Description
Start Date-End Date: 06/09/2018-06/10/2018
Land Manager Office: USFS - Conejos Peak Ranger District
Land Manager Contact: Kelly Garcia
Funding Partner:
Programmatic Partner: Colorado State Land Board
Summary: WAITLISTED: Remove and rebuild fencing on National Get Outdoors Day with VOC, Trout Unlimited, and Running Rivers.
Description: About the Stewardship Site:
Volunteers will spend the weekend at 9,600 feet above sea level in the remote beauty of the San Luis Valley, about two hours southwest of Pueblo. The area is home to a variety of habitats including creeks, meadows, and forests, and volunteers will have the opportunity to experience them all by working alongside both Jim Creek and the Rio Grande National Forest, as well as camping at the La Jara Reservoir.
About the Volunteer Experience:
This project is an exciting opportunity for volunteers ages 16+ to meet likeminded people from across the state and make a significant difference for the health of elk, Rio Grande Cutthroat Trout, and the Jim Creek corridor as a whole. There will be a variety of tasks as volunteers remove a downed barbed wire fence in the Rio Grande National Forest to improve wildlife safety and rebuild a fence on State Land Board-operated land to keep neighboring cows from entering Jim Creek and damaging the delicate trout habitat.
All volunteers will be treated to meals from our volunteer Crew Chefs and camping along the La Jara Reservoir with volunteers from Trout Unlimited and Running Rivers, who will also be working to restore the Jim Creek corridor throughout the weekend.
About the Overall Impact:
The Rio Grande Cutthroat Trout was long considered for the Endangered Species list, and work is still needed to ensure that this native population can continue to thrive. By rebuilding the fence near Jim Creek, volunteers will protect the watershed from the harmful impacts of trespassing cows and promote a healthy habitat for trout. And, by removing the barbed wire fence in the Rio Grande National Forest, volunteers will further protect the riparian area and prevent wildlife injuries. With limited staff available, volunteers are absolutely critical to ensuring that this important work is completed.
Thank you to the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation for their support in making this project happen!
Need-to-Know Details:
Minors:Youth under 18mustbe accompanied by an adult 21 years or older on overnight projects.
Parking, Food & Facilities:VOC will provide all tools and equipment, including work gloves and hard hats when needed. Parking is available at the campground, which is a 10-15 minute drive from the project site. From there, it is a flat, few-minute hike to the work site. Pit toilets will be available at the campground and our volunteer Crew Chefs will provide breakfast, lunch and dinner on Saturday, as well as breakfast and lunch on Sunday.
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: 37.271887, -106.394020
Additional Information:
Camping Available: Yes
Physical Difficulty: Moderate
High Altitude Project: Yes
Desired Number of Volunteers: 25
Total Adult Volunteers Attended: 63
Total Youth Volunteers Attended: 4
Total Volunteer Days: 67
Total Unique Volunteers: 35
Total Volunteer Hours: 823
Staff Hours: 42
Stipend Hours: 0
Project Summary: How many volunteers were on the project and how many hours were contributed?
35 volunteers - 33 adults, 2 youth
823 hours contributed
Brief description of need for the project:
Jim Creek, with its headwaters in the Rio Grande National Forest, is home to a conservation population of native Rio Grande Cutthroat Trout. Mindful management of this riparian habitat is critical for these special, native fish. A key to protecting the riparian area along Jim Creek relates to fencing. Cattle grazing is currently done near Jim Creek on State Land Board land, but it is no longer done on the upper parts of the Creek on RGNF land. A boundary fence existed between the two agency's lands, but it has become dilapidated and non-functional over the years with weathering and lack of maintenance. Rebuilding the boundary fence to keep cattle out of Jim Creek on the upper reaches of it is very important for the conservation of the trout. Also, old pasture fencing on RGNF land that is now obsolete still poses a threat for entanglement for wildlife, especially elk, in the area. Removing this old fencing is an important task for habitat improvement for wildlife safety.
Goals accomplished (example: feet of trail built, acres of invasive weeds removed, etc.):
Removed 3675 feet of old, rusted barbed wire fencing.
Rebuilt 1,000 feet of wildlife-friendly "lay-down" fencing along the RGNF and State Land Board land boundary. This fence will keep cattle on the State land off the Forest and out of Jim Creek.
Importance of work and volunteer effort:
We removed an enormous amount of old, rusted barbed wire that was no longer functional or needed in the area for grazing allotments, and thus removed significant entanglement threats for wildlife, especially elk.
We rebuilt a sturdy, "lay-down" fence along part of the RGNF/State Land boundary to effectively keep State cattle off the Jim Creek corridor to protect the riparian corridor and trout habitat.
NONE of these tasks would have EVER been completed if it were not for the VOC crew. The RGNF staff is simply too small and it would have taken them weeks to accomplish what we all did this past weekend. The RGNF is very thankful to VOC for what they've done to help the RGNF and important trout and elk habitat.
Highlights (example: band, volunteer appreciation raffle, educational presentation):
Appreciation raffle with Native Rio Grande Cutthroat Trout posters, fishing gear and swag from Melanzana and the USFS
A fire crew from the Kootenai National Forest on local assignment in the San Luis Valley came out and helped to clear corridor for the new fence we built
Three Rio Grande NF staff came out to help on Saturday - 2 rangeland managers and one wildlife biologist, all from the Conejos Peak District on the RGNF where we were working
Thanks to the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation for helping to fund this project focused on habitat restoration and making the environment better for elk and other wildlife in the area!
Successes and Challenges: a ton of fencing removed very efficiently and quickly with no cuts, punctures or injuries
challenges - making sure everyone had enough work to do. A lot of this was timing with the new fence construction. Sawyers were clearing corridor ahead of volunteers which caused delays in us getting started. Agency staff were doing mroe of the construction that teaching and then letting the volunteers do the work, which kept them from moving ahead with more volunteers to get started on another piece of construction. Really needed agency staff both days, not just one, to help guide fence construction techniques that were new to us.
Lessons Learned: bolt cutters are better than fence pliers for cutting off old barbed wire
t-post pullers are a must!
Buckets help to carry around to put small scrapes of metal in
if a corridor for fence construction has to be cleared, make sure it is cleared at least a day before the volunteers arrive
try to have all construction materials staged ahead of time
Special Notes:
Stewardship Education:
Key Concerns or Comments from Staff or Volunteers:
Description of Accidents/Incidents: None!
Description of Work Completed:
Details
| 16 and older |
