Mountain Studies Institute has been awarded a $20,000 grant to help restore public lands damaged by the 416 Fire and provide educational opportunities to the community recovering from wildfire.

The grant was awarded through the National Environmental Education Foundation and Toyota Motor North as part of a larger $200,000 “Restoration & Resilience” grant to support the work of nonprofits on public lands affected by natural disasters.

“Focusing on the resiliency and sustainability of public lands not only benefits those lands, but also the surrounding communities,” said Kevin Butt, general manager for Toyota Environmental Sustainability, in a news release.

Marcie Bidwell, executive director of Mountain Studies Institute, said the money will be put toward several efforts in the wake of the 416 Fire, which started June 1 and burned about 54,000 acres of the San Juan National Forest.

Bidwell said funds will be used to help coordinate a collaborative effort among local, state and federal agencies to plan how best to rehabilitate areas damaged by the 416 Fire, which burned mostly in the Hermosa Creek drainage.

Mountain Studies will also use the money to help organize stewardship activities for 2019 to assess damage to natural resources, monitor and rebuild trails, manage invasive weeds and plant trees to restore Missionary Ridge and the Hermosa Creek watershed.

“The Forest Service is still assessing the safety and access to the Hermosa Creek area,” Bidwell said. “But in the meantime, there’s still plenty we as a community can do on public lands to help learn from wildfires and prepare for future wildfires and help restore the land.”

The grant will also be used to continue to fund water-quality monitoring projects on both Hermosa Creek and the Animas River. And, it will help with education activities for adults and youths via MSI’s education and forest health programs.