2019-Trail Construction @ The Book Cliffs

Start Date-End Date: 09/21/2019-09/22/2019 Land Manager Office: BLM - Grand Junction Field Office Land Manager Contact: Michael Jones Funding Partner: Programmatic Partner: Summary: Experience the Western Slope on this project near Fruita. Description: Project photo from GJHikes.com Where You'll Be: The Book Cliffs, named for their resemblance to a shelf of books, stretch over 200 miles from western Colorado to Utah. You'll spend the weekend on a section near the town of Fruita, located between Grand Junction and the Utah border and known for its plethora of outdoor recreation opportunities and its proximity to numerous state parks as well as the Colorado National Monument. Specifically, you'll be working off the Sarlacc Trail which VOC helped construct the first segment of in 2013, and volunteering among rugged pinyon-juniper woodland with spectacular views of the La Sal Mountains to the west, the San Juan Mountains to the south, and the West Elk Mountains to the east. What You'll Do: We're returning to the Book Cliffs for the first time since 2013 and volunteers ages 14+ will have the opportunity to experience the unique beauty of Colorado's Western Slope as you build a new, multi-use trail that will branch off from the Sarlacc Trail. Tasks will be physically moderate in difficulty as some sections traverse rocky slopes and volunteers will be needed to build rock walls and ramps in addition to basic trail construction. Meals will be provided by our volunteer Crew Chefs from breakfast on Saturday through lunch on Sunday. Why It Matters: Fruita and other towns in the Grand Valley are quickly becoming mountain biking destinations, with the sport being a key economic driver for the area. The trail you help build will enable the completion of an extended singletrack trail open to multiple user groups including hikers, bikers, equestrians, and motorcyclists. Need-to-Know Details: Minors under 18 must be accompanied by an adult 21 years or olderon overnight projects. Minors under 16 must be accompanied by an adult 21 years or older on single-day projects. Volunteers are responsible for providing their own camping equipment.VOC will provide meals, 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, please emailoutreach@voc.orgor call 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, visitwww.voc.orgor call 303-715-1010. Latitude/Longitude: 39.345, -108.627 Additional Information: Camping Available: Yes Physical Difficulty: Moderate High Altitude Project: No Desired Number of Volunteers: 60 Total Adult Volunteers Attended: 95 Total Youth Volunteers Attended: 5 Total Volunteer Days: 98 Total Unique Volunteers: 56 Total Volunteer Hours: 1101.5 Staff Hours: 44 Stipend Hours: 0 Project Summary: This very productive weekend project took place just outside of Fruita with views of the eastern Book Cliffs. 56 volunteers gathered to build a new trail that will eventually become a loop stemming off the Sarlacc Trail, which VOC volunteers helped to build in 2013. Both trails are open to motorized users and are built with OHV use in mind. In just two days, volunteers constructed 4600 feet of new trail, including 12 rock ramps totaling 166 feet, 37 feet of monowall, 2 large cairns, and 1 climbing turn. They also brushed/cleared about 200 feet of trail corridor. About half of the project's volunteers were local to the Grand Junction area, and everyone had a great time hanging out by the fire on both Friday and Saturday night playing guitar. Part of the success of this project wasn't just the tangible work accomplished, but also the positive interactions that took place between people who might not meet otherwise--Denver residents and Western slope residents, different user groups, and a diverse span of ages. Mike from the BLM said he was especially happy to see motorized users positively represented. Successes and Challenges: Successes a lot of work got done! Positive interactions between hikers, mountain bikers, and OHV enthusiasts. We made a point to encourage open dialogue, enthusiasm, and understanding. Challenges very difficult to fill this project. We ended up having the numbers we needed (in part thanks to BLM staff who showed up to volunteer). Hard to say what the main contributing factor was--late season, distance from Denver, general dislike of motorized trails from our main constituents. Lessons Learned: If/when we decide to work on another motorized trail, we should market it as a good opportunity to learn/utilize rock skills outside of the usual scope. Everyone really loved building the rock ramps and learning about pitching--not something that's ever necessary on a regular hiking trail. If we can communicate that building motorized trails allows for a lot of creativity in addition to requiring hard skills, it might attract more of our veteran volunteers. Special Notes: Stewardship Education: Key Concerns or Comments from Staff or Volunteers: Description of Accidents/Incidents: Description of Work Completed: