2018-Prologis SWAT@Pronghorn Natural Area

Start Date-End Date: 05/18/2018-05/18/2018 Land Manager Office: Aurora Open Space and Natural Resources Division Land Manager Contact: Eric Watts Funding Partner: Prologis Programmatic Partner: Summary: Build a new natural-surface trail in Aurora. Description: About the Stewardship Site: Located just north of the Aurora Reservoir on the East side of Denver, the Pronghorn Natural Area is a newly-accessible open space that offers visitors and nearby residents a welcome respite from urban life with a pristine prairie experience and plentiful opportunities to view the namesake Pronghorn Antelope, Mule and Whitetail Deer, as well as various raptor and other bird species. About the Volunteer Experience: Volunteers will work in small groups to build a new, natural-surface trail in Aurora's Pronghorn Natural Area. This is a great opportunity to discover new local places to explore. About the Overall Impact: With only a few established trails, visitors have limited options for exploring the Pronghorn Natural Area. By building the new trail, volunteers will not only expand recreation opportunities in that area, but also add to the limited number of natural-surface hiking opportunities in the Aurora Open Space system and improve public access to preserved, natural places in the face of continued development on the East side of the Denver Metro area. Need-to-Know Details: Minors: N/A Parking, Food & Facilities:VOC will provide all tools and equipment, including work gloves. There is ample parking, though volunteers may need towalk up to 1 mileto the project site. Volunteers will have access to port-o-lets. Cancellation:Our land manager partners rely on VOC volunteers to accomplish critical stewardship needs, and our projects often have wait lists. If you need to cancel, pleasecontact Jamie Burkeat 303-715-1010 ext. 116 as soon as possible so we can free your spot for another volunteer and have a full workforce. Latitude/Longitude: 39.638351, -104.678616 Additional Information: Camping Available: No Physical Difficulty: Easy, Moderate High Altitude Project: No Desired Number of Volunteers: 30 Total Adult Volunteers Attended: 27 Total Youth Volunteers Attended: 0 Total Volunteer Days: 27 Total Unique Volunteers: 27 Total Volunteer Hours: 243 Staff Hours: 23.25 Stipend Hours: 0 Project Summary: Volunteers from Prologis spent their 6th Annual IMPACT Day with Volunteers for Outdoor Colorado on May 18th at the Pronghorn Natural Area.Managed by City of Aurora Open Space, this unique property provides a primitive prairie experience, with opportunities to see wildlife including Raptors, Rattlesnakes and namesake Pronghorn Antelope. Volunteers were able to expand upon the work that VOC Volunteers started on May 5th, adding 10 drainage structures to the existing trail andan additional 1100 ft of new trail.The segment will also ultimately become part of the Triple Creek Trail, a regional 12 mile route that will connect from the southeastern end of the Sand Creek Regional Greenway to Aurora Reservoir. Successes and Challenges: Volunteers from Prologis arrived early and enthusiastic. Unlike the May 5th project, volunteers were able to enjoy an overcast day with wonderful working conditions. Staff concerns about trail design were eased on the trail addition as TAs were able to successfully move away from the road to create more sustainable and interesting climbing turns. Volunteers were essentially divided into two areas: one crew completed maintenance near the trail head, while two crews created new trail about a mile in. While this division meant that one crew felt secluded, it also allowed individuals to self select into appropriate groups. We were able to provide time for the trail head crew to hike the entire trail and see the work done by the rest of the group. As mentioned above, weather was predicted to be a concern for the day; however, it actually created a nice working environment, shading volunteers from the harsh sun and shadeless conditions of the Pronghorn Natural area. Lessons Learned: Important to communicate appropriate clothing and gear for this area, as weather, cacti, and Yucca are all concerns. Signage very important to this location, as most GPS devices cannot find Pronghorn Natural Area directly. Special Notes: Prologis brought a professional videographer to the event, capturing the welcome speech and interviews with Prologis Employees and VOC Project Manager. Also, Volunteers were delighted when Jason's Deli delivered lunch on the trail in a little red wagon. Stewardship Education: Key Concerns or Comments from Staff or Volunteers: Description of Accidents/Incidents: No accidents or incidents to report. Description of Work Completed: