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.

In November, we met with the ranchers who participated in Phase 1 of our Safe Soils/Climate Resiliency Initiative. Four key landscapes were analyzed by the lab at Cornell University, facilitated by Eco-Consulting firm Geosyntec. Soil samples were taken from forested woodland, shrubland, riparian/wetland and agricultural areas. We presented our ranchers the findings, which included analysis of the soil's physical, chemical and biological characteristics.

Our four partner landowners examined the results, soil types and composition to help inform future management practices. We are taking this insight to formulate prescriptive project recommendations for climate resilience and improved soil health. We will continue to work with our ranch partners to help them begin to implement projects in the summer and autumn of 2023.

Detailed reports from our eco-consulting firm Geosyntec finally arrived! We will meet with our four partner ranchers this month. Tom Koehler, our director of climate action, is carefully reviewing hundreds of pages of data to determine our best path forward.

We will identify specific prescriptions to benefit each ranch. All of our recommendations will be aimed at improving soil health, and the ability of these private lands to capture more greenhouse gases and positively effect climate change. We plan to target several projects in 2023.

After we meet with each rancher, we will share the findings and our recommendations with key stakeholders and the community at large.

From these pilot projects we hope to develop further programs to improve soil resiliency on public and private lands in the Lower Blue River Valley.

The FOLBR Climate Resiliency/Safe Soils Initiative will be ramping up significantly in the month of June. Scientists from our Eco Consulting firm Geosyntec will be gathering taking several soil samples at each of our four partner ranch, targeting the varied landscapes. If the weather cooperates, we will be in the field the week of June 13th. Once soil samples are taken, they will be analyzed. We will then be a step closer to meeting with all our partner ranchers to share information on soil health and the ability to capture greenhouse gases.

Our goal is to share a series of prescriptions to help landowners improve their properties in the Blue River Valley. Initially, we're focusing on private lands. But what we learn will also serve to benefit County, State and Federal lands. We will be completely transparent offering our data to anyone who wants it.

We continue to thank our ranch partners: Pass Creek, Blue Tree, Otter Creek and Blue Valley for their tremendous cooperation in this important initiative. We will continue to keep you posted as we progress.