Description
Start Date-End Date: 04/09/2016-04/09/2016
Land Manager Office: AloTerra Restoration Services
Land Manager Contact: John Giordanengo
Funding Partner:
Programmatic Partner:
Summary: Restore flood-damaged plant and wildlife habitat in scenic Big Thompson Canyon.
NOTE: The location of this project has changed. We will now be working on the Big Thompson River located approximately 5 miles west of Loveland, as opposed to the Little Thompson in Johnstown.
Description: About the Stewardship Site
A key tributary of the South Platte, the Big Thompson River flows nearly 80 miles across multiple ecosystems from its source in Rocky Mountain National Park, to its confluence with the Platte on the plains near Greeley. The exact stewardship site where volunteers will be working is on a section of the river at the mouth of scenic Big Thompson Canyon.
About the Volunteer Experience
Since 2013, flooding has increased along many Front Range watersheds, to the detriment of local ecosystems and communities. With much of the native flora not having yet reestablished itself, this neck of the riparian woods has great potential for improvement. Tasks will include revegetation (i.e. willow staking, seeding, and planting) to encourage the regrowth native riverside plants, as well as laying down erosion control structures to stabilize the bank. This is a great project for first-time volunteers ages 12 and up who want to learn about and take part in ecological restoration! Light breakfast fare and lunch will be provided.
About the Overall Impact
Volunteers' efforts on this project will ultimately provide great benefit to the river habitat and the Northern Front Range community by way of shading the stream to keep water temperatures down, providing leaves and stems that feed and harbor aquatic organisms, and stabilizing banks to reduce the impacts of future floods.
Latitude/Longitude: 40.409895, -105.162131
Additional Information:
Camping Available: No
Physical Difficulty: Easy, Moderate
High Altitude Project: No
Desired Number of Volunteers: 50
Total Adult Volunteers Attended: 41
Total Youth Volunteers Attended: 6
Total Volunteer Days: 47
Total Unique Volunteers: 47
Total Volunteer Hours: 387
Staff Hours: 30
Stipend Hours: 0
Project Summary: Volunteers worked on seeding, fertilizing, and planting along a section of the Big Thompson River that had been damaged by 2013 flooding. The day was mild and sunny, and we spotted some elk grazing in the morning, and shared our lunch space with the land owner's horses.This reach of the river, an ecological transition zone between the plains and the mountains, serves as an important corridor for migrating wildlife, including rare species such as the Preble's Meadow Jumping Mouse. With the great majority of its native flora completely missing, this neck of the riparian woods had great potential for improvement.Volunteers were essential to helping fulfill the needs of this area, planting Xeric and Mesic shrubs, and seeding with a great variety of other native flora that wildlife depend upon. What's more, restoring the health of these riparian areas will provide a great benefit to the river, by way of shading the stream (i.e., reducing temperatures), providing organic matter inputs (leaves and stems that feed and harbor aquatic organisms), and increasing floodplain roughness and stabilizing banks in a way that reduces the impacts of future floods.
Successes and Challenges: Successes: We were able to accomplish more work than the TA originally had for us. Breakfast and lunch were well timed and organized, and food donations were procured and delivered on time to the project site. All tool needs were taken care of and organized efficiently by the TMs. Clean up at the end of the day was very efficient and we were able to leave by 4:05 PM. The donation pitch solicited a $150 donation, hooray incentive backpacks!
Challenges: The work plan was not ready until the day of, and it didn't seem like the agency was prepared for delegating work to the volunteers. It took at least until 10:30 to get all of the crews oriented and comfortable with what they were doing for the day.
Lessons Learned: Try to formalize the work plan specifics far in advance. Though impossible for this project (the location changed twice), it would have been better to have detailed notes and work plan in advance of the actual project day.
Special Notes: None.
Stewardship Education: John (the agency partner) gave a talk about the importance of the work and the area to migrating and endagered species. Volunteers asked him questions about the importance of the project and he spoke for a few minutes during lunch about the specific biomes that this area of the river was in.
Key Concerns or Comments from Staff or Volunteers:
Description of Accidents/Incidents: None.
Description of Work Completed:
Details
| 12 and older |
