News Release Archive

Students Today Leaders Forever Volunteer for a Service Project at Grand Junction Wildlife Area

Media Contact: Justyn Liff, 970-248-0625, jliff@usbr.gov

For Release: March 21, 2016

GRAND JUNCTION, Colo. - Approximately 45 participants in “Students Today Leaders Forever” from the University of Wisconsin are volunteering to cut and remove weed barrier material from around cottonwood trees at the Grand Junction Wildlife Area. This project will ensure the health and growth of trees planted in the wildlife area 17 years ago. The trees are important because they provide wildlife habitat, soil stabilization, erosion control, and a measure of flood control.

Shannon Hatch, Restoration Coordinator for the Tamarisk Coalition said, “We are fortunate the “Students Today Leaders Forever” program reached out to the Desert Rivers Collaborative for a service activity and we are excited to be able to host them at one of Grand Junction’s preeminent wildlife habitat areas.”

The project at Grand Junction Wildlife Area is one of many being undertaken by Reclamation, the Tamarisk Coalition, and other partners associated with the Desert Rivers Collaborative. The Collaborative is a multi-stakeholder partnership focused on improving the habitat along the Colorado and Gunnison Rivers.

This project with “Students Today Leaders Forever,” is one of the larger volunteer events to be coordinated by the Desert Rivers Collaborative. The students will have the opportunity to learn about riparian restoration while providing invaluable assistance in helping improve critical wildlife habitat near the junction of the Colorado and Gunnison rivers.

Student leaders with the Wisconsin Chapter of “Students Today Leaders Forever” organized a “Pay It Forward” bus tour from Madison, Wisconsin to Salt Lake City, Utah. They will be helping with five community projects as they travel to Salt Lake City. “Students Today Leaders Forever” was started in 2003 with a group of college students from Minneapolis, Minnesota, who wanted to change the way college kids are viewed in society.

What: Media are invited to tour the project site and interview representatives from the Bureau of Reclamation, Tamarisk Coalition, and Students Today Leaders Forever. Please wear tennis shoes or hiking boots; you will need to walk through brush to get to the interview site.

When: Wednesday, March 23, 2016 at 10 a.m.

Where: Grand Junction Wildlife Area, 25 ¾ Road and C ½ Road at the confluence of the Colorado and Gunnison Rivers.

How: To RSVP and get a map to the Grand Junction Wildlife Area, contact Justyn Liff with the Bureau of Reclamation at 970-248-0625 or jliff@usbr.gov by 5 p.m. Tuesday, March 22.

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The Bureau of Reclamation is a federal agency under the U.S. Department of the Interior and is the nation's largest wholesale water supplier and second largest producer of hydroelectric power. Our facilities also provide substantial flood control, recreation opportunities, and environmental benefits. Visit our website at https://www.usbr.gov and follow us on Twitter @USBR; Facebook @bureau.of.reclamation; LinkedIn @Bureau of Reclamation; Instagram @bureau_of_reclamation; and YouTube @reclamation.