Attention! This is not the annual report. There may be a few numbers-minded people that are wondering what happened to the annual report. The last annual report went out in the Fall of 2013. Last Fall, 2014, we thought that it was time to write the next version. Then we realized that the financial report wouldn’t be complete until the end of the year. The auditor was here the last week of March and we will have the results of the 2014 audit in a few weeks. When that information is available, we will produce the next printed annual report. In the meantime, we will continue to email a monthly e-newsletter. The annual report will include the audit for 2013 and 2014. That should get us back on track for an accurate and complete annual report every year in late spring that provides the details for the year most recently completed.

This project is going well. The crew is top-notch. The noise isn’t too disruptive, though the late sleepers might disagree with that statement. We have given the contractor the green light to move along at the pace that works well for them. Thank you for your patience as we upgrade this necessary infrastructure. As of March 29: the 22,000 gallon tank is set and bedded. Ten of twenty infiltrator galleries have been dug, infiltrators installed and the first covering of dirt has been replaced. The next week should see the rest of the twenty courses finished. There will be some details like setting up the pump, the controls, and the monitoring system. Inspections and sign-offs from the designer and state will also need to be done. We are anticipating having the new system on-line by mid-April (knock on wood).

The construction crew installing the new wastewater treatment plant arrived yesterday and started digging. Some people may be annoyed by the noise and activity and we want to give everyone notice. We would have told you sooner had we known the exact start date. This project is weather dependent and the contractor had to find their own window. Some people might want to come and see the progress. If you do want to take a look, please stay well away from the construction zone and watch from a safe distance. Others may want to avoid the noise and bustle. It's going to be a busy few weeks.

This is a real milestone. We've been planning this for at least six years. It's happening at last. When the project is complete, it means less odor, less noise, and a less disturbing treatment system for decades to come. Yay! Let's celebrate!

Soaking in the water and floating under the stars can help. A regular, long time visitor came in the other afternoon with her 16 year old daughter. I remembered the daughter from a time 12 years ago. She was four years old then and liked to hang out in the construction zone. Her mom told me the background of how she was able, twelve years ago, to donate $5,000 with one check to the fledgling Orient Land Trust. Kathy, the mom, had decided to quit smoking and drinking. Never a heavy smoker or over imbiber, she thought that she no longer needed either of those things in her life. She got a jar and started putting the money into the jar that had formerly gone to buy the things she was letting go. Two and three dollars at a time, she put money in the jar.

We all go through rough patches and one of those times cast a shadow over Kathy’s life. In a span of 23 months, she saw 18 people who were near and dear die. Five of those were children. She came to the hot springs and let her tears flow with the water. Kathy found comfort and solace in the hot springs.

After a while, she counted up the money in her jar. There was $5,000 in that jar and she thought about what to do with all that money. She remembered the hot springs and how the time spent there had helped her with grief and with finding peace and maybe even a little joy. Although she has since used the money that she continues to set aside for vacations and travel, this time she wrote a check to the land trust. That made her OLT’s biggest donor at that time.

Standing at the front desk that afternoon a few weeks ago, I was again inspired by her generosity and gentleness. After she and her daughter went to soak and swim in the sunset light, those of us in the Welcome Center that had heard her story got to thinking about how Kathy’s story had moved us and how we wanted to pass it along.

Thank you, Kathy!

How would you like to join a like-minded community of compassionate souls who care deeply about topics like conservation, sustainability, and the future of the Northern San Luis Valley? Would you like to learn more about the history and inner works of Valley View Hot Springs and the Orient Land Trust while sharing your skill, passion, and energy with our community?

The Board of Directors of Orient Land Trust is currently seeking board committee volunteers to help us fulfill our mission to preserve Valley View Hot Springs and its neighborhood for the education of current and future generations.

We need volunteers to assist with:

• Human Resources,
• Public Outreach,
• Fundraising,
• Finance and Accounting,
• Board Member Recruitment, and
• Conservation.

Join a committee! Visit: www.olt.org/committees to learn more about our committees and contact a committee chairperson to get information or get involved.

You can also call the OLT office at 719‑256‑4315 or email OLT Vice Chair, John Standish at .

The OLT Board of Directors is also seeking applicants. We particularly need recruits with an expertise in accounting and investment. All board applicants are encouraged to serve on a committee before applying for the board. For more information contact Don Geddes at 719‑655‑0203 or .

