SWAT Teams
What is a SWAT Team ? A team, usually of 3-5 people, who assemble one strategically-chosen weekend to photograph, measure, report on, or investigate something on one of the Three Forests (e.g., conditions on a cattle allotment; ORV incursions into roadless areas; the accuracy of something the Forest has claimed).
Each Team will be organized by a Three Forests Coalition leader who organizes the weekend, provides maps, arranges for carpools, arranges for necessary SWAT equipment (e.g., GPS units), provides all training needed for the weekend's work, makes sure all the data are collected and prepared for strategic use, sends you a thank-you, and lets you know how the information gets used for Forest protection.
JOIN A SWAT TEAM TWO TIMES A YEAR!
The Three Forests Coalition is a network of 15 organizations that work together to improve management of southern Utah's three National Forests (Dixie, Fishlake, and Manti-La Sal).
In particular, the Coalition works to increase Forest attention and protection for native plants and wildlife, healthy ecosystems, and roadless areas, that is, the natural heritage of your Forests.
We do this through positive management proposals, participation in decisionmaking processes, and documentation of conditions on the Three Forests.
And this is where you come in. We invite you to sign up for two weekends a year to serve on a SWAT Team ("Strategic Watching and Tallying"). If you sign up, you would be occasionally phoned to find out if you are available for a trip to one of the Forests to document conditions on that Forest in relation to a specific decision, project, or Coalition proposal. If you were available for a planned weekend, the team leader that is organizing the trip would provide you with directions to the SWAT Team meeting site, work to arrange for carpooling where possible, and provide you with all the information you would need to document conditions -- e.g., through photos and/or notes. During the weekend you would always be with at least one other Team member, and the Team would camp and cook together if the project extends over night (e.g., Friday and/or Saturday night). Food for dinners and breakfast would be provided; you would bring your lunch food.
If you are willing to serve on two SWAT Teams a year, simply fill out the attached Participant Form so we know how best to contact you and set you up with a SWAT Team you will enjoy.
Why be a SWAT Team member?
- You provide needed documentation of conditions (the good, bad, and ugly) on the Forest for specific Forest decisions
- You learn about a current Three Forests Coalition effort to which your SWAT Team is contributing
- You learn about new places and conditions on one or more of the three Forests
- You meet others who are working to protect your Utah Forests.
- You get outdoors!
- You make a positive difference.
Click here to Volunteer for a SWAT Team
On-Ground Teams at Work:
Rapid Stream Assessment of Scad Valley Creek
Rapid Stream Assessment of Lake Creek (3-MB PDF)
Aspen Assessment on 1000 Lakes and Solomon Allotments (10.7-MB PDF)