2019-Trail Construction @ Stratton Open Space

Start Date-End Date: 06/15/2019-06/15/2019 Land Manager Office: City of Colorado Springs Parks, Recreation, and Cultural Service Land Manager Contact: David Deitemeyer Funding Partner: Programmatic Partner: Summary: Improve access to this popular spot in Colorado Springs. Description: Where You'll Be: Just outside of North Cheyenne Canon near Colorado Springs, Stratton Open Space is visited by an estimated 150,000 people each year to enjoy the area's many hiking and biking trails, which travel through five distinct ecosystems. The open space also connects users to the Pikes Peak Greenway and a trail network in Bear Creek Regional Park. What You'll Do: Spend a Saturday in Colorado Springs to reroute a significant access trail to Stratton Open Space. After a light breakfast provided by our volunteer Crew Chefs, you'll join approximately 60-75 other volunteers ages 14+ in closing the old route and replacing it with a new, more sustainable trail. Those who enjoy more technical tasks will have the opportunity to install sign posts, construct fencing, and build erosion control structures such as check dams. Why It Matters: Stratton Open Space is a local favorite and the trail you help build will serve as an integral access point for residents looking to enjoy Stratton Open Space as well as its trail connections to North Cheyenne Canon, the Pike National Forest, Bear Creek Regional Park, and the Pikes Peak Greenway. By building a more sustainable route, your efforts will help protect the beauty and natural resources of this area for years to come. Need-to-Know Details: Minorsunder 16 must be accompanied by an adult 21 years or older on single-day projects. VOC will provide all equipmentincluding tools and work gloves. Cancellation:Our partners rely on VOC volunteers to accomplish critical stewardship needs, and our projects often have wait lists. If you need to cancel, pleasecontact Emily Schaeferat 303-715-1010 ext. 116 as soon as possible so we can free your spot for another volunteer and have a full workforce. About Volunteers for Outdoor Colorado (VOC) Volunteers for Outdoor Colorado (VOC) is the state's oldest, largest, and leading outdoor stewardship nonprofit organization. Founded in 1984 to motivate and enable people to become active stewards of Colorado's natural resources, VOC has engaged nearly 120,000 people in more than 1,000 volunteer projects for a donated labor value of $24 million. Through award-winning youth and volunteer programs, leadership training, capacity-building programs, and collaborative efforts with nonprofits and land management agencies, VOC is an invaluable resource in Colorado, especially as our outdoor stewardship needs are approaching near-crisis levels. For more information, visit www.voc.org or call 303-715-1010. Latitude/Longitude: 38.795403, -104.857463 Additional Information: Camping Available: No Physical Difficulty: Easy High Altitude Project: Yes Desired Number of Volunteers: 60 Total Adult Volunteers Attended: 61 Total Youth Volunteers Attended: 6 Total Volunteer Days: 67 Total Unique Volunteers: 67 Total Volunteer Hours: 591 Staff Hours: 23 Stipend Hours: 0 Project Summary: On the morning of June 15, 2019, more than 60 volunteers met at Stratton Open Space to reroute a heavily used non-motorized access trail. They parked at nearby Gold Camp elementary school due to limited space at the trailhead and walked mile to the registration area. A delicious breakfast and lunch spread were prepared by crew chef Rose Beyer (complete with trademark homemade cookies). Just before 8AM, VOC project staff Alex Williams and agency contact David Deitemeyer welcomed the volunteers, and VOC board chair Jeff Trujillo spoke about his role and the importance of the Open Space to him. Afterwards, volunteers split into 6 crews for a safety talk and trail orientation. The City of Colorado Springs provided one of their experienced staff crew leaders and several trail crew members to assist with the work, greatly reducing crew sizes for all leaders. Crews collected their tools and took a short hike to the beginning of the 1020 ft. reroute. The trail width was set at 30 inches with a 7-foot-wide, 12-foot-tall corridor, which City staff had mostly cleared prior to the VOC workday. The first few sections were relatively simple without any technical tasks beyond minor grade dips for proper drainage. Several small diameter scrub oak stumps were also removed here. The most technical feature of the trail - a 15 ft rock mono-wall - was constructed at the end of section 4. At least 8 people spent the entire day moving and placing rocks in this location. Section 5 had the steepest cross slope of any section as well as several stumps to remove. Sections 6 and beyond were again straightforward and non-technical, except for a cross-vane erosion-control structure in section 9. By 2 in the afternoon all 10 sections of trail were complete and volunteers began work on several backup activities including installation of several sign posts, closure of social trails, and hand finishing some machine cut trail tread. Crews were instructed to begin wrapping up at 3pm due to worsening weather conditions. Intermittent rain and thunderstorms began around noon, but no lightning was detected until 2pm. Two crews were moved from a high exposed ridge section to a more protected gulch. No other safety related issues occurred all day. Successes and Challenges: The biggest successes were: good turnout; a high quality trail; and completion of all primary tasks (as well as several backup activities). The successes can be attributed to excellent pre-project planning work by agency representative David Deitemeyer and VOC technical advisor Mike Mattice. The city promoted the project very well and as a result we had only 20 percent attrition. David and some of his staff members (particularly Emily Duncan) set a very good alignment and prepared excellent construction notes. Mike was on the trail before sunrise to set out flags (the area has been known to disappear flagging placed too far in advance). Mike and Dave tirelessly roved the trail providing input and answering technical questions. Roses homemade cookies were a hit, and the tool managers had everything necessary. The only challenge was weather. Lightning threatened to end the day early several times and ultimately forced volunteers off the trail about an hour early. Luckily, we had already moved on to secondary projects by this time. Lessons Learned: Going into this project, VOC was determined to satisfy all stated project objectives to the highest degree. A past project at Stratton Open Space suffered from miscommunication and, as a result, a less than satisfied partner agency. From the site visit forward, VOC staff and TA endeavored to improve transparency and communication. We decided that before a crew moved to a new section they would receive approval from both David and Mike, ensuring that the trail met all sustainability and quality standards. It slowed progress slightly, as David and Mike could only check one section at a time, but ultimately made a better trail with buy-in from all parties. Special Notes: NA Stewardship Education: There were 3 crew leader mentees on the project. It was an excellent learning environment thanks to the diversity of the work and the knowledge of the TA and land manager. Key Concerns or Comments from Staff or Volunteers: NA Description of Accidents/Incidents: NA Description of Work Completed: VOC volunteers accomplished all of the primary objectives of the project, including 1,026 ft. of new 30in wide trail reroute. There were 12 drainage control structures and 22 ft. of rock wall installed as sustainability measures in this trail. We also accomplished a couple secondary tasks, including the closure of 390ft of social trails and the finishing of 120 ft. of machine cut trail.