Climate Change in the Gunnison Basin
The Gunnison River Basin is Ground Zero in the global climate emergency. But it is also well situated to serve as a leader showcasing rural climate action.
Western Colorado is threatened from the cascading impacts of climate change putting our farms at risk and our food supply in peril.
The Colorado Farm & Food Alliance is a leading voice for rural climate action and centering farms and local communities as climate champions. We serve to educate about how this crisis is affecting our region. We work to demonstrate and support tangible local solutions like regenerative agriculture, rural renewables and land conservation. And we connect those activities with strategic engagement opportunities for community leaders and the public.
The Gunnison Basin: Ground Zero in the Climate Emergency (Februrary 2023 Report).
We are a leading voice for and shepherd of Rural Climate Action on the Western Slope.
We help local communities impact local, state and federal climate policy through strategic engagement.
2024 Summer Update
In 2024 we advanced this project from planning to implementing pieces of the vision as we continue to pursue grant and other funding.
We have launched a farmer and cottage food funding resource page that includes a list of some grants and funding opportunities that might be available for local farms and for small and on-farm businesses, which we will update quarterly.
You can find the current list and archived lists here.
Thanks to the support of and partnership with Mountain Roots Healthy Futures, Colorado Farm & Food Alliance is excited to welcome Sarsa Buck as an AmeriCorps Member to serve our community as Secure Food Systems and Rural Engagement specialist.
Sarsa will be helping CO Farm & Food Alliance better understand the needs of and provide support for farmers looking to shift toward or expand regenerative and “climate-smart” practices on their farms and ranches.
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We seek to help small farmers connect with and prepare proposals to sucessfully obtain funding for practices that boost farm health and productivity, ecosystem services, and system resilience.
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We are working to identify grant or other funding to directly support farmers moving into or already practicing regenerative and conservation-focused agriculture.
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We want to support farmers in demonstrating and learning from the practices they are using or shifting into.
Welcome to our climate blog series, where we explore the pressing challenges Western Colorado faces due to climate change. Each post delves into a specific issue, offering insights from various resources. To deepen your understanding, we’ve included links to additional resources within each blog, empowering you to learn more and take informed action.
