To help restore thousands of acres of land near the Colorado River and improve water quality, Marathon Oil Corporation and the NWTF have formed the Western Riparian Alliance. The organizations say the partnership focuses on restoring riparian areas – or areas near rivers and streams that are vital to wildlife survival – in the Colorado River watershed.
Marathon Oil Corporation committed a total of $400,000 to fund the next three years of the alliance, which will expand to rivers in addition to the Colorado River.
“Many wildlife populations are strong and success stories are numerous thanks to regulated hunting and conservation efforts of local, state, federal agencies, and volunteer support from conservation groups,” Brinkmeier said. “This alliance will help keep healthy areas healthy and in the first three years alone projects will be completed to help restore 1,000 acres of riparian corridors and improve thousands of acres in the watershed.”
The NWTF's Colorado State Chapter will support this project through its state super fund. In addition, NWTF and Marathon Oil Corporation plan to partner with the Natural Resource Conservation Service, Colorado Division of Wildlife, Bureau of Land Management, United States Forest Service, United States Fish and Wildlife Service, the Tamarisk Coalition and other conservation organizations.
NWTF volunteers, partners, sponsors and staff will work through the NWTF's Southern Great Plains Riparian Initiative, Northern Plains Riparian Restoration Initiative and Energy for Wildlife programs to help restore these areas.
Through the Southern Great Plains Riparian Initiative, NWTF project partners restore and maintain wooded zones in the southern Great Plains by assisting landowners and communities with management efforts.
The NWTF and its cooperators have spent $1.3 million to enhance habitat along streams and rivers in the Northern Plains states through the Northern Plains Riparian Restoration Initiative.
The NWTF's Energy for Wildlife program helps the utility industry manage millions of miles of rights-of-way and other properties that could potentially provide ideal habitat for a number of wildlife species. Managing these properties provides great habitat for wild turkeys. Several other wildlife species currently at risk from loss of open habitat also benefit from the program.
The Energy for Wildlife staff works directly with utility companies to integrate wildlife management activities into their land management programs. When participating companies have implemented the wildlife component of their management plans, they will receive a “seal of approval” from the NWTF for their efforts.