There is a new look to match the new year at the Welcome Center! With the hardwood floor we have also changed the configuration of the front desk and rearranged the library and history rooms. The project was a big job and it was interesting to go through all the accumulations. Our gratitude goes to the volunteers that worked so diligently doing the installation of the floor. Thanks Adam, Scott, and Mark! The staff also put in long days in December to make your visit more comfortable and to keep things cozy.

Meanwhile, back at the ranch, the bath/kitchen facility is progressing nicely and OLT received a grant from Saguache County to defray some of the costs toward building a methane digester sewage treatment system instead of a conventional septic system.

In the next several years, the plan is to restore hayfields and improve dry-land pasture for cattle. The hayfields need tending and water. The initial investment will largely be in straight pipe, valves, and gated pipe to distribute the water to an increasing acreage with a target of 55 acres of hayfield irrigated by this method. Irrigated hayfields in 2013 and 2014 totaled 8 acres. In 2013 and 2014, the cutting and baling of the native grass hay was contracted. Ideally, OLT would have the equipment and do that work in-house.

2015 will be the third year of a partnership with an organic beef producer from Chaffee County; Arrowpoint. Cattle will be used to restore the grazing acreage to a healthier state with planned impacts to introduce more organic material into the soil to improve soil ecology with a more concentrated but shorter interval of hoof impact to stimulate the growth of grasses and forbs. If you haven't had a chance to taste the beef produced, it is available at the Welcome Center.

We are exploring raising Black Hogs on a small scale to diversify the soil restoration species that will help improve soil health and mitigate weeds and invasive plant species.

A few of the historic structures at the Everson Ranch have gotten attention. Their decay has been arrested and their structural integrity shored up. We'd like to keep working on the interiors to provide acceptable accommodations for volunteers and other visitors. The aforementioned bath/kitchen is a new structure (initiated in 2013) built to provide a facility for sanitation and cooking. This infrastructure is necessary before asking for volunteers and/or paid ranch hands. The metal storage container, brought in during the summer of 2014, is being fitted as grain storage and inventory storage for a shop that has been approved by TNC.

If you love Orient Land Trust and Valley View Hot Springs as a unique place of peace, community and soothing waters that nourish the environment and the soul, now is the time to give.

Support OLT in the spirit of Colorado Gives Day from now until December 9th when your gift to OLT will be matched proportionally. Colorado Gives Day is more than a day of giving, it’s a movement that inspires and unites thousands of donors to support their favorite causes online through ColoradoGives.org. This year, Colorado Gives is partnering with FirstBank to offer a $1 million Incentive Fund boosting every donation received online for December 9th. This means your donation goes farther on this one day!

OLT has a variety of new T-shirts, hoodies and winter beanies (hats) just in time for your holiday shopping. Order by Dec 15th to receive in time for the holidays. A great selection of colors and styles are available! Especially popular have been the "Advice from a bat...advice from the moon, earth, night sky, etc" series of T-shirts and bookmarks! Orders can be placed by calling or emailing 719-256-4315/ .

OLT volunteer, Tom Bowes, returned from Michigan again this Fall. This time, he donated and installed a professional weather station. Local weather conditions appear not only on our website, but can now be gathered and studied. This collective information brings valuable insights for local agriculture, alternative energy, climate models, environmental planning, wildfire response, and of course... what to pack for your next visit.

Now live at Weather Underground as Station KCOMOFFA4

From the raptor pole overlooking OLT’s hydroelectric power plant we track the wind from 30’ above. At its base, air temperature, pressure, precipitation, and sunlight are each carefully measured. A wireless console inside the plant prepares and uploads these readings to Weather Underground and the Citizen’s Weather Observer Program (CWOP). After some quality checks, these data are compiled by NOAA’s MADIS database for use by the National Weather Service and other research. 

We’re even installing special sensors to understand OLT’s dramatic microclimates. Located 2 miles east and 600’ higher that our weather station, air temperatures at Valley View can be 10 degrees warmer at times! That warm welcome visitors feel as they arrive may indeed be more than the geothermal energy and friendly folks.

OLT is pleased to serve our visitors and the Northern San Luis Valley with this powerful system. We deeply appreciate the generosity, dedication, and expertise Tom brings us all.