Thursday, October 7, 2010

HCCA Announces Annual Meeting & Guest Speaker

October 7, 2010

High Country Citizens’ Alliance is pleased to announce that our Annual Meeting will take place on Thursday, November 18, 2010, at the Crested Butte Center for the Arts in Crested Butte beginning at 6:00 p.m. We will report on the past year’s happenings, present the 2010 Volunteer of the Year Award, and hear from guest speaker, John Fielder, Colorado’s renowned landscape photographer.

It is also time for our Board of Directors election. Members in good standing will elect three board members as well as a President. Nominations may be made with a petition signed by ten HCCA members of at least six months.

Nominations for the three board seats will be accepted until Wednesday, October 13, 2010. The HCCA Board of Directors also may make nominations.

Ballots will be mailed to members current as of October 18, 2010, and will be accepted until the annual meeting begins on November 18. Results will be announced at the meeting. Please mail nominations to: HCCA, P.O. Box 1066, Crested Butte, CO 81224. For more information, please call Susan Williams at 970-349-7104 ext. 5 or email susan@hccaonline.org.

Monday, August 9, 2010

Administrator & Outreach Coordinator position opening

Vacancy Announcement: Administrator & Outreach Coordinator position opening

JOB DESCRIPTION: Administrator and Outreach Coordinator


OVERVIEW: The Administrator and Outreach Coordinator is responsible for the smooth and efficient operation of the High Country Citizens’ Alliance office. The coordinator will perform all bookkeeping functions, be responsible for all of the organization’s financial and operational reporting, manage operations of the office, support program staff, coordinate outreach including events, recruit and manage volunteers, and maintain HCCA’s membership and donor database.

ESSENTIAL RESPONSIBILITIES:
# Manage daily office operations including, but not limited to, all aspects of bookkeeping, office supplies, receptionist duties, and meeting and greeting clients and visitors
# Manage monthly and annual office operations including, but not limited to, insurance renewals (Workers Comp, General Liability, employee benefits, etc.), service and/or rental
contracts, supply inventory, database management
# Perform general clerical duties and support program staff administrative needs
# Operate and maintain critical office systems including phones, computers, copiers, fax machines and computer network
# Maintain HCCA’s electronic and paper filing system of relevant administrative information
# Perform all payroll functions including monthly payroll & grant spending, quarterly and yearly tax reporting to the Internal Revenue Service & the State of Colorado
# Complete yearly tax reporting and generation of tax documents for HCCA’s accountant.
# Prepare quarterly sales tax and raffle license reports, annual Federal non-profit reports, monthly financial reports
# Assist the Executive Director with implementation and management of annual budget
# Manage sales of HCCA goods and process online store sales
# Produce membership renewal letters and fundraising appeals with the Executive Director and/or Fundraising Committee
# Process new and renewing memberships and donations in Quickbooks and the membership database; produce appropriate thank you letters
# Manage and update membership and donor database for use in direct mailing campaigns, electronic mailings, fundraising drives, and to solicit attendance at outreach and fundraising events
# Assist with the publishing and distribution of HCCA’s semi-annual newsletter
# Coordinate monthly program update emails and action alerts about upcoming issues and events
# Coordinate outreach and fundraising events with the Executive Director and other staff members
# Organize HCCA events including supplies, volunteers, venues and presentation materials
# Coordinate accurate and timely updates to the HCCA website, Facebook, Twitter and blogsite with program staff

DESIRED KNOWLEDGE & SKILLS:
# Commitment to the mission, vision and values of High Country Citizens’ Alliance
# Degree in relevant area or equivalent experience
# Knowledge of non-profit administration
# Excellent organizational skills
# Excellent written and verbal communication skills
# Strong computer and software skills
# Bookkeeping skills, including proficiency with QuickBooks
# Event organizing and volunteer management
# Ability to work a full time, 40-hour week, and occasional weekends and nights

HOW TO APPLY
Please submit cover letter, resume and 3 references via email, subject heading “Administrator” to dan@hccaonline.org.

