Description
Start Date-End Date: 07/18/2020-07/19/2020
Land Manager Office: USFS - Rio Grande National Forest
Land Manager Contact: Jason Remshardt
Funding Partner: Rio Grande Headwaters Restoration Project
Programmatic Partner: Rio Grande Headwaters Restoration Project
Summary: Hike along creeks and record information about the presence or absence of beavers to help inform riparian management.
Description: Read Before You Register! Need-to-Know Details:
We greatly appreciate you volunteering your time and energy to care for Colorado's outdoor places during COVID-19. To help provide a fun and safe experience for all, there are a few temporary changes to be prepared for:
You may sign up for one or all days of this project,though we encourage multi-day registration to limit the number of interactions and potential exposure.
You may only register yourself.Every volunteer must sign our digital COVID-specific forms ahead of time to be able to attend.
You must provide your own food and, if desired, overnight accommodations.VOC will not be providing campsites or meals at this time.Campsites will only be offered as needed to VOC Crew Leaders and Project Team members.
You must bring a face mask and work gloves.Pleaseclick herefor our full packing list of required and recommended items.
Please come prepared to use the bathroom outdoors.VOC is not providing portalets at this time and public restrooms may be unavailable. Pleaseclick herefor more information on how to "go" outside.
Cancellation & Waitlists:Due to this year's limited number of projects and volunteer spots, we expect projects to fill quickly with waitlists. If you need to cancel, please emailoutreach@voc.orgas soon as possible so we can free your spot for another volunteer and have a full workforce. If you are waitlisted for multiple projects, please call us at 303-715-1010 ext. 130 and we can help you find an open project, if available.
Where You'll Be:
Originally home to Ute, Pueblo, and Jicarilla Apache tribes, the Rio Grande National Forest stretches 1.83 million acres across south central Colorado. It features a variety of landscapes from high desert to rocky crags, as well as an abundance of wildlife and wildflowers. Volunteers will be working in the eastern edge of the forest near the small town of South Fork in the San Luis Valley.
What You'll Do:
Get your beaver binoculars on! On this "citizen science" project, volunteers will help collect data on where beavers are, or are not, present in key areas. Throughout the day, we'll walk and/or drive along different creeks to capture data using a free smartphone app; the work ranges from moderate to difficult depending on the terrain of the trail. This is a great opportunity to explore a natural gem and learn more about the importance of beavers. We'll conduct a webinar a few nights before the project and will assign groups then for which trails/creeks to survey on the project days. Then you'll head straight to your assigned trailhead on the morning of the project to hike and record data. There will be no main meet-up location for the entire group. Staff from VOC, the Rio Grande National Forest and the Rio Grande Headwaters Restoration Project and/or a VOC crew leader will lead crews.
Why It Matters:
Beavers are a "keystone species", which means they have a huge impact on their environment and other species. When beavers are present in a watershed, their creation of dams and other engineering of waterways play a critical role in the health of the watershed. The data volunteers collect will help the U.S. Forest Service plan where to potentially reintroduce beavers for the health of the ecosystem at large.
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 125,000 people in more than 1,000 volunteer projects for a donated labor value of $25 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: 37.593025, -106.729702
Additional Information: We greatly appreciate you volunteering your time and energy to care for Colorado's outdoor places during COVID-19. To help provide a fun and safe experience for all, there are a few temporary changes to be prepared for:
You must provide your own food and, if desired, overnight accommodations.VOC will not be providing campsites or meals at this time.
You must bring a face mask and work gloves.Pleaseclick herefor our full packing list of required and recommended items.
Please come prepared to use the bathroom outdoors.VOC is not providing portalets at this time and public restrooms may be unavailable. Pleaseclick herefor more information on how to "go" outside.
Camping Available: No
Physical Difficulty: Moderate, Difficult
High Altitude Project: Yes
Desired Number of Volunteers: 7
Total Adult Volunteers Attended: 21
Total Youth Volunteers Attended: 0
Total Volunteer Days: 19
Total Unique Volunteers: 12
Total Volunteer Hours: 176
Staff Hours: 32
Stipend Hours: 0
Project Summary:
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Details
| 18 and older |
