many conferences and workshops throughout Colorado as well as the surrounding areas in order to continue our education and improving our knowledge of wetland and riparian systems.
With support from the Senior Biologist at the Bosque del Apache National Wildlife Refuge in New Mexico, a series of 'Wetland Reviews' have been carried out throughout the Middle Upper Rio Grande Corridor. The wetland reviews are an adaptation from workshops initiated and implemented by Dr. Leigh Fredrickson in Missouri. A different agency hosts a review in the San Luis Valley almost every year to take an indepth look at specific management issues in relation to different types of wetlands. In the fall of 2009, WEST in cooperation with the Colorado Division of Wildlife hosted a review on the Higel State Wildlife Area. WEST also has been involved in the previous two reviews hosted by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the Buruea of Land Management.
WEST along with The Nature Conservancy hosted a workshop on the Medano-Zapata Ranch and the San Luis Lakes State Wildlife Area in 2008. The workshop addressed 'Hydrologic Recovery in Altered Systems in the San Luis Valley ' with Bill Zeedyk, a consultant from New Mexico who specializes in how water moves through roads, types of water control structures, and riparian restoration. This workshop led to the development of a new Colorado Wetlands Program project on the San Luis Lakes State Wildlife Area to enhance wetlands and sheet flow through the system.
Staff has participated in local, state, and national conferences hosted by Ducks Unlimited, The Wildlife Society, Society of Wetland Scientists, and Association of State Wetland Managers.
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