December 2001 A non-profit 501(c)(3)rural development organization serving east-central Arizona

The annual meeting for the Little Colorado RC&D will be held at Show LowCity Hall on January 30, 2002 10:00 a.m. - 2:00 p.m. Lunch will be served at 12noon. The proposed agenda includes:

-Year end Treasurer's report from Spike Simmons

-Council approval of the 2002 Plan of Work (POW) and budget.

- Briefs from Action Team Leaders

-Election of Officers. We will elect new officers for Vice-president,treasurer and director so we will need all our representatives from the Councilpresent.

-Two guest speakers have accepted our invitation to attend and make remarks.They are Patricia Turnbull and Clayton Van Deren, both from USDA RuralDevelopment. They will speak to a variety of programs available to ruralcommunities like that in Navajo and Apache Counties

-Jim Briggs from the State Conservationist's office in Phoenix has acceptedour invitation and will be available to answer questions regarding the budgetfor next year.

It promises to be a great meeting and we look forward to your attendance.

We are inviting all cities, towns, Tribes, conservation districts, countiesand friends of the Little Colorado River Plateau RC&D, and to this meeting.

Resource Environment

The tree sale went very well this fall. Only a few trees remain available,mostly Tartarian red maple trees. The trees are currently dormant and will needto be planted this spring. The price has been reduced to $5 each or three (3)for $10. They range in size from 18" - 24" tall. They are all barerootstock. These trees have proven to grow here with a little TLC and provide agreat shade tree when fully matured. Based on our success this past, we intendto double our tree sales effort next year. If you have some tree ideas, perhapsa tree you think we should feature for sale please call Karen or Herb at theRC&D office.

The ASFP continues to promote an environmentally and economically sustainableforestry industry in Arizona utilizing small diameter Ponderosa Pine and otherunder-utilized wood species requiring thinning and restoration. Monthly meetingswere conducted during the year, chaired by Bill Greenwood, who normally hangshis hat at the Town of Eagar. Normally our meetings attract about 25 people, buton one occasion as many as 65 have been in attendance. Highlighting some of ourmeetings:

Introduction of Kirk Rowdabaugh, Arizona's recently appointed State Forester. Kirk made a presentation to the ASFP last summer and stays plugged into the meeting discussions.

Closer liaison with friends in the Flagstaff area, principally the Grand Canyon Forest Foundation and Ecological Restoration Institute at NAU.

Photo Below:

Mayor Jim Boles and friends at the Eco-Lena Business Park in Winslow.

A closer liaison with the Small Business Development Center (SBDC) of Northland Pioneer College (NPC). The SBDC has been instrumental in providing business counseling to many of our ASFP members.

The Little Colorado River Plateau RC&D continues to serve as host for theFour Corners Partnership in Arizona. Herb Hopper, RC&D project director,serves as the state coordinator for this organization. That seeks to encourageforest restoration, maintenance and risk reduction through sustainable communitybased enterprises. Arizona has strong connection to the Partnership; in 2001,five grants were awarded to Arizona based enterprises, for a total $447,900. InOctober, Herb coordinated a workshop for the Partnership grant recipients,Steering Committee members and interested parties. This workshop was verysuccessful.

Photo Below:

Bill Greenwood and friends touring forest restoration efforts on the ApacheReservation.

All grantees were able to network together and meet the Four Corners SteeringCommittee first hand. Herb will continue to aid the grant participants withtheir reports and reimbursements. The Partnership recently released theirrequest for proposal (RFP) for year 2002. Over $700,000 is available for grantfunds this year; contact Herb for more information.

The LCR-MOM project is moving along. In June the PCC participated in a tourand symposium in Gallup, NM. There has been a meeting scheduled for January 16.Another conference has been tentatively scheduled for March 24-26, 2002.

Roxanne Knight is the Action Team Leader for this project and has been tryingto keep the project going. She recently requested assistance from the Board ofDirectors, particularly in accessing grant funds. The staff was instructed towrite a grant proposal, which they did and submitted last month. There is moremoney needed for the completion of the script and production of the tapes andCD's for the TOMT from West to East. The Board feels this is an importantproject and hopes to hear shortly positive news on the pending grantapplication.