Wednesday, July 21, 2010

Volunteer Board Member Openings

High Country Citizens' Alliance (HCCA) has opportunities for volunteers interested in joining its Board of Directors. HCCA is a Crested Butte, Colorado based non-profit conservation organization whose mission is to champion the protection, conservation and preservation of the natural ecosystems within the Upper Gunnison River Basin. HCCA engages in a variety of local and regional conservation issues including the effort to prevent a mine on Mt. Emmons, protecting the area’s public lands, conserving water resources and transitioning to renewable energy sources. We’d like candidates who have interest and experience in some or all of the following areas: non-profit governance and finance, legal expertise, environmental advocacy or science background and volunteer coordination. We seek individuals willing to actively participate in oversight of the organization’s activities and assist with shaping policy and goals. Familiarity with the Gunnison Basin, local residency and year-round availability are desirable. Please contact Gwen Pettit, Board President at gpspiral@crestedbutte.net if you’d like to join us.

Thursday, July 1, 2010

4th of July Parade

It’s time to put on your wildest red - tutus, tuxes, sequins and more.

High Country Citizens’ Alliance invites all children - young and old - locals and visitors alike, to express your support for protecting Red Lady (Mount Emmons) by donning your flashiest red and marching in the 4th of July Parade. Younger children are invited to wear their animal costumes as a reminder of the wildlife we are committed to protecting.

Please help decorate the float by bringing your creativity to the Depot (716 Elk Ave.) on Friday July 2, from 3:00 – 6:00 pm. Everyone is welcome to join in the fun.

To be in the parade simply join us at the Depot, decked out in your best Red, (716 Elk Ave.) on July 4th from 9:00 to 10:45 am. The parade begins at 11:00am.

For more details or to offer your brilliant ideas please contact Susan at 349-7104 or susan@hccaonline.org.
Save Red Lady!

Tuesday, June 15, 2010

HCCA Invites You to Attend the 2010 Red Lady Forum on June 23













High Country Citizens’ Alliance will host the 2010 Red Lady Forum on Wednesday, June 23 at the Crested Butte Town Hall from 6:30p.m. to 8:30p.m. This is a chance for community members to learn about current developments on the Red Lady mining proposal, as well as HCCA’s work to prevent the mine on Mt. Emmons. The forum will feature presentations from the HCCA staff and one of HCCA’s attorneys working on the Mount Emmons issue. There will also be an opportunity for individuals to ask any questions they might have concerning Mount Emmons and the mine proposal. For further information click here, or call 349 – 7104 extension 5.

Wednesday, April 7, 2010

Tri-State public meetings - RSVP by Apr. 9, agenda now available






Tri-State Generation and Transmission Association, Inc. is developing its 2010 resource plans to meet the electricity needs of its 44 member electric cooperatives. The planning process involves projecting future needs, assessing the existing assets available to meet those needs and identifying any resource gap so that Tri-State can continue to provide reliable and affordable electricity.

Planning for resources involves developing and assessing alternative scenarios that are based on a range of growth rates, resource costs, capital costs, types of generation resources, energy efficiency programs, levels of emissions, water usage and other considerations. The various alternative resource plans are compared on the basis of cost, environmental characteristics and other factors.

A component of the development of Tri-State's resource plan is public input. Tri-State will hold a series of public resource planning meetings in 2010. The first two meetings are intended to inform the public about Tri-State's resource requirements and guidelines and will discuss the planning process and modeling alternatives.

For more details, visit http://www.tristate.coop/ResourcePlanning/

Tri-State Public Meeting


Friday, April 16
8 a.m. to 1 p.m.
View meeting agenda >>

Location: Tri-State Headquarters
1100 W. 116th Avenue
Westminster, Colorado 80234

> Please register online by April 9 >>
The meeting will be available by Webcast. Registration now available >>

The meeting will begin promptly at 8:00 a.m.
We recommend you arrive early to check in at security.
You must have a photo ID.
Light refreshments will be served.

Tri-State is a not-for-profit electric cooperative, owned and governed by the members its serves. Tri-State generates and transmits electricity safely and reliably to its 44 member systems throughout a 250,000 square-mile service territory across Colorado, Nebraska, New Mexico and Wyoming.

Copyright, Tri-State 2010

Tuesday, April 6, 2010

HCCA Press Release: Interior decision would allow unlimited use of public land for toxic mine waste dumping

From: 2010 Press Releases

No Fooling: Obama's gifts to extractive industries continue with defense of Bush mining policy

Interior decision would allow unlimited use of public land for toxic mine waste dumping


WASHINGTON, D.C., April 1st, 2010 -- In addition to opening up vast areas of our coastline to offshore oil drilling, the Obama administration yesterday elected to defend a Bush-era policy that allows unlimited amounts of our nation's treasured public lands to be used as toxic waste dumps for the multinational hardrock mining industry. This decision -- in the form of a response to federal litigation filed by a coalition of conservation and Native American groups -- is completely inconsistent with earlier remarks by Interior Secretary Ken Salazar on the importance of updating our federal mineral policies to protect public lands.

"Increased oil and gas drilling off our coasts, and now unlimited toxic waste dumping on our public lands send the message that profits are more important than water, wildlife and communities," said Lauren Pagel, Policy Director for EARTHWORKS, one of the plaintiffs in the case against the regulations. She continued, "With this move the Obama administration, like the Bush administration before it, is abandoning clean water and communities in favor of gifts to extractive industries."

The Bush-era policies allow multinational mining companies unlimited amounts of public land to dump toxic mine waste and tailings from large-scale industrial mining operations. The challenged regulation, first issued in 2003, reinterpreted what is known as the "millsite provision" of the 1872 Mining Law. The 1872 Mining Law currently allows mining companies to take valuable minerals like gold, copper and uranium from public lands for free.

"The Obama administration's unfortunate decision to defend the Bush-era mining regulations means that Crested Butte and other communities across the west would continue to face severe threats from mines and mine pollution", said Dan Morse, Executive Director of High Country Citizens' Alliance, another plaintiff in the case. He continued, "allowing mines to use unlimited amounts of public land for mine waste and mine facilities is a severe disservice to the American people. Allowing these companies to pollute public lands essentially for free is unfair and unjust. We will strongly oppose these poorly considered policies."

Another challenged regulation, issued in the waning days of the Bush Administration in December, 2008, reversed a legal ruling that required the payment of "fair market value" for the use of public lands not specifically protected by valid mining and millsite claims. Here, the new regulation ignored a ruling from the federal court in Washington in 2003, which ordered the Interior Department to issue regulations so that mining companies would have to compensate the public for the use of public lands. Instead, the new regulation eliminates the mining industry's obligations to pay fair market value.

"The administration has claimed support for reforming one of the most outdated laws on the books -- the 1872 Mining Law -- yet they choose to perpetuate the gross giveaways to an already subsidized industry without regard for other valuable uses of the public's land," said Pagel. She continued, "It's time for the Obama administration to walk their talk when it comes to our shorelines and our public lands, and responsibly balance resource extraction with protections for communities and taxpayers," said Pagel.

The groups that filed the lawsuit are EARTHWORKS (based in Washington, D.C.), High Country Citizens' Alliance (in Crested Butte, Colorado), Great Basin Resource Watch (in Reno, Nevada), Save the Scenic Santa Ritas (in Tucson, Arizona), and the Western Shoshone Defense Project (in Nevada). The Defendants are the U.S. Interior - the agency that issued the regulations, as well as the Agriculture Department, which along with Interior, oversees mining operations on western public lands.

-- ENDS --
For More Information

Background:

* Backgrounder on the millsite issue
* Secretary Salazar's remarks in support of mining law reform
* Interior Department legal defense of Bush policy

Contact:

* Lauren Pagel, EARTHWORKS, 202-887-1872x207
* Gayle Hartmann, Save the Scenic Santa Ritas, 520-325-6974
* Dan Morse, High Country Citizens' Alliance, 970-349-7104
* Jeff Parsons, Western Mining Action Project, 303-823-5738