2019-Adobe SWAT @ Roxborough State Park

Start Date-End Date: 08/23/2019-08/23/2019 Land Manager Office: CPW - Roxborough State Park Land Manager Contact: Joseph Herman Funding Partner: Programmatic Partner: Summary: Adobe SWAT at Roxborough State Park Description: Where You'll Be: Roxborough State Park carries the esteemed designation of a Colorado Natural Area and a National Natural Landmark for good reason. The 4,000-acre park, nestled against the foothills south of Littleton, is comprised of stunning red rock formations, unique plant communities and a wide range of wildlife. The approximately 100,000 annual visitors can take in all of Roxborough's beauty from a variety of different access trails. What You'll Do: The Willow Creek Trail winds through scrub oak and the Willow Creek riparian area and is known for its abundance of wildflowers and variety of birds. This trail is one of the most highly used in the park and is in need of maintenance to help sustain the trail for years to come. Why It Matters: This highly trafficked trail will continue to degrade without some much needed maintenance. Volunteers from Adobe will play a critical part in getting the Willow Creek Trail back up to sustainable trail standards and allow others to enjoy it for years to come. Latitude/Longitude: 39.429638, -105.069133 Additional Information: Camping Available: No Physical Difficulty: Easy, Moderate High Altitude Project: No Desired Number of Volunteers: 25 Total Adult Volunteers Attended: 23 Total Youth Volunteers Attended: 0 Total Volunteer Days: 23 Total Unique Volunteers: 23 Total Volunteer Hours: 161 Staff Hours: 13 Stipend Hours: 0 Project Summary: Thirty Adobe employees arrived at the middle parking lot of Roxborough State Park around 8:30am. They enjoyed a light breakfast, then received a trail building and tool safety orientation from VOC staff and Roxborough park ranger. The primary task was to widen a highly used trail that connects 2 parking lots, the purpose being to get hikers off the busy paved park road while walking from an overflow lot to the visitor's center. The trail also needed one small natural drainage and some backsloping. The work was very straightforward, and technical advising was provided by 2 park rangers and a long time park volunteer. After lunch, volunteers spent 2 hours clearing corridor on an overlook trail. Successes and Challenges: The staff at Roxborough are a pleasure to work with: they are organized, knowledgeable, friendly, and flexible. The work they scheduled for volunteers was appropriate to the time allocated and the difficulty level was ideal. The two distinct projects gave volunteers a good overview of the park and allowed them to learn 2 useful stewardship skills. Lessons Learned: A Which-Wich lunch was delivered to the site via Door-Dash app service. There was no cell service. VOC staff placed a large sign over the VOC directional sign to direct delivery person to the correct lot. This proved important as the driver thought they were going to the visitor center. Special Notes: Stewardship Education: Key Concerns or Comments from Staff or Volunteers: Description of Accidents/Incidents: Description of Work Completed: