Spring was in full swing at the Colorado Mountain College Spring Valley Campus for this year’s Spring Summit from May 27-29. This annual event for Keep It Colorado coalition members, partners, and supporters gathered together 150 attendees from around the state. Beginning on Wednesday with three field trips to Hanging Lake, Silt River Preserve, and conserved ranches in Missouri Heights, participants then made their way to Carbondale for our Welcome Reception at Townline Trucks.
Our Thursday morning program began with remarks from Colorado State Representative Elizabeth Velasco, who represents HD57 in western Colorado, including Glenwood Springs and the Roaring Fork Valley. She was also one of the co-sponsors of the successful, bipartisan legislation to extend the conservation easement tax credit for another five years. Representative Velasco spoke on how she became an advocate for the environment through a snow sports program that gave all children the opportunity to experience skiing and snowboarding. This experience has translated into her work at the Capitol where she has worked on legislation that champions clean air and water, healthy forests, and more for Coloradans. We also heard from Colorado Mountain College President Matt Gianneschi about the partnership with Aspen Valley Land Trust that resulted in conserving a portion of the Spring Valley Campus in 2025. A Conservation Showcase highlighted three inspiring projects from around the state concluded with a screening of the film Rooted: A Story of Rematriation. We also had the great privilege of hearing from Regina Lopez-Whiteskunk, a member of the Ute Mountain Ute Tribe who has has played a key role in the Traditional Harvest Project as the former cross-cultural programs director at Montezuma Land Conservancy.
Participants continued to learn and exchange ideas through roundtable discussions, 15 learning sessions, and lunch conversations, covering topics from restoration to rematriation, wildfire and wetlands, fundraising to photography, conservation easement acquisition to stewardship, and so much more.
The third annual Conservation Olympics brought new events focused on collaboration, communication, and wrist strength thanks to the vision of Anjanette Garcia, the community engagement manager for Aspen Valley Land Trust. In addition to old standbys such as Cash Pasture and Project Management Relay, competitors were tested in their ability to follow directions, interpret wildlife signs, and build community connections. The 2026 gold medalists were The Mighty Acorns, with team members Savannah Robar, Joel Nystrom, Andrew Bushnell, Chris West, and Jennifer Zahratka.
We could not have pulled off this event without help from planning committee, presenters, field trip leaders, volunteers, CMC staff, and our sponsors who supported the learning, venue, networking, scholarships, and more.
