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Forest Service awards locals for environmental work

Other entities receive praise
Volunteers from the 5 Rivers Chapter of Trout Unlimited work to dismantle beaver dams on the East Fork of Hermosa Creek. The group was one of several to receive special recognition from the U.S. Forest Service for its aquatic project.

The San Juan National Forest has won a U.S. Forest Service award for launching a program to offer college students experience in resource management. The Four Corners Federal Land Internship Program puts students to work alongside Forest Service and National Park Service staff.

It’s a great program for students looking at a career in land management, said Tana Verzuh, the career services coordinator at Fort Lewis College.

In related recognition, the San Juan National Forest, Colorado Parks and Wildlife, the 5 Rivers Chapter of Trout Unlimited and Mountain Studies Institute will receive the Rise to the Future award from the Forest Service for an aquatic project.

Specifically, the award is for restoring native Colorado River cutthroat to a stretch of their historic range in the Hermosa Creek drainage.

The project started in 1991 and involved removal of non-native fish species, construction of in-stream barriers to block return of the undesirable species and restocking of the native Colorado River cutthroat.

More than 17 miles of Hermosa Creek have been isolated for the preservation of the species.

daler@durangoherald.com



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