Resilient Archuleta — What is it?

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Resilient Archuleta — what is it? It’s community collaboration with the goal of raising community awareness to the threats of climate change events, and opening the door for conversations to find ways to become resilient in our social, economic and environmental well-being within our community.

The process thus far has identified that the rural small town character and natural resources are the top-valued assets in the county followed closely by the sense of community. The biggest threats to our county showed environmental hazards attributed to climate change with wildfire, floods and drought rising to the top, followed by growth and infrastructure challenges, and our economic stability.

The resources that are affected by these main environmental hazards were identified and ranked according to their vulnerability. Those results showed that our water supply, public and private lands, transportation, tourism, agriculture and our electric supply are most vulnerable with different rankings among them within the three main hazards. These results come as no surprise. We know we live in a beautiful area with real threats to our social, economic and environmental well-being.

To address these threats, Resilient Archuleta is hosting a series of community conversations around resiliency with invited guest speakers on different topics. The first meeting in this series was held on May 29 with guest speaker Dagmar Llewellyn, a hydrologist at the Bureau of Reclamation office in Albuquerque. She contributed her expertise on watershed resiliency in the research and outreach efforts related to water supply and demand challenges in the San Juan Basin. The conversation revolved a lot around policy and how do we implement change.

The next guest speaker will be Mike Le Roux from the Office of Emergency Management on June 26 at 6 p.m. at the Extension office to explain the All Hazards Mitigation Plan and how we as a community be prepared and resilient in the face of disaster. This conversation will not only be around how to prepare, but talk about the social, environmental and economic effects and what actions we can take to bounce back. All community members are encouraged to attend to give input to this process.

Upcoming events

June 26, 6 p.m. at the Extension office — Resilient Archuleta; Mike Le Roux, Office of Emergency Management.

July 13: Archuleta County Annual Weed Tour.

Aug. 1-4: Archuleta County Fair. Do you quilt or sew, can vegetables or fruit, grow hay crops, veggies or flowers? Maybe you do leather or wood work? Possibly brew beer or make wine? Or, maybe you have a hidden crafting talent that you would like share with us? If so, then you can enter the Archuleta County Fair Open Classes. Go to www.archuletacountyfair.com/exhibits-rules to find out how to enter. It’s homegrown and county pride.