DURANGO KIDS
Photos by Cole Davis
Opportunity overflows for regional students With Mountain Studies Institute and Environment & Climate Institute by Joy Martin
On a stunning September Sunday, eight high school students from Bayfield, Durango, and Silverton gathered at Molas Pass to establish 173 bog birch plants so we can all have cleaner drinking water. Instead of playing video games or mall walking, these teenagers chose to spend their weekend restoring the wetlands that filter San Juan Mountain snowflakes, water that eventually drifts down the Animas River and into civilization. “If rain forests are the lungs of the earth, then wetlands are the kidneys of our ecosystem,” says Amanda Kuenzi, community science director at the Mountain Studies Institute in Silverton. “Water that flows out of a wetland is cleaner than what flows in, creating an invaluable asset to our watershed, considering how many heavy metals are naturally occurring in our geology.” 76 Durango Magazine Winter/Spring
The alpine wetland at Molas is called a fen, which is known as a biodiversity hotspot and a unique geographical feature that takes thousands of years to develop. Besides eating the plants that call the Molas fen home, elk and deer wallow in the mud, degrading this special ecosystem. One way to counteract the harm done is by planting bog birch, a species that’s native to the area. “MSI calls it ‘service learning,’ because the students are helping us regenerate valu-
able wetlands while they’re also learning plant ecology,” says Kuenzi. This type of fen wetland restoration extended to Ophir Pass on National Public Lands Day, a day before the high schoolers ascended to the top of Molas Pass. Sixteen Fort Lewis College students from FLC’s Environmental Center joined in the fun, positioning 81 bog birch plants, covering a steep burn area with jute mesh, and collecting sedge seeds for propagation. Kuenzi says college students often evolve these field experiences into material for their senior capstone projects. These service-learning opportunities offer a snapshot of the Mountain Studies Institute’s myriad offerings that promote a stewardship ethic for public lands. To more effectively involve the community’s youth, MSI recently partnered with the Environment & Climate Institute, hosted by Fort Lewis College, to provide high school students from across the region with opportunities to study climate-change effects on the San Juan Mountains’ unique environment. The ECI launches with a summer intensive kickoff held at FLC. Over the course of the school year, student cohorts from five regional school districts, including Silverton, Bayfield,
