The High Country Report, High Country Citizens’ Alliance’s newsletter is produced semi-annually. You may read the text from individual articles from the most current newsletter by using one of the program area selections on the left, or you may view the entire Autumn 2009 Newsletter. If you'd like to read past issues of our newsletter, you'll find an online archive of them at this link.

Having served as president for the past two years, I can say that High Country Citizens' Alliance has risen to the challenge of national economic changes over the last year. Our organizational resilience to change has several key points. We have demonstrated honest self-appraisal, the flexibility to adapt, focused clarity on our goals and belief in our mission. These factors, together with our staff knowledge, board commitment and community support, have us looking toward 2010 with renewed optimism.

This year our honest self-appraisal started with a revision of our operating budget and reduction of expenses in all categories. This was accomplished by an intensive effort with both staff and board actively involved in decisions. This accomplished a realistic budget that allows for all programs to continue being active in their key areas while keeping our valuable staff focused on priority projects.

The next area where we have the power of resilience in is our focus on goals. Many of our victories come after many years of work and persistent advocacy for outcomes. When many other groups or agencies are involved in a process, it is important to keep a focus on what our goal is for the project and how can we work with others to accomplish this goal.

We operate with an overwhelming belief that protection of our ecosystems for future generations is a critical necessity that is in the best interest of our community and world. This strong belief is what motivates us to build a body of knowledge based on scientific evidence and provide resource information for our community partners.

This is where we rely on our community supporters and members who share our environmental beliefs to keep us connected to the community which we serve. This year we created a special circle of supporters to help build financial stability looking into coming years. High Country Heroes are passionate and dedicated, multi-year leaders that make a dramatic difference in our ability to move quickly on critical issues. I invite all of you to consider joining this circle to expand our financial resilience.

This organization exists because of the people in it and what they believe it is possible for us to achieve. Our goal is to serve the community for all of those who love this special place.

Gwen Pettit