A volunteer group promoting quality of life, and the
environment of the Lower Blue River Valley.
The Friends of the Lower Blue River are dedicated to sustaining and protecting the traditional agricultural character, promoting the safety of the residents, livestock and wildlife, and maintaining the environmental integrity of the Lower Blue River Valley through education, collaboration and community involvement.
To sustain and protect the traditional agricultural character, promote the safety of the residents, livestock and wildlife, and maintain the environmental integrity of the Lower Blue River Valley through education, collaboration and community involvement.
Friends of the Lower Blue River is committed to preserving the rich history of the Blue River Valley. Through grant support from the Summit Foundation, we have created this interactive tool that documents and takes you to key points of interest in the Valley. You will see photographs and read about those who came before us. Those who settled this pristine area of Summit and Grand Counties in the 1800’s and the relevance those sites have today. FOLBR invites you to take this journey on our website and discover the treasure, that truly is the Lower Blue River Valley.
Click Here to see History Story Map
China produces approximately 70 percent of the world's output of this textile. France is the next largest producer of this crop followed by Austria, Chile, and the United Kingdom. In all, over 30 countries around the world produce industrial hemp.
The USDA estimates that U.S. 2021 hemp production totaled $824 million. This includes hemp for all utilizations. According to textileexchange.org, hemp is a bast fiber. That means the fiber-producing part of the plant is made up of strands that run its length and surround the woody core of the stem. It has a deep root system which helps to reduce soil loss and is useful in many different crop rotations.
This dynamic emerging industry is where finance and nature meet. The purpose of Conservation Finance is to preserve nature and its intrinsic ecological attributes and eco-system services. The goal is to raise and manage capital to support land, water, and resource conservation.
A healthy intact eco-system provides clean and reliable water, clean air, robust biodiversity for aquatic, avian and terrestrial species. Eco-friendly projects also provide carbon capture, an additional benefit and a public good, that is under appreciated.
Valuable landscape resources left to traditional developers could be heavily degraded. While this can serve a profit purpose in the short term, the long-term environmental assets are less capable of delivering water, clean air and healthy vegetation for wildlife and for carbon capture.
Carbon Dioxide (CO2) is emitted around the globe. Efforts to stem CO2 have been contentious and significantly unsuccessful.
A report by the International Monetary Fund (IMF), dated June 2022, illustrates this point. 2020’s 4.6% drop in global greenhouse gas emissions was a pause in an otherwise powerful upward trend. This drop was due to lockdowns during the pandemic.
We saw an increase across all sectors in 2021, to levels higher than pre-pandemic. There are many potential solutions. Placing a price on carbon is one, but no formal global market exists; and no definitive legislative mandate is certain.
State Representative, and Speaker of the House Julie McCluskie and Summit County Commissioner Josh Blanchard were among the advisory committee members who reviewed the findings of our Phase 1 research. FOLBR's Safe Soils/Climate Resiliency Initiative now moves to identify the prescriptions needed to address environmental opportunities identified in Phase 1 research.
Our Advisory Committee is made up of County, State and Federal stakeholders who are committed to addressing climate change. Our thanks to our robust team members Caitlin Miller and Mark Volt of the Middle Park Conservation District, Stephen Jaouen and Kara Vigneau of the Natural Resources Conservation Service, Cindy Lair with the Colorado Department of Agriculture and FOLBR Board Members Sam Kirk and George Resseguie for their participation.
Our Climate Resiliency Initiative is fostering natural climate solutions where you live and play, here in the Lower Blue River Valley. We need capital to sustain and fulfill this mission.
Traditionally, many have generously contributed to our organization allowing us to move forward on behalf of our dedicated members. Dynamically, you can also provide needed capital to FOLBR in the form of a stock, bond or mutual fund donation.
Fungi — a scientific goldmine? Well, that’s what a review published in the journal Trends in Biotechnology indicates. You may think mushrooms are a long chalk from the caped crusaders of sustainability. But think again.
Many of us have heard of fungi’s role in creating more sustainable leather substitutes. Amadou vegan leather, crafted from fungal-fruiting bodies, has been around for some 5,000 years.
More recently, mycelium leather substitutes have taken the stage. These are produced from the root-like structure mycelium, which snakes through dead wood or soil beneath mushrooms.
