CAMP ROCKY

Camp Rocky is a week-long educational camp for 14 through 17-year-olds who enjoy the outdoors and are interested in natural resources! Camp is set for July 6th-11th 2025 and is located outside Divide, Colorado.

Camp Rocky’s participants learn about the environment through hands-on experiences by working in teams focusing on specific resource areas: Rangeland Management, Forestry Management, Soil and Water Management and Fish and Wildlife Management. At the end of the week, students will use their group learning plan to complete a natural resource management project.

Here are some additional details of what participants will learn in the specific resource groups:

Fish & Wildlife Management: The Fish & Wildlife resource group examines how resource availability or scarcity impacts fauna across Colorado, how changes we make impact the relationship between humans and wildlife, learns methods for observing and quantifying fish & wildlife behavior, and will learn about the careers available in this sector from those who live them.
Rangeland Management: The Rangeland Science resource group examines both ecology and management practices with the goal of sustaining healthy, productive rangelands. Students learn about the various range environments found in Colorado, native and introduced species of rangeland grasses, and how those species impact the landscape.
Soil & Water Conservation: The Soil & Water resource group studies how water flows across our natural and managed landscapes, how soil type and quality impact the flow and availability of that water, and how all these factors affect agriculture, the built environment, and natural resources throughout Colorado's landscapes.
Forest Management: The Forestry resource group evaluates data on forest and soil health, assessing the impacts of human use, the potential for and impact of events such as fire, and learn about the impact that various stages of forest health have on watersheds and availability of other natural resources.

The Yuma County Conservation District awards a full camp scholarship to Camp Rocky annually to the winner of the 4-H Natural Resources division at the Yuma County Fair. The winner of the 2025 scholarship was Alex Bailey. In addition, partial Camp Rocky Scholarships are available to all YCCD Camp Rocky applicants. Registration slots are filling quickly, so register soon. For more information, please contact Tanya Fell at 970-332-3107 ext. 9002.

Click HERE for Camp Rocky Registration

YUMA COUNTY CONSERVATION DISTRICT 2024 POSTER CONTEST WINNERS ANNOUNCED

The Yuma County Conservation District (YCCD) had students from 5th and 6th grade, at Idalia, Liberty and Wray, design posters and submit for the 2024 Conservation District Youth Poster Contest. The theme for this year is “May the Forest Be with You Always.” The contest posters are currently on display in the west entrance of First Pioneer National Bank.

The poster contest is a national competition sponsored by the National Association of Conservation Districts (NACD). The contest starts at the local level through the YCCD; winners advance to the Colorado state level, and then to the national level, where they receive recognition at NACD’s annual meeting.

The top three posters from each school in the YCCD will receive: first place $20; second place $15 and third place will receive $10. In addition, the Overall Grand Champion receives $50, and the Reserve Grand Champion receives $25. These awards will be distributed at the YCCD Annual Meeting. The 2024 YCCD local contest winners are as follows:

Liberty 5th Graders: 1st place – Ledger Benton – OVERALL GRAND CHAMPION

2nd place tie – Mila Madrid

2nd place tie – Danielle Vaughn

Liberty 6th Graders: 1st place – Kevin Glenn – OVERALL RESERVE GRAND CHAMPION

& Colorado Association of Conservation District’s 3rd Overall

2nd place – Sullivan Sears

3rd place – Aili Canady

Idalia 5th Graders: 1st place – Hunter Kaza

2nd place – Siennia Johnson

3rd place – Arleth Rascon-Trejo

Idalia 6th Graders: 1st place – Amber Satterly

2nd place – Booker Kite

3rd place – Emelyn Lengel

Wray 6th Graders: 1st place – Fernanda Guzman

2nd place – Danni Nolde

3rd place – Tobin Smith

The grand and reserve grand champions overall participated in the Colorado Association of Conservation District competition in Colorado Springs the first week of December.

The annual NACD and NACD Auxiliary Poster Contest provides students with the chance to have their art displayed as part of a national conservation outreach initiative. Each year, the winning posters reflect NACD’s annual Stewardship theme and highlight the work of conservation districts and their state conservation associations, auxiliaries and agencies to protect and enhance natural resources.