2018-Riverside Campground Restoration @ Salida

Start Date-End Date: 05/05/2018-05/06/2018 Land Manager Office: CPW - State Office Land Manager Contact: Glenn Cottone Funding Partner: Programmatic Partner: CPW - Arkansas Headwaters Recreation Area, BLM - Arkansas Headwaters Recreation Area Summary: Enjoy mountain views as you restore this popular campground near Salida. Description: About the Stewardship Site: Located on the banks of the Arkansas River, the Salida East Campground has long served as a free dispersed campsite for water-loving recreationists looking to enjoy the area's proximity to the small town of Salida and easy access to fishing, boating, and other river activities. Owned by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) and managed by Colorado Parks & Wildlife, the area is a less-than-three-hour drive from Denver and offers hot springs and spectacular views of the Sangre de Cristo mountains along the way. About the Volunteer Experience: Volunteers ages 14+ will help complete a variety of tasks designed to protect the area's ecosystem and improve the campground's ability to endure increased visitation, including strengthening existing tent sites with timber and road base, closing user-created "social trails" that damage the surrounding habitat, and replacing them with a sustainable route to the river. You may sign up for one day or the whole weekend. We recommend joining us overnight to camp by the river and enjoy a hot dinner by our volunteer Crew Chefs! About the Overall Impact: The Salida East Campground has experienced an increase in visitors, which has led to the creation of "social trails" and more trash being left behind to litter the environment and pollute the river. By creating designated campsites and river access points, volunteers will help prevent further degradation of the Arkansas River area and assist land managers in converting the site into a well-managed, fee-based campground. Need-to-Know Details: Minors: All youth under 16mustbe accompanied by an adult 21 years or older on single-day projects. Youth under 18mustbe accompanied by an adult 21 years or older on overnight projects. Camping, Parking, Food & Facilities:VOC will provide all tools and equipment, including work gloves and hard hats when needed.Campsites are provided on this project; you must bring your own tent, sleeping bag, camp chair, and other supplies. There is ample parking near the campsites and work areas, as well as pit toilets. 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, please contact Jamie Burke at 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: 38.507414, -105.960786 Additional Information: Camping Available: Yes Physical Difficulty: Easy, Moderate High Altitude Project: No Desired Number of Volunteers: 50 Total Adult Volunteers Attended: 107 Total Youth Volunteers Attended: 3 Total Volunteer Days: 110 Total Unique Volunteers: 59 Total Volunteer Hours: 860 Staff Hours: 69 Stipend Hours: 0 Project Summary: A warm and dry weekend in Salida was the perfect setting for another fun filled volunteer extravaganza. The Salida East Campground provided a quiet setting right on the Arkansas River where volunteers were fortunate enough to watch Bighorn Sheep scale the rock outcroppings on the hillside from the comfort of their own tents. Approximately 57 volunteers of all shapes and sizes eagerly anticipated the arrival of the sun and the eventual project work on Saturday morning. After a nutritious breakfast and hot coffee everyone set about the task of on site campground restoration and trail construction projects. Roughly 20 volunteers set off to construct a sustainable access point to the river below that is frequented by day users and fisherman. The rest of the volunteers began the construction of 11 timber tent pad sites, and the distribution of fire rings for 25 different camping areas. Volunteers worked efficiently to construct the tent pad sites and were almost finished by lunchtime on Saturday. After the pads were installed volunteers began assembling 14 sections of buck n rail fencing that would be used to close degraded areas and create a more defined camping area. The heat of the day and the relative speed at which everything was being completed persuaded the decision by staff and land agency representatives to call the day a little early so that volunteers could relax and play in the inviting waters of the Arkansas River. Sunday started off in similar fashion with a hearty breakfast and prime Bighorn Sheep viewing. Construction of the river access trail was moving along quickly and volunteers made short work assembling the rest of the buck n rail fencing. Once the closure work around the new trail was completed, the last bolt tightened on the fencing, and the last rock placed on the abnormally large cairn, volunteers gathered together at the end of the day to take a group photo and take pride in the great work that they had accomplished. When it was all said and done, volunteers were able to construct 760' of sustainable trail that will provide designated river access from the campground, build a 20 foot monowall, closed another 800' of adjacent unsustainable social trail, assemble 154' of buck n rail fencing that had to customized with a chainsaw, install 11 timber tent pads that were 12' X 12' and filled with road base, strategically place 25 fire rings, construct one very large and obnoxious cairn, and slap price tags on all the new and improved camping sites! Successes and Challenges: Successes: Great turnout, great weather, amazing Crew Chefs and helpers, enthusiastic volunteers, Bighorn Sheep, lots of amazing work accomplished.....again Challenges: A couple of volunteers had difficulty finding the Project Location due to the name of the project. Agency underestimated the amount of work that volunteers would complete. Would have been nice to have a solid plan for more work if needed. Lessons Learned: Need to be specific when a project name does not include the actual location. Example: Riverside Campground Restoration - people searched for the Riverside Campground, but the project was located at the Salida East Campground. Special Notes: None Stewardship Education: Wildlife Biologist (Kim) from CPW arrived on Saturday night to deliver an educational talk on human interaction with wildlife. The talk was well received and volunteers asked many insightful questions afterward. Key Concerns or Comments from Staff or Volunteers: None Description of Accidents/Incidents: None Description of Work Completed: 760' of new trail construction 800' of social trail closure including a section of fencing 20' monowall 154' of buck n rail fencing constructed (custom fit) 11 tent pads 12 X 12 with road base fill 25 fire rings placed at campsites 1 large rock cairn