Description
Start Date-End Date: 07/11/2015-07/12/2015
Land Manager Office: USFS - South Platte Ranger District
Land Manager Contact: Ben Hanus
Funding Partner: Colorado Fourteeners Initiative
Programmatic Partner:
Summary: NOTE: Registration for this opportunity is FULL. If you register, you will be placed on the wait list. As space becomes available, we will move individuals off the wait list.
Description: ABOUT THE STEWARDSHIP SITE
Standing beside Guanella Pass in the Mt. Evans Wilderness Area, and not much more than an hour outside of Denver, Mt. Bierstadt is one of Colorado's most beloved 14'ers for visitors and Denverites alike.At 14,065 feet, Mt. Bierstadt towers over the Front Range with panoramic views of the Sawtooth formation, Abyss Lake, and nearby Mt. Evans, and Grays and Torreys Peaks.
ABOUT THE VOLUNTEER WORK
Due to the trail's popularity, easy accessibility and low degree of difficulty, the combination of overuse and hikers romping off-trail have created damage to the sensitive tundra ecosystem. This area now desperately needs measures put in place to allow the landscape to recover. In addition to helping the landscape recover, this project will address the extreme widening that the approach trail has experienced due to a sharp increase in traffic in recent years. Volunteers will transport timbers to the work site and install post barriers to dissuade hikers from trampling the tundra along the trail.Waterbars and drains may also be installed in the same area, above treeline.Access to the work site will require a minimum of a 1.5 mile hike at high elevations.
Free meals and camping will be provided.
PARTNERS
Colorado Fourteeners Initiative
USFS - South Platte Ranger District
Latitude/Longitude: 39.575098, -105.699049
Additional Information:
Camping Available: Yes
Physical Difficulty: Difficult
High Altitude Project: Yes
Desired Number of Volunteers: 28
Total Adult Volunteers Attended: 21
Total Youth Volunteers Attended: 2
Total Volunteer Days: 41
Total Unique Volunteers: 23
Total Volunteer Hours: 297
Staff Hours: 42.5
Stipend Hours: 0
Project Summary: On July 11 and 12 26 volunteers contributed 245 hours of volunteer service to the Bierstadt Trail. Despite heavy heavy traffic on the trail frequently stopping the work, the volunteers successfully installed numerous check steps to stop erosion, restored social trails using native plants, and built rock structures to further enhance the trail.
Successes and Challenges: The greatest challenge when working on Mount Bierstadt is the high volume of traffic that the mountain receives on weekends. An estimated 1000 visitors frequent the mountain on popular weekends and many of the visitors lack alpine experience which leads to increased trail and area degradation. Despite the challenge the volunteers acted as positive ambassadors and still accomplished quite a bit of work.
Lessons Learned: With overnight projects that are this close to the front range it should probably be expected that many volunteers will go home at night which wreaks havoc on meal planning as well as morning registration and preparations for the day.
Special Notes:
Stewardship Education:
Key Concerns or Comments from Staff or Volunteers:
Description of Accidents/Incidents:
Description of Work Completed:
Details
| 16 and older |